An Australian senator warned the country's big banks against supporting the controversial national security law in Hong Kong, claiming that there could be irreversible risks at home.
«They risk serious brand damage at home if they do so,» said Liberal senator James Paterson, on Australian banks' support for the newly proposed legislation, according to a «Sydney Morning Herald» report.
«And once they start on that slippery slope they might find it hard to get off it.»
Hong Kong is home to Australia’s «big four» banks – ANZ, National Australia Bank, the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and Macquarie – alongside 100,000 expatriates from the southern pacific country.
Aussie Impact
Banks are not the only Australian financial organizations that have been embroiled in the contentious legislation. Just last week, two Australian accounting bodies allegedly found themselves misrepresented as supporters of the security law, after pro-Beijing newspapers reportedly use their names and logos in published ads without their knowledge.
«The use of our logo was not authorized by IPA. It wasn't paid for by [us]. We are looking into to see how it happened,» said a spokesperson for one of the accounting bodies.
«Political commentary is not something we do, not even in Australia where we are strictly apolitical.»
Banking Politicized
Banks in Hong Kong were first absorbed into the controversy by former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who criticized HSBC for «doing things that undermine» China in various ways while generating more than half of its revenue from the market.
«The self-proclaimed British bank cannot afford to make Chinese money while following the West in doing things that undermine Chinese sovereignty, dignity and people's feelings,» Leung said.
Subsequently, HSBC alongside Standard Chartered expressed public support for the new law which was followed by a series of unwelcoming statements from politicians worldwide including in the U.K. and the U.S.
