Exclusive | European missions in Hong Kong weigh options on handing over city staff personal details to Beijing by January 31 deadline
- European diplomats say they are trying to find out why Beijing wants names, addresses, passport numbers of staff hired in Hong Kong
- Beijing request not unusual as US also requires staff information from diplomatic missions in Washington, sources say
European consulates in Hong Kong have joined forces to ask Beijing to explain its reasons for requiring details of all locally employed staff, including their names, home addresses and passport numbers, sources have told the Post.
Beijing made the request last September in a letter to all consulates from the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in the city.
Sources said Beijing moved the deadline for providing the information from October 18 to January 31 after the Europeans last October asked for clarification.
The request did not appear to cause concern for many Asian consulates, and the Post has learned that a significant number of Asean member countries had either already complied or were expected to meet the new deadline.
But some Western diplomats said they faced a difficult choice between defying the request – which could create problems in their relationships with Beijing – and providing information they preferred not to reveal.