US says China 'bullying' UK, cites HSBC Hong Kong-related accounts

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday renewed criticism of British Bank HSBC for its reported treatment of customers linked with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, saying China was "bullying" the United Kingdom.

Pompeo cited unverified 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."

Reuters was unable to verify immediately which reports Pompeo was referring to or whether HSBC had frozen any accounts of Next Media staff. Next Media is the previous name of Next Digital.

Representatives for London-based HSBC, in an email, declined to comment.

A representative at tabloid Apple Daily, the flagship publication of Next Digital, did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Nor did Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office and China's Foreign Affairs Ministry immediately respond to a request for comment on Pompeo's assertion that China was bullying the UK.

HSBC has in recent months faced mounting pressure on both sides of the Atlantic, as it attempts to balance its need to maintain access to the Chinese market with appeasing lawmakers in the United States and Britain critical of Beijing's handling of the democracy movement in Hong Kong.

Last month, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reprimanded HSBC and other banks for supporting China's new security law, saying the rights of the people of Hong Kong should not be sacrificed for bankers' bonuses.

Senior British and US politicians criticized HSBC and Standard Chartered in June after the banks backed China's national security law for the territory.

Global banks are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city's pro-democracy movement, in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China's new national security law, Reuters reported last month.

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.