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On China’s Continued Coercion of the United Kingdom
PRESS STATEMENT
MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE
AUGUST 26, 2020
The United States is dismayed to learn that the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive bullying tactics against our friends in the United Kingdom continues. In the latest example, British bank HSBC has reportedly prevented Hong Kong-based executives at Next Media, a well-known publisher of pro-democracy publications, from accessing their credit cards and personal bank accounts. The bank is thus maintaining accounts for individuals who have been sanctioned for denying freedom for Hong Kongers, while shutting accounts for those seeking freedom.
Only a few months ago, HSBC’s Asia-Pacific CEO signed a petition supporting Beijing’s decision to crush Hong Kong’s autonomy and its people’s freedoms. Free nations must ensure that corporate interests are not suborned by the CCP to aid its political repression. We stand ready to help the British government and its companies resist CCP bullying and stand for freedom.
