My Take | Face of US arrogance there for all to see
- Warning by US State Department official to Hong Kong business group not to deal with Iran smacks of bullying and reflects the type of men who run Washington these days
Listening to a speech made last week by a senior US State Department official at the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, many members thought for a moment that Washington, not Beijing, was the sovereign government of the city.
The lecture, more akin to a threat, was delivered by David Peyman, who came with a long and impressive title: deputy assistant secretary for counter threat finance and sanctions, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
He was in town to warn that there would be consequences for anyone in Hong Kong and the mainland who dared to do business with Iran or dealt with oil tanker Pacific Bravo heading our way that allegedly breached US sanctions.
Here’s an online comment from someone who attended it. “I joined a HKGCC business event featuring US Dep Ast Secretary of State for Counter Threat Finance and Sanctions,” he wrote. “It was the most barbaric performance I have witnessed in my 12 years in Hong Kong. Aggression, threats and a stated aim ‘to inflict pain on individuals’.”
He continued: “As an American, it was surreal watching HK businesspeople being lectured, scolded and bullied like schoolchildren, and by a foreigner who admitted to knowing very little about this place.