HSBC chief Noel Quinn stood by the bank’s decision to freeze the accounts of pro-democracy activist Ted Hui and said the move was not politically motivated.
“It’s not my position to make a moral or political judgment on these matters,” Quinn told the British parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday. He said HSBC was notified by Hong Kong police to freeze the accounts, and that the bank was legally obliged to do so or risk the London-based bank’s ability to operate in Hong Kong.
The CEO also emphasized that the bank had only been in dialogue with Hong Kong police, and that it had not been in communication with any Chinese security officials.
HSBC, which is Hong Kong’s biggest bank, came under attack from supporters of the pro-democracy movement last summer after its top executive in Asia, Peter Wong, publicly endorsed the controversial security law.
On HSBC China’s WeChat account, the bank posted an article about Wong’s support of the law, the South China Morning Post reported. Photos showed the chief signing a petition endorsing the law at a booth manned by a pro-Beijing group in Wan Chai.
Explaining the bank’s position on the legislation, Quinn said: “Peter did sign the petition at that time, as did 2.9 million individuals in Hong Kong sign the exact same petition.”
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One parliament member, Chris Bryant, told Quinn that he is “effectively aiding and abetting one of the biggest crackdowns on democracy in the world.”
The Tuesday meeting came after ex-lawmaker Ted Hui, who is in exile in the UK, called on British lawmakers to question HSBC on its decision to freeze his bank accounts.
Hui said in a Facebook post later that day that HSBC’s attitude was “evasive, hypocritical and self-contradicting,” and accused the bank of “willing to be used for oppressing the freedom of Hong Kong.”
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