On May 5, former Hong Kong District Councillors and some Hongkongers in Britain organized a protest outside the HSBC in the UK, to object to the bank’s withholding of their MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) savings.
There are more than 140,000 Hongkongers migrated to the UK via British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa scheme since 2021, however, many of them have been
unable to withdraw their MPF savings in Hong Kong.
According to a human rights organization—Hong Kong Watch,
the estimated MPF savings withheld by the Hong Kong financial service institutions have reached HK$21.5 billion (US$2.73 billion).
On May 5 at 10 a.m., while HSBC’s annual general meeting was held in Birmingham, Yau Man-chun, the former District Councillor and now Regional Outreach Coordinator of the Hongkongers in Britain (association), and a group of Hongkongers protested outside The Eastside Rooms.
During the protest, they distributed leaflets to shareholders and held signs with slogans such as “Free My Pension Now” and “MPF Withdrawals Are Our Right.” Ting Tse-yuen and Hui Yui-yu, former District Councillors, also joined the protest.
In an interview with the Epoch Times, Yau expressed his criticism of HSBC for assisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in suppressing Hongkongers.
He highlighted that individuals who migrate to the UK through BNO visas would not be refunded their MPF savings. Yau believes that the immigrant population has considerable MPF savings, and the regime is keen to obtain this money.
He further estimated that in the future, the immigrant population would only receive regular interest payments on their MPF savings and would be unable to recover the full amount.
On April 18, Christopher Hui Ching-yu, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury,
traveled to London to meet with Anne-Marie Trevelyan, minister of state at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO).
Trevelyan urged the Hong Kong government to safeguard the freedom and rights of all Hong Kong citizens and enable BNO Hong Kong people to retrieve their MPF savings ahead of schedule.
On April 20, Hui posted a response on the Facebook page of the Hong Kong Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, stating that during the meeting, he had mentioned that the BNO passport and its related visa could not be used as evidence for early withdrawal of MPF benefits as the Hong Kong government does not recognize the BNO passport as a valid travel document and proof of identity.
