Hands off HK, America

Song Zhe, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, met with Clifford Hart, US consul-general in Hong Kong on Monday. Song gave Hart a brief summary of Hong Kong's experience in exercising the principle of "One Country, Two Systems" in the past 16 years and emphasized that constitutional development is Hong Kong's internal affairs and therefore bears no foreign interference. He also reiterated that China stands firmly against meddling with Hong Kong's internal affairs by any outside force in disregard of the Basic Law and relevant decisions of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Song's statement is directed at a specific target, which is the fact that Hart's predecessor Stephen Young repeatedly meddled with Hong Kong's constitutional development and Hart, just two months since taking over the job, has already shown its part of his mission as well. Song's caution to Hart against interfering in Hong Kong's internal affairs is meant to tell the US diplomat it is for his own good, as well as the greater benefit of maintaining healthy relations between the two countries, not to repeat Young's mistakes.

Thousands of classified wire messages and e-mails between the US consulate-general in Hong Kong and Washington revealed by WikiLeaks back in August 2011 provide undeniable evidence the US government maintains a sophisticated system of interference in Hong Kong's constitutional development through its presence here. For example, the consulate-general at one point offered suggestions concerning the constitutional development to the Hong Kong SAR government. It also ran the show, so to speak, in such controversial incidents as the collective resignation of five opposition lawmakers to force by-elections they call a "referendum"; putting together and controlling "Hong Kong's gang of four", which represents the opposition from political, religious and media perspectives, and picking candidates to become the opposition's spiritual leader.

All this has violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, of which the US is a signatory. And China has every right to warn the US against meddling in matters concerning Hong Kong's constitutional development.

This is an excerpted translation of a Wen Wei Po editorial published on Aug 29.

(HK Edition 08/30/2013 page9)