International financial conglomerates have begun to explore the possibility of connecting their clients with pro-American extremists in Hong Kong.
It is reported by the agency “Reuters”, citing sources among bankers.
According to media reports, among the banks that supported the Chinese national security law in Hong Kong were the two largest Swiss financial conglomerates UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG, the Swiss private bank Julius Baer Gruppe AG, as well as one of the the largest financial conglomerates in the world and the largest UK bank by assets, HSBC Holdings Plc.
The above-mentioned financial structures have already started checking their clients for political connections. If the facts of interaction with Hong Kong extremists are established, access to banking services for such clients will be limited.
Sources clarify that as part of the checks, even customer comments on social networks or the media are being studied since 2014, when the so-called Umbrella Revolution began in Hong Kong.
In the West, this situation was reacted negatively. Companies supporting Hong Kong’s national security law have been criticized. However, this pressure did not change the position of HSBC and Standard Chartered Plc. Banks headquartered in London are confident that the law will restore stability to Hong Kong.
Anti-government protests in Hong Kong
In June 2019, massive actions began in Hong Kong, accompanied by pogroms and clashes with the police. The official reason for the protests was the extradition bill. If adopted, Hong Kong would be able to detain and extradite to Beijing people who are wanted by the Chinese security forces.
The demonstrators were openly supported by Western countries, in particular, the United States and Great Britain. The protests themselves continued even after the authorities refused to pass the law. The most absurd reasons were invented for the actions. For example, at the end of August last year, radicals smashed underground stations, allegedly due to poor quality of service, and also demolished “smart” lampposts that collect information about road traffic and air pollution levels. The fact is that the protesters saw in them a system of total surveillance by the authorities.
Stocks in Hong Kong ended amid the coronavirus pandemic and resumed in late April. A series of actions took place on May 1, and ten days later riots broke out in Hong Kong with barricades and arson. Against this backdrop, the Chinese government decided to introduce a national security law in Hong Kong. The document, among other things, criminalizes foreign interference and the undermining of state power in this administrative region of China. The United States was dissatisfied with such intentions of Beijing, which became a new reason for protests. This did not prevent the adoption of new legislation.