Attack on JPMorgan banker in Hong Kong sparks outrage in mainland China

A video showing a Mandarin-speaking JPMorgan Chase employee being punched in the face by a protester outside the company’s main Hong Kong office has provoked outrage in mainland China.

Footage of the incident on Friday shows the banker, who was not identified, surrounded by media while protesters shout at him to “Go back to the mainland!”

He responds, “We are all Chinese”, and asks a man in a press vest to show his media pass. The man replies, “Why do I have to show you my press pass?”

As he tries to make his way into the office building, a protester punches him several times, knocking his glasses off. It is not clear from the video what sparked the altercation, and there is no indication it was connected to the investment bank.

The video was widely circulated on Chinese social media, prompting a flood of angry responses from mainlanders. “Those surrounding the employee are acting like barbarians,” one person wrote on Weibo, China’s Twitter.

Another said: “It’s ridiculous. You can’t beat people up just because you disagree with them.”

One commenter asked why a mainlander had been surrounded and punched “just because he said he was Chinese”, while another said the protester’s behaviour went against the push for freedom and democracy in the city.

The incident happened just a few hours before the Hong Kong government invoked emergency powers to ban face masks during protests and public assemblies, a move that drew criticism and anger from demonstrators and pro-democracy lawmakers and triggered widespread destruction and violence in the city.

Hong Kong has seen four months of unrest, sparked by a now-abandoned extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial. The anti-government protests, which have broadened into a pro-democracy movement, have turned increasingly violent. Protesters accuse the police of brutality, but it has said its use of force – including shooting a teenager in the chest with live ammunition – was reasonable as officers’ safety was threatened.

Mainland Chinese businesses and those with pro-Beijing connections have also been a focus of the protesters’ anger. Demonstrators have smashed Bank of China ATMs and vandalised outlets run by Maxim’s Caterers, including American coffee chain Starbucks.

The episode at the JPMorgan office has underscored the challenges faced by international companies as they try to navigate the increasingly fraught environment in Hong Kong. The protests have put the city on edge, with tensions running high between backers of the demonstrations and those who show sympathy with the Hong Kong government and Beijing.

JPMorgan Chase said in a memo to workers that it was increasing security and that staff should avoid the building over the weekend.

“Some of you will be aware of an incident today that occurred outside of our Chater House office involving an employee,” JPMorgan said in the memo, which was seen by Bloomberg. “We want to reiterate that we have put in place additional security for all of our buildings and continue to closely monitor the situation in Hong Kong.

“Non-essential employees who are planning to work over the weekend should not come into the office and instead are encouraged to work from home for any necessary weekend work,” it said.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg