Moving to a new country is an expensive ordeal – even more so if you are forced to flee your home to escape a totalitarian regime only to have your life savings frozen.
But this is the situation faced by tens of thousands of British nationals from Hong Kong who say they are too scared to demand access to their pension pots, which have been blocked by the Chinese authorities with the aid of some of the UK’s largest banks.
Many emigres live in fear of reprisals if they request their money despite saying their inability to access the funds has shut them out of the housing market and forced to forgo vital medical treatment.
It comes as Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds prepares to visit China next month in a bid to reopen trade talks despite growing fears the People’s Republic is using its agents to harass and intimidate exiles in Britain.
Senior politicians, including Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride, have joined activists calling for Labour to pressure Beijing to release the cash rather than ‘bend the knee’ to Xi Jinping’s government.
More than £1 billion of savings were frozen after the introduction of repressive national security laws in Hong Kong sparked an exodus of people holding British National Overseas (BNO) passports to the UK. Most of this money, £978 million, is held in accounts overseen by HSBC.
Excuse: HSBC has argued that it cannot release the cash because of the Chinese government
Those now living in the UK told The Mail on Sunday that not being able to withdraw savings built up over years of employment, had forced them into hard decisions.
Despite this, they are frightened to request the money, as filing a claim with the banks will expose their identity to Chinese agents.
‘Most of us don’t even dare apply any more,’ said a former Hong Kong resident, who did not wish to be named. ‘We’re at a stage where even trying to claim what is rightfully ours feels dangerous.’
Another said: ‘I’ve asked multiple times, and the answer is always the same: if you apply under BNO status, your request will be denied.
‘And worse still, they keep a record of the rejection.’
Fears of retaliation are growing – with neighbours of democracy activists receiving letters encouraging them to deliver the Hong Kongers to the Chinese embassy for bounties of £100,000.
Concerns have also been raised that a new Chinese mega-embassy in London will be a hub for espionage if Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner approves the plan. A decision is due in October.
Negotiations: Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds prepares to visit China next month in a bid to reopen trade talks
The savings are held in the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), a compulsory pension scheme most Hong Kongers and their employers pay into. HSBC and Standard Chartered are trustees for savings held through the MPF.
Hong Kongers can withdraw their pension early if they have permanently resettled overseas. To do so, they need to provide documentary proof that they are permitted to reside abroad. In 2021, Chinese authorities said they would no longer recognise BNO passports as valid travel documents or forms of identity.
This was widely seen as retaliation after the UK Government said Hong Kongers with BNO passports could apply for a new visa, letting them settle in Britain.
BNO was a special status of passport issued to Hong Kongers before the territory was handed over to China by the UK in 1997.
Since the visa scheme was launched four years ago, more than 166,300 BNOs have moved to Britain, according to rights group Hong Kong Watch.
But China’s order to freeze their pension pots has left thousands of emigres in dire financial straits.
Alpha, a 33-year-old IT worker living in Sutton, South London, said being unable to access his £30,000 in savings meant he could not pay for his mother’s dental work. He said ‘My mother needs it done but prices are very high in the private sector. We are also struggling to pay for treatment on the NHS. It is not affordable if I can’t access my savings.’
When asked whether he had requested to withdraw his savings from HSBC, Alpha said he was ‘afraid’ any enquiries would bring him to the attention of Beijing.
‘You need to disclose your identity to request your money, which in my understanding is not safe. They think that leaving Hong Kong makes you a traitor.’
He also did not hold out much hope of Ministers helping BNOs.
‘I don’t think the UK Government wants to touch our cases. They want to leave negotiating room with Beijing,’ he said.
Brutal: Hong Kong saw a crackdown on protests against the regime in 2019
Stride said: ‘If Labour’s China strategy was working, they would be able to resolve these sorts of issues. In reality, it appears the ‘reset’ has been a one-way street. Ministers should be working to help these people access their savings, not bending the knee to Beijing and getting crumbs in return.’
One 40-year-old teacher now living in Edinburgh told the MoS she and her two siblings had given up trying to retrieve £50,000 in savings locked in an account overseen by HSBC.
‘If we were able to bring our pension savings over, we would have been able to settle in the UK much more easily. We would have been able to buy a property, but instead we are currently forced to rent.
‘We believe it is almost impossible to get our money back.’
HSBC has argued that it cannot release the cash because of the Chinese government.
But campaigners and MPs want the banks and UK Government to push for the decision to be reversed, arguing it has no basis in law. Labour MP Blair McDougall called the blocking of savings ‘an absolute scandal’. He said: ‘British Hong Kongers know the long arm of the Chinese Communist Party reaches around the world and it’s little wonder they’re fearful of raising their voices. The UK must support the victims of this injustice so they are able to fight back.’
The MoS revealed in March that Foreign Secretary David Lammy had met HSBC chairman Mark Tucker to quiz him over the bank freezing savings owed to Hong Kongers.
A Government source told The Mail on Sunday that following reporting by this newspaper both the Trade Minister Douglas Alexander and City Minister Emma Reynolds had also raised the issue with officials in Hong Kong in April and June, respectively.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We continue to raise this issue with the Hong Kong and Chinese governments and have discussed it with the relevant banks.
‘We have urged them to facilitate early drawdown of funds as is the case for other Hong Kong residents who move overseas permanently, and have made clear such discrimination of British nationals overseas is unacceptable.
Jonathan Reynolds’ trip to China forms part of an effort to restart trade talks suspended in 2019 after the outbreak of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which were crushed by Chinese police.
But the visit has prompted concern from exiles who fear Ministers will kowtow to Beijing. And Mark Sabah at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation said: ‘It remains an outrage that British-owned banks like HSBC are withholding pensions or savings. Reynolds should demand this issue be resolved if trade deals with China are to go ahead.’
An HSBC spokesman said: ‘Hong Kong legislation sets the conditions under which a member may withdraw pension benefits under the MPF scheme.
‘The conditions for early withdrawal are a matter of law and are not set by the trustee company. There are significant penalties for non-compliance.
‘Neither HSBC nor any other firm acting as an MPF trustee has any discretion in this matter.’
A spokesman for Standard Chartered said: ‘All MPF-approved trustees in Hong Kong, including us, have to comply with the MPF schemes ordinance.
‘As in all our markets, we are committed to complying with all relevant laws and regulations.’
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