QUASI-OFFICIAL PRC MAGAZINE ALLEGES U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L HONG KONG 002786 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP AND EAP/CM NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/07/2031 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL HK CH SUBJECT: QUASI-OFFICIAL PRC MAGAZINE ALLEGES U.S. "INTERFERENCE" IN HONG KONG AFFAIRS REF: A. CCP20060607515035 ¶B. CCP20060609702005 ¶C. CCP20060615715037 ¶D. CCP20060615715001 ¶E. CCP20060616715021 ¶F. CCP20060614715024 ¶G. CCP20060608515023 Classified By: E/P Chief Simon Schuchat. Reasons: 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) Since the 1997 handover, the PRC Government has conveyed its displeasure with U.S. policy towards Hong Kong through two primary channels -- formal demarches in Hong Kong and/or in Beijing, and/or the pro-Beijing local media -- often alleging U.S. "interference" in China's "internal affairs." Since the massive July 1, 2003 pro-democracy march, there has been a steady escalation of attacks in the press on U.S. Government motives in Hong Kong. The latest round of allegations appeared in the June 2006 issue of "Bauhinia," a PRC-owned magazine which is presumably read by Hong Kong and PRC opinion leaders interested in the territory's affairs (Ref A-F). In contrast to previous iterations in the media, the six articles and fourteen pages of text in the "Bauhinia" present a meticulously researched and relatively sophisticated analysis of U.S. policy towards Hong Kong. The articles help establish a baseline of PRC Government understanding of U.S. stakes in Hong Kong, and draw conclusions about U.S. strategies and motives. It is clear, as well, that mainland officials continue to closely monitor U.S. Consulate statements, Congressional reports on Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Policy Act. ¶2. (C) While each of the six articles focuses on different aspects of U.S. policy towards Hong Kong, one common theme is the allegation that the U.S. is "interfering" in Hong Kong politics. Specifically, the articles accuse the U.S. of fanning the peoples' dissatisfaction with Article 23 national security legislation and the slow pace of democratization. The magazine also presents an assortment of theories to explain U.S. motives for "interfering," including suggestions that the U.S. wants to dominate politics in Hong Kong because it is becoming "the only corner in China that can challenge the Communist Party government" or that Hong Kong is a "critical link" in the U.S. administration's goal to implement "global democracy." ¶3. (C) According to our contacts, the two primary objectives of these critiques, published in this quasi-official, low circulation magazine, are to: 1) publicly circulate a comprehensive list of examples of recent U.S. "interference" in Hong Kong affairs (most of which are falsely presented as fact and not as allegations); and 2) encourage the pro-Beijing community in Hong Kong to disseminate or repeat, when appropriate, these charges of U.S. "interference." With the political atmosphere in Hong Kong heating up in anticipation of the December Chief Executive (CE) Election Committee elections and next year's CE election, stock phrases and theories presented in the "Bauhinia" articles may be repeated in the media by pro-PRC individuals to tarnish pro-democracy advocates as "under foreign influences." ¶4. (C) After the publication of "Bauhinia" last month, the allegations of U.S. "interference" were initially picked up by the press in a low-key manner. The pro-PRC "Wen Wei Po" was the only newspaper to publish an excerpt of one of the "Bauhinia" pieces on June 2 (Ref G). However, in the aftermath of former Chief Secretary Anson Chan's June 24 announcement that she would participate in the July 1 march, accusations of "foreign interference" have already been lobbed at Chan; on June 29, the "Hong Kong Economic Times" published speculation that "foreign forces" had backed Chan's decision to join the democracy march. Also on June 29, two pro-PRC newspapers alleged shadowy motives to the U.S. The "Wen Wei Po" reported that in response to Chan's call for people to participate in the July 1 march, tycoon Stanley Ho said, "What the U.S. wants to see most is the failure of 'One Country, Two Systems.'" And in what many Hong Kong readers would take as a veiled attack on the U.S. Consulate, the "Ta Kung Pao" wrote, "One unnamed foreign consulate doubled the number of its staff after the 1997 handover, and it would not have done this without reason." Cunningham