UK Edition
Ai Weiwei criticises Hong Kong freedoms after he is refused for a HSBC bank account
Ai Weiwei, the Chinese dissident artist, has launched an attack on eroding freedoms in Hong Kong after he was refused a bank account at HSBC in the former British colony.
The burly artist, who is a constant thorn in the side of Beijing’s Communist Party rulers, turned to social media to ridicule the “one country, two systems” principle, which supposedly guarantees freedoms in Hong Kong following its handover to China in 1997.
After he was turned away by the bank, Mr Ai posted a picture of the Hong Kong headquarters of HSBC on Tuesday, saying: “I’m in Hong Kong, trying to open an account at HSBC. My request was refused due to a ‘commercial decision’ from the headquarter (sic).
“This has not happened to me in Beijing. Maybe ‘one country, one system’ is better,” he said.
Hong Kong’s legal autonomy from the Chinese mainland is supposedly guaranteed by agreements made by China and the UK before it was handed over to Beijing’s rule.
But fears have been raised by local democracy campaigners that those rights have been eroded in recent years as Beijing’s grip tightens on the city.
HSBC would not comment on the specific case, but issued a statement saying: “We are not able to discuss customers or account applications for reasons of confidentiality.
“However, HSBC does not decline to open bank accounts because of individuals’ political views.”
Banks in Hong Kong have become increasingly strict in recent years over concerns about money-laundering and terrorism.
Last year Joshua Wong, the teenage face of democracy protests that brought the city to a standstill in 2014, was refused an account by HSBC when he tried to open one for his political party, Demosisto.
HSBC, or the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, has its roots in Asia but is now a British company.
Mr Ai is known for his high-profile stunts aimed at putting the spotlight on rights abuses both in China and abroad.
In 2015 he accused Danish company Lego of “censorship and discrimination” after it refused to sell him bricks for an installation.
Additional reporting by Christine Wei