This summer’s protests against a proposed extradition law with China have shaken Hong Kong to its foundations. But when some in the protest movement tried to put the squeeze on the city’s financial system — where the local currency has long been pegged to the US dollar — the effort barely registered.
One user of the protesters’ main online discussion forum called for massed cash withdrawals and currency conversions a couple of weeks ago, to try to cause grief for local banks. “Converting to a foreign currency (like the US dollar) also protects yourself, so if the currency peg goes pear-shaped you won’t be left holding Hong Kong dollars,” the protester urged.
Pictures showing large stacks of banknotes withdrawn by Hong Kongers peppered social media that day but the Hong Kong dollar, which can move within a narrow trading band against the greenback, finished trading just fractionally weaker.