Pompeo cited reports of Hong Kong-based
executives at Next Media being unable to access their HSBC bank
accounts and said the bank was "maintaining accounts for
individuals who have been sanctioned for denying freedom for
Hong Kongers, while shutting accounts for those seeking
freedom."
"Free nations must ensure that corporate interests are not
suborned by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to aid its
political repression," Pompeo said in a statement. "We stand
ready to help the British government and its companies resist
CCP bullying and stand for freedom."
Representatives for the London-based bank, in an email, declined
to comment.
Washington has criticized Beijing's crackdown against
pro-democracy opposition in the now Chinese-ruled city following
a sweeping new security law imposed on Hong Kong on June 30 that
was widely condemned by Western nations.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a prominent democracy activist
and top executive at Next Digital, was arrested Aug. 10 under
the new law, further stoking concerns about media and other
freedoms promised to Hong Kong when it returned to China in
1997.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Lawrence White; editing by Jason
Neely and Steve Orlofsky)
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