China has issued “regulations on the list of unreliable entities”. State mouthpiece Global Times announced that the first batch on the unreliable entities list includes Apple, HSBC, and FedEx. Yesterday, the price of HSBC Holdings fell below HK$30 (US$4) and HK$40 (US$5), attracting many bottom fishers, and many Hongkongers suffered great losses in this. Netizens said that since the lion was set on fire by protesters outside HSBC’s headquarters last year, feng shui was disrupted and misfortune has not stopped since. In fact, HSBC’s misfortune is also related to the current situation. The Chief Executive of the General Chamber of Commerce, George Leung Siu-kay, spoke about the dilemma of being an enterprise in RTHK’s Letter to Hong Kong, which was at the same time a lament for HSBC because HSBC Deputy Chairman, Peter Wong Tung-shun, was elected Chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce in May.

Founded in Hong Kong, HSBC has developed into a world-class bank. The bank is indeed a micro-embodiment of the Hong Kong story, and its success and failure are all entangled with Hong Kong and China. In the past, companies could disregard politics because the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had more partners than competitors in the Western world. Even when the pan-democrats were wrestling with the CCP, they would not have given it all for a scorched-earth situation. However, as the CCP takes on its wolf-warrior stance today with its overwhelming confidence, Hong Kong has become a hostage, and the fate of HSBC follows.

HSBC now finds itself in a dilemma because the distance between the West and the CCP is growing, and as the two sides pull apart, HSBC lands itself trapped in political quicksand. Prior to the CCP’s implementation of the Hong Kong national security law, the rich “masters” were all notified in advance to declare their support, therefore the parent company of Cathay Pacific, Swire Group, spearheaded the group of British-funded Hong Kong big companies as the first to voice its support at the end of June, stating that the law was beneficial to the long-term development of Hong Kong as a financial center. The day after the draft of the law was passed, Leung Chun-ying immediately pulled the first tigger at HSBC on his Facebook, namely why the company had not expressed its position after more than a week, “We need these British government, politicians, and HSBC and other British institutions know which side of the bread is buttered”. Savage. Following that, another British-owned company, Jardine Matheson, immediately publicized support in the newspaper, while HSBC only decided to publish two photos of HSBC Asia Pacific CEO Peter Wong signing a petition at a street booth in Central to “support the national security law”. However, as Peter Wong soon realized, you can’t please everyone, and he was criticized by U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo for “destroying Hong Kong’s autonomy” and “breaking commitments made in an U.N.-registered treaty”, by which he meant the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

HSBC caught fire simultaneously in the British political arena, and sustained harsh criticism from various important figures in the British political circle. The leader of the House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg accused HSBC of being “aligned with the Chinese government than Her Majesty’s government”; Conservative Party member Neil O’Brien and former party leader Duncan Smith called on the British people to withdraw their deposits and transfer them to other banks. On the other hand, the CCP’s attack on HSBC has not stopped either. State mouthpiece Global Times alleged that Meng Wanzhou’s extradition trial court documents revealed that it was HSBC that “betrayed” Huawei, that HSBC was acting as a U.S. government “secret agent” to “frame” Meng Wanzhou, and therefore HSBC should be listed as a “criminal” that is subject to Chinese judicial sanctions. Its appearance on the unreliable entities list this time around is likely because of the Meng Wanzhou case, CCP’s political retaliation.

Although Hongkongers have feelings for HSBC, HSBC has had no place for Hongkongers in its heart these recent years. These big companies have always believed that as long as they did not piss the CCP off, to join forces to suppress Hong Kong’s democratization, their interests will be safeguarded by the “bouncers”. These CCP’s accomplices did not realize that as the Chinese capital increased, they would soon surpass Hong Kong companies and account for more than half of the HSI constituents. Pick any three from Alibaba, Meituan, Xiaomi, NetEase, JD.com, or Ant Financial, they already account for nearly 60%. The CCP believed that the time has come for Chinese capital to replace foreign and Hong Kong capital, and that it was not afraid of offending these Hong Kong business communities, who in turn, too, have missed the opportunity to back democratization. When they eventually fall to becoming targets of political liquidation, Hongkongers will only queue up to enjoy the show with popcorn in hand.

(Lau Sai Leung is a political commentator based in Hong Kong and a former full-time member of the HKSAR Central Policy Unit.)

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