MFA COMMISSIONER LU XINHUA'S MESSAGE TO THE CG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 001394 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2031 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR HK CH SUBJECT: MFA COMMISSIONER LU XINHUA'S MESSAGE TO THE CG REF: A. HONG KONG 947 ¶B. HONG KONG 851 Classified By: Consul General James B. Cunningham. Reasons: 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) Begin Summary: Newly arrived MFA Commissioner Lu Xinhua invited Consul General Cunningham to a private lunch on April 3 to cordially but clearly reiterate that consulates in Hong Kong should not interfere in Hong Kong's affairs. He raised also the activities in Hong Kong of U.S. NGO's with Hong Kong political parties, signaling that their work would be under scrutiny and perhaps that Lu will be taking a tougher line than his predecessor. Cunningham responded that the U.S. and China both have an interest in Hong Kong's success, that most of the time we would agree, but that sometimes we would not. He assured Lu that he would always be available to discuss with Lu if he had questions about U.S. activities or statements. Cunningham told Lu that U.S. NGO work on political development was technical, not partisan, and that the pro-Beijing DAB had availed itself of such training. Lu indicated cautious interest in the new Civic Party as a possible interlocutor. End Summary ¶2. (C) Commissioner Lu briefly reviewed the local political situation. He expected that the Constitutional Affairs Bureau would prepare some comments and proposals on political reform in the first half of next year. The central government remained firmly committed to realizing the ultimate aim of universal suffrage, as stipulated in the Basic Law, but it was necessary to move gradually due to the lack of consensus in Hong Kong society, and the danger of social instability if there was sudden change. Cunningham said we understood Beijing's concern for stability, and the need for Hong Kong itself to find more consensus on the way forward in expanding democracy. We would be following the discussion in Hong Kong and in the Strategic Development Commission. Get to know all the parties -------------- ¶3. (C) Commissioner Lu noted that the "Article 45 Concern Group" had recently formed a political party, the "Civic Party." The central government was aware that the Civic Party sought understanding and dialogue with the authorities in Beijing, but for now the central government wanted to examine the Civic Party's words and actions carefully in order to understand what role the party might play. Mentioning that he recently met with leaders of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Prosperity of Hong Kong (DAB),Commissioner Lu applauded the CG's plans to meet, in the near future, with the DAB leadership. Lu believed that the CG would benefit from learning the DAB's views. The CG responded that he looked forward to the scheduled meeting with the DAB, and noted that in fact he frequently saw both DAB Chairman Ma Lik and former Chair Tsang Yok-tsing, as he did leaders of other parties such as the Liberal Party and the Democratic Party. A Warning -------------- ¶4. (C) Commissioner Lu observed that there were many American Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Hong Kong, and said that under the Basic Law, Hong Kong political parties were not allowed to have formal relations with or accept money from foreign organizations or parties. (Note: According to Article 23 of the Basic Law, the "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall enact laws on its own...to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies." Although the HKG has not, as yet, enacted such legislation, the intent of the Basic Law drafters appears to be that foreign ties should be prohibited. This article of the Basic Law is evidently what Commissioner Lu had in mind. End note.) ¶5. (C) The CG responded that, in fact, there were not that many U.S. NGOs active in Hong Kong. Most of them focused their work on the mainland, even though they were based in Hong Kong. Generally their mainland activities were aimed at HONG KONG 00001394 002 OF 002 the promotion of civil society, and were done in cooperation with the Chinese government. One, (the National Democratic Institute),to his knowledge, did have programs in Hong Kong directed at political party development, for example training in fund-raising or how to make use of polling data. These programs were purely technical, and were available to all political parties in Hong Kong; in fact, the DAB had made good use of several of these seminars. There was no effort to promote a particular political point of view or agenda. Cunningham