ALLEGATIONS OF U.S. "INTERFERENCE" IN HONG KONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 002806

SIPDIS

NOFORN
SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP, EAP/CM
NSC FOR DENNIS WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2032
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI CH HK
SUBJECT: ALLEGATIONS OF U.S. "INTERFERENCE" IN HONG KONG

REF: A. HONG KONG 02596


B. HONG KONG 02701

Classified By: E/P Section Chief Laurent Charbonnet; Reason 1.4 (d)`


1. (C) Summary: With the approach of Hong Kong local
elections on November 18 and December 2, public criticism of
pro-democracy legislator Martin Lee has abated, possibly due
to fear of a voter backlash against the harsh commentary.
Even before the Lee controversy, however, anti-foreign and
anti-U.S. rhetoric in the pro-Beijing press had escalated,
especially since PRC President Hu Jintao's October 15 opening
address to the Chinese Communist Party's annual congress in
which he noted PRC determination to "oppose the interference
in Hong Kong and Macau by foreign forces." After the Hu
speech, the local pro-Beijing press quickly began to publish
more interviews and columns sharply critical of alleged U.S.
and other foreign "interference" in Hong Kong. Septel will
discuss anti-Americanism and allegations of U.S. interference
in Macau. End Summary.


2. (C) Comment: With an imminent series of elections - the
November 18 district council, December 2 Legco by-election,
and the September 2008 Legco general election - allegations
of foreign interference in local affairs may be designed to
mobilize support for pro-government and pro-Beijing
candidates. It also may be influenced by several recent and
upcoming events, including the visit of the Dalai Lama to
Washington, the approaching presidential election in Taiwan,
and attempts by Taiwan-based Falun Gong members to enter Hong
Kong. In the medium term, when the debate over reform of
Hong Kong's electoral systems and procedures resumes next
year, warnings to heighten vigilance against foreign
influence might be intended to fend off demands by Hong
Kong's pan-democrats for faster and deeper political reform.
In the longer term, the Hong Kong Government (HKG) and its
pro-Beijing allies may intend to use perceived foreign
interference as justification for enactment of Article 23
national security legislation, a
Basic Law mandate that was shelved indefinitely following
massive July 2003 protests against it. Coincidentally, as
Secretary for Security in 2003, Regina Ip -- now the

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pro-government candidate in next month's Legco by-election --
was the senior HKG official responsible for Article 23
legislation; the vehement public rejection of that plan led
to her resignation.


3. (C) Comment, continued: Allegations of U.S. and other
foreign interference in the Hong Kong press are not a new
phenomenon in Hong Kong. For example, on March 4, 2004,
Martin Lee and two other Hong Kong legislators testified
before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on
developments in Hong Kong. Shortly thereafter, then-Chief
Executive Tung Chee-hwa - now a Vice Chairman of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) - reacted
with the following public comment: "Hong Kong's political
development is a family affair, it's a country's affair.
It's our own affair. Foreigners should not intervene. We
cannot tolerate foreign intervention. More so, we should not
go overseas and invite foreigners to interfere in our
internal affairs." We have no doubt that Tung's sentiments
continue to be shared by other members of Hong Kong's
pro-Beijing camp. End Comment.

Press Attacks on Martin Lee Dying Down
--------------


4. (SBU) After a two-week flurry of harsh rhetoric (refs),
public criticism of Martin Lee's travel to the U.S., Canada,
London, and Brussels, as well as his October 17 "Wall Street
Journal" (WSJ) column and the WSJ's subsequent defense of Lee
and critique of his critics, seems to have slowed
considerably in Hong Kong. The latest, mild salvo came from
National People's Congress (NPC) local deputy, Basic Law
Committee member, and former Democratic Alliance for the
Betterment and Protection of Hong Kong (DAB) Vice Chair Maria
Tam Wai-chu (a close friend of C.H. Tung),who used a media
program to advise public officials whose portfolios did not
include mainland affairs to avoid comment on mainland issues,
under the "one country, two systems" principle. Tam noted,
however, that Lee's recent comments were rather "restrained."
Otherwise, the Hong Kong media largely have resumed heavy
coverage of the upcoming District Council (November 18) and
Legco (December 2) elections, and other local developments.


