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The far-right architect of U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016
election victory, Bannon is the latest controversial figure
invited to address a forum hosted by CLSA, a subsidiary of
state-backed Citic Securities.
Bannon, whose views on immigration, climate and trade helped
shape Trump's election campaign and his first months in office,
was fired by the Republican president last month in a push to
end factional fighting within the White House.
"No Bannon, no racism," chanted the group of about 15
demonstrators, who also held up a large black banner carrying
the words, "Nazis are not welcome here".
One protester wearing a mask of Trump held up a placard
depicting the U.S. president in the shape of a chicken, with the
words, "Toxic nationalist", on its belly.
CLSA initially said Bannon's speech would be open to some print
media but reversed its decision a day later, without citing a
specific reason, although a CLSA spokeswoman said the event was
meant for invited clients only.
"We reserve the right to open or close sessions as we see fit,"
she wrote in an emailed response to Reuters.
"The CLSA Investors' Forum provides an agnostic platform for
diverse views and opinions from people who influence policy,
economies and markets. Mr Bannon is one of these, hence our
decision to invite him."
Past speakers at the forum have ranged from actors George
Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger to boxer Mike Tyson, who was
convicted of rape, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, and
former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who
revealed secret details of U.S. surveillance programs.
In a recent interview with the CBS program "60 Minutes," Bannon
predicted Republicans could lose control in the House of
Representatives next year because of a looming battle over what
to do about immigrants brought illegally to the United States as
children.
(This story has been refiled to update paragraph 9 descriptions
of previous speakers)
(Additional reporting for Stefanie McIntyre and Oscar Chan;
Editing by James Pomfret and Clarence Fernandez)
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