Letters | US Consulate General security staff in Hong Kong should show more courtesy
Security at the US Consulate General is a total nightmare. On my arrival at the US Consulate General at Garden Road on the morning of November 19, an entrance guard checked my handbag size several times in a rough manner. After I tidied up my stuff, I was told my handbag fulfilled the size requirement of the consulate and the entrance guard allowed me to enter the platform floor, where the guard in blue uniform without his working identity checked the stuff inside my handbag. Additionally, he angrily refused to reveal his name upon request.
To make matters worse, his supervisor appeared, having observed the above process. This officer, who did not wear an ID either, barked at me to get out, saying my handbag was oversized. He infuriatingly refused to disclose his full name. I had just been allowed entry due to the perfectly appropriate size of my bag.
Later, he asked the guard in blue to write down my name and ordered me to reveal my passport; otherwise he would not let me go in for the visa application which was paid for online in advance.
Here are my questions:
Why do the security staff not show their work identity cards to visa applicants? The staff deal with applicants’ passports and personal belongings and applicants have the right to identify them.
Why can power be used nonsensically to reprimand an innocent applicant who has met the requirements of the US Consulate?
Why do the guards have a right to record my personal data despite the fact that I did not misbehave?
I despair to think of the potential suffering of other applicants such as myself.
Cammy Lee, Yuen Long
