Hong Kong officials ordered to snub US diplomats and say ‘I can’t speak with you’

New instructions for Hong Kong’s civil service follow China and US dialling up diplomat restrictions on each other

Source says command to hang up on cold calls and avoid meeting American envoys came from a ‘level higher than the chief executive’

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Government staff in Hong Kong have been given stricter new directions on how to engage with American diplomats. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 8:00am, 29 Sep 2020Updated: 9:46am, 29 Sep 2020

Hong Kong officials have been told to refrain from meeting American diplomats or engaging with them over the phone, the Post has learned, after Beijing retaliated against restrictions imposed on the activities of Chinese envoys in the United States.

According to new instructions given orally last week by heads of government departments, Hong Kong officials and civil servants must not accept invitations for seminars or cocktail receptions from the city’s US consulate general without prior approval.

“Officials should just say ‘I can’t speak with you' and stop the conversation when they receive phone calls from staff from the US consulate general,” a Hong Kong government official said.

City officials have to report to their department heads if they receive invitations for meetings from the US consulate general in Hong Kong under the updated policy. All requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

A spokesman for the Chief Executive’s Office said: “The Hong Kong government fully supports the central government to adopt countermeasures against the United States and will facilitate its enforcement.”

The Post reported on Sunday that American diplomats must obtain approval from Beijing’s foreign ministry before they could meet with Hong Kong government officials or personnel from the city’s education institutions and societies.

That new rule – which came in response to Washington’s earlier decision to limit the movement of Chinese envoys in the US – also appears to cover meetings between American diplomats and representatives of the city’s political parties.

Felix Chung Kwok-pan, leader of the pro-business Liberal Party, was told by Beijing’s foreign affairs arm in Hong Kong two weeks ago that it was not an appropriate time for him to meet the US’ top envoy to Hong Kong, who had sought a discussion with him.