HSBC is banking on its customers’ apathy towards Hong Kong

An unequivocal message of support for Beijing has let the world know where the bank’s priorities lie.

Pedestrians wear face masks as they walk past HSBC signage outside a branch of the bank in Hong Kong on April 28, 2020. - HSBC on April 28 said first quarter pre-tax profits almost halved as the banking giant was battered by the global coronavirus pandemic while it embarked on a major restructuring. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP) (Photo by ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images)

HSBC’s most recent TV ad campaign is a montage of lush, slow-motion footage of stalwart everyday #heroes stacking shelves, shouldering bags of grain and politely asking people to queue for shops. “We are not an island”, intones Sandi Toksvig over footage of a softly gleaming Britscape, “we are part of something far, far bigger”.

The bank expressed a similar sentiment on WeChat, China’s ubiquitous social network, last night – except that this time, the place it considered to be “not an island” was Hong Kong, and the “something far, far bigger” was the criminal and security jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China.