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* Pompeo renews attack on British bank
* HSBC caught in Beijing-Washington spat
* Bank stays silent amid fresh criticism
(Adds further context)
By Susan Heavey and Lawrence White
WASHINGTON/LONDON, Aug 26 (Reuters) - U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise;
additional reporting by by Anne Marie Roantree in Hong Kong and
Beijing bureau, editing by Jason Neely and Steve Orlofsky)
