Hong Kong Protesters Rally Outside HSBC London Headquarters Over Blocked MPF Funds

More than a dozen Hong Kong people protested outside the HSBC headquarters in London on Dec. 12 to protest against HSBC, one of the trustees of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF), for withholding substantial MPF savings belonging to overseas Hongkongers and demanded the return of the funds.  The protest was organized by the “MPF Access Alliance,” consisting of individuals with British National Overseas (BNO) visas. They protested outside the HSBC headquarters in Canary Wharf, London. Protesters chanted, “Release our retirement savings now, we want our money back, fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong,” and other slogans. Atito, a protester who works in the IT industry, said that the Hong Kong government’s behavior of not allowing BNO visa holders to withdraw their MPF is pure barbarism. He has contributed to different MPF trustees, including HSBC, for ten years, and without consolidating any of them. Although he did not pay much attention to the actual contributions to MPF to date, he believes it should be a six-digit figure. He said that if he could not get his contributions back, he feared it could all go down the drain forever....