The disclosure raises concerns about the independence of major organisations. Photo / Getty Images
The disclosure raises concerns about the independence of major organisations. Photo / Getty Images
Hundreds of senior employees at British banks HSBC and Standard Chartered have been members of the Chinese Communist Party, according to documents seen by the Daily Telegraph.
The lists show that at least 335 HSBC employees were CCP members. Current members include the senior vice president of HSBC China, thepresident of HSBC's Shenzhen office and the deputy manager of Hong Kong Corporate and Consumer Products are listed as members.
Standard Chartered has employed at least 290 CCP members. Among active members who have pledged an oath of loyalty to the country's ruling party are the deputy president of the bank's Chinese subsidiary, head of investment management and head of business banking.
The names were revealed in a leaked database of nearly 2 million registered party members that highlights the full extent of Beijing's influence. The Telegraph conducted its own research to assess whether senior employees still worked for the banks.
The revelation is likely to heap further pressure on the lenders, who have found themselves in the crossfire as trade relations between the US and China have deteriorated. HSBC in particular has struggled to navigate the conflict between being headquartered in the UK but relying on China and Hong Kong, which has imposed a new security law to crack down on protestors, for most of its profits.
In recent months there has been an increased pressure internationally on China over human rights abuses. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned "serious and egregious" human rights abuses, and refused to rule out a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics which will be hosted in the country.
Senior employees of a variety of UK and US companies appear on leaked membership lists seen by the Telegraph. Premier League football club Wolves are also revealed to be owned by party members, including one owner who holds a position of responsibility within the party.
Further questions are also set to be posed about Huawei's supply chain, as the company's sole American manufacturer Qualcomm are revealed to employ hundreds of party members including some in senior positions.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed the Chinese state had "bullied" HSBC into blocking accounts of pro-democracy supporters in August.Earlier this month, HSBC froze the account of exiled pro-democracy activist Ted Hui, which sparked further criticism from activists.
Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers is also owned by party members. Photo / Getty Images
HSBC and Standard Chartered have both announced their public support for Hong Kong's National Security Law, alongside Standard Chartered.
Dong Shuyin, the deputy president of Standard Chartered in China, has won awards within the CCP, including "Excellent Communist Party Member in Shanghai". Mr Dong met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit in 2019, where the two discussed the growth of the party.
Mr Dong had described the CCP as an "indispensable part of [Standard Chartered's] development in China".
Two senior Deutsche Bank managers were also listed as party members. JP Morgan Chase also has party members in senior positions within their organisation, including an executive director who joined from HSBC.
US manufacturer Qualcomm was given special dispensation by the US government to continue supplyingHuawei despite an embargo on supplying the Chinese firm in September. Senior project managers, senior engineers and the company's senior director of business development are among 227 employees listed as party members.
Two of Premier League football's Wolves FC owners are also members, according to the leaked list.
Wang Qunbin and Liang Xinjun, who both work for Fosun, are party members and alongside Guo Guangchang own the Premier League side. Wang Qunbin spoke at a Fosun party event in 2018, speaking in front of a podium adorned with a hammer and sickle.
Qunbin is deputy secretary of the Fosun Party committee, and has a reported net worth of $1.3bn.
Fosun is also manufacturing the Sinovac Coronavirus vaccine, and works across real estate, retail and banking.
Tom Tugendhat MP, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told The Telegraph: "This is no surprise but a confirmation that a one party state seeks control over all aspects of society. We have long known that the CCP ensures that all who want to succeed have to join. These revelations confirm what many of us have long known".
Bob Seely MP said: "We need to start thinking through the implications of this. The people on this list are effectively working as state agents, spying on our people or their own compatriots.
"It also raises serious questions for people and businesses doing business with HSBC and others, that effectively in dealing with these firms they risk discussing sensitive information with people who are alleged to be agents for the Chinese state."
In response to this story, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and HSBC declined to comment. JP Morgan Chase, Qualcomm and Wolves FC did not respond to a request for comment.
