China lays out ‘must-nots’ for top US diplomat in Hong Kong
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China told a US diplomat to refrain from activities including colluding with anti-China individuals and interfering in national security trials.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG – China warned the top US envoy in Hong Kong against interfering in the country’s internal affairs, days after she reportedly invited pro-democracy former politicians to her inaugural receptions.
Mr Cui Jianchun, commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s office in Hong Kong, lodged a “stern representation” and explicitly laid out four “must-nots” during a meeting with US Consul-General Julie Eadeh this week, the office said in a statement on Oct 2.
He told the US diplomat to refrain from activities including “meeting with those she should not meet”, colluding with anti-China individuals and interfering in national security trials, without naming anyone or any particular case.
Mr Cui’s comments underscore Beijing’s heightened sensitivity over the conduct of US diplomats in Hong Kong,
The remarks follow reports by Chinese state-controlled media including Ta Kung Pao that Ms Eadeh invited former opposition figures, including Ms Anson Chan and Ms Emily Lau, to events she held after assuming duties in the former British colony in August.
Ms Lau, a former lawmaker and former chairwoman of the city’s Democratic Party, described the reception she attended as a normal diplomatic event and said Beijing “overreacted”.
“Hong Kong is an international city and we should be free to interact with each other,” Ms Lau said in response to questions from Bloomberg News. “If we have committed an offence, they can arrest us.”
The Chinese government has previously accused Ms Chan, a former official and democracy advocate who has retired from politics, of urging Washington to impose sanctions on Hong Kong in her meetings with US officials.
Bloomberg News could not reach Ms Chan for comment.
Those same Chinese outlets also reported in 2019 a meeting between Ms Eadeh, then a political counsellor at the consulate, and pro-democracy activists including Joshua Wong, accusing the US of supporting protests that roiled the semi-autonomous territory.
The US government at the time said meeting with opposition protesters is a routine part of any American diplomat’s job.
The US Consulate-General in Hong Kong did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours. BLOOMBERG
