UK MPs urge minister to do more to free Hongkongers’ trapped savings

First British ministerial visit to Hong Kong since Chinese crackdown focused on attracting investment

The first British ministerial visit to Hong Kong since the introduction of draconian Chinese security laws five years ago was a chance to demand that China unlock more than £2bn in pensions belonging to British overseas passport holders who fled for the UK, former cabinet ministers have told the Foreign Office.

A letter signed by more than 90 MPs, including 10 former ministers, urges the trade minister Dominic Johnson to do more to release frozen savings belonging to thousands of Hongkongers.

Lord Johnson’s three-day visit to Hong Kong heavily focused on attracting investment into the UK, in the latest sign of a carefully managed thaw in relations between the UK and China.

The pension freeze, one of many roadblocks to restored relations, came as a consequence of the Chinese foreign ministry saying it would no longer recognise the British national (overseas) passport as an identity document in January 2021.

In a cross-party letter signed by senior Tories including Chris Patten, Malcolm Rifkind, Iain Duncan Smith and David Davis, Johnson was told that “the punitive denial of Hongkongers to access their savings is curtailing the ability of many to start new lives and to prosper and thrive in the UK”.

The money is held in a mandatory provident fund whose trustees include HSBC Bank. The letter presses the trustees, including HSBC, to ensure Hongkongers regain access to their savings.

The letter states: “In the case of HSBC, a UK-headquartered bank is undertaking retaliatory action on behalf of the Chinese government and it is estimated that it has denied access to over £600m hard-earned savings.”

The letter proposes that the UK government challenges Beijing by issuing unilateral guidance to all UK-based financial institutions regarding the use of BNO passports as valid documents.

In a Commons written reply on 4 May, Anne-Marie Trevelyan the minister for the Indo-Pacific, did not suggest any unilateral step. She said: “We are aware of the difficulties British national (overseas) passport holders are experiencing in seeking early withdrawal of their pension held by the mandatory provident fund in Hong Kong … We have urged the Hong Kong authorities to facilitate the early withdrawal of funds, as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently. I raised this issue with Christopher Hui, Hong Kong secretary for financial services and the treasury, on 18 April and pressed for a pragmatic solution.”

In a further sign that Hong Kong is being swallowed into the jurisdiction of mainland China, its legislative council passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that allows Hong Kong authorities to ban overseas lawyers from taking part in local cases involving national security.

The two-stage vetting system under the new amendment was proposed after the Hong Kong government’s failed legal battle to ban the jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai from hiring a British barrister, Timothy Owen, to represent him at his trial for alleged collusion with foreign forces.

Contributor

Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Is too much trade at stake for Britain to stand up to Beijing?
Boris Johnson’s defence of democracy in Hong Kong has put at risk both exports and Chinese investment in UK infrastructure

Phillip Inman

11, Jul, 2020 @3:00 PM

Article image
Protester condemns ‘barbaric’ attack in Manchester outside China consulate
Bob Chan backs calls for UK government to expel any Chinese officials involved in peaceful protest

Matthew Weaver and Aina J Khan

19, Oct, 2022 @10:11 PM

Article image
Sunak to urge G7 support for collective action against ‘economic coercion’
Leaders expected to form council that will discuss response if states such as Russia and China boycott trade for political reasons

Rowena Mason in Hiroshima

19, May, 2023 @9:30 PM

Article image
China criticises British minister’s visit to Taiwan for trade talks
Beijing ‘resolutely opposes’ official exchanges between Taipei and UK government, says foreign ministry

Verna Yu and Aletha Adu

07, Nov, 2022 @2:17 PM

Article image
Labour takes British-based banks to task over China's Hong Kong policies
HSBC and Standard Chartered’s support for security law challenged by Lisa Nandy and Anneliese Dodds

Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent

05, Jun, 2020 @5:26 PM

Article image
Brexit blow: exports to Japan slump after ‘landmark’ free trade deal
First such accord after leaving EU was predicted to bring £15bn boost but UK now lags rivals

Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Michael Savage

26, Nov, 2022 @8:00 PM

Article image
Britain accused of letting down Hong Kong democracy activists
Chris Patten says Britain has prioritised trade deals with China over defending freedoms guaranteed in 1997 handover

Kevin Rawlinson

26, Jan, 2017 @12:08 AM

Article image
David Cameron to have first meeting with Chinese foreign minister
Exclusive: Cameron urged to raise human rights and security concerns in first meeting with Wang Yi since Sunak made him foreign secretary

Eleni Courea Political correspondent

13, Feb, 2024 @11:01 AM

Article image
UK minister criticised over ‘crass and archaic’ trope about Chinese people
Mark Spencer spoke of possibility ‘some little man in China’ could be listening in to his conversations

Kevin Rawlinson

31, Oct, 2022 @12:29 PM

Article image
HSBC: political risk towers over bank's structural review
Nils Pratley: The decision where to base the global bank’s HQ is anything but structured – it boils down solely to appetite for risk

Nils Pratley

09, Jun, 2015 @1:08 PM