5. (SBU) Taking up the campaign against Lee, however, has
been Hong Kong's largest political party, the pro-Beijing
DAB. On November 1, the party distributed leaflets attacking

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Lee and his WSJ commentary, an action which in turn prompted
Lee's Democratic Party (DP) to produce its own leaflets
defending him and his right to speak. The DP also filed
complaints with Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against
Corruption (ICAC) and the Registration and Electoral Office,
claiming the DAB leaflets distorted the facts and might also
contravene election laws. Since those incidents, however,
the issue seems to have calmed. Political observers also
speculate that the DAB and its allies have toned down their
commentary, at least in public, lest they provoke a backlash
by voters that would damage their own candidates' chances in
those elections.

Hu Jintao Address to Party Congress
--------------


6. (SBU) Even before the Lee controversy, we noticed an
increase in anti-foreign and anti-U.S. rhetoric in the
pro-Beijing Hong Kong press, especially since PRC President
Hu Jintao's October 15 opening address to the Chinese
Communist Party's annual congress. In that speech, Hu said
the PRC was determined to "oppose the interference in Hong
Kong and Macau by foreign forces." By comparison, in his
2002 address then-President Jiang Zemin merely pledged his
full support for the two SAR governments and called for unity
to promote prosperity and stability in the two regions. In
the days after Hu's October 15 speech, the Hong Kong media
quoted explanatory comments by other senior PRC officials:
Public Security Minister Zhou Yongkang, for example,
reportedly said that such foreign meddling had always existed
and was likely to continue. Director Gao Siren of the
Central Government Liaison Office (CGLO) in Hong Kong said
Hu's "external force" remarks applied to all countries and
constituted a warning to those forces.

Pro-Beijing Hong Kong Press
--------------


7. (SBU) After the Hu speech, more interviews and columns
sharply critical of alleged U.S. and other foreign, or
external, "interference" in Hong Kong began to appear in the
pro-Beijing papers. On October 19, the "Wen Wei Po" (WWP)
published a column headlined "Should Take Foreign Forces
Interference in Hong Kong Seriously." The writer advised
Hong Kong political circles to recognize the negative impact
of foreign interference on the "one country two systems"
principle and on the development of China. Similarly, on the
same day the "Hong Kong Economic Journal" (HKEJ) ran an
article headlined "Pan-democratic Group Launches an Attack
against SAR Government over Political Reform." Both the WWP
and the HKEJ pieces also quoted stories previously published
in the "Mirror" magazine (see para 11).


8. (SBU) On October 22, the pro-Beijing "Ta Kung Pao" (TKP)
newspaper, which had published stories sharply critical of
Lee and his activities, expanded its allegations to include
several U.S.-funded NGOs. The newspaper printed an interview
with CPPCC deputy and Hong Kong Basic Law Committee member
Lau Nai-keung in which Lau discussed old claims that the
National Democratic Institute (NDI),the National Endowment
for Democracy (NED),and Civic Exchange (a Hong Kong NGO),as
well as other local organizations, were attempting to promote
"U.S.-style democracy" in Hong Kong. Lau claimed "external
interference" in Hong Kong, including from Taiwan and other
overseas Chinese areas, was "long-lasting," "wide-ranging,"
and becoming more rampant. Lau, who is believed to be
seeking election to either the CPPCC Standing Committee or
the NPC early next year, also called for the enactment of
Article 23 legislation in Hong Kong.


9. (SBU) On October 24, the WWP carried another story
entitled "Beware of Foreign Forces Interfering in Hong Kong's
Affairs." The author described two groups of such forces:
those outside China, including the U.S., the U.K., and the
Vatican; and those within China but not in Hong Kong,
including the "Taiwan independence forces." The external
forces not only directly interfered in Hong Kong and Macau
affairs, but also collaborated with "anti-China,
disrupting-Hong Kong" forces within Hong Kong. The article
listed the FBI, the Heritage Foundation, NED, and the Project
for a New American Century as sending people to carry out
activities in Hong Kong, actions which it said were
inappropriate and illegal without the approval of the local
government. The paper claimed that the U.S. Consulate
General staff went directly to the Legislative Council to
look for opposition party members to discuss plans secretly.


10. (SBU) On October 25, "Next" magazine printed an interview

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with Law Hoi-sing, son of former TKP deputy chief editor Law
Fu. According to the article, both Laws had been imprisoned
in the PRC for association with foreign forces, especially
the U.S. Consulate. The elder Law reportedly had been held
under house arrest in Beijing for ten years in the 1980s and
1990s, while his son was imprisoned for five years in the
early 1990s for his attempts to assist Chinese students and
academics involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square
demonstrations. While the story of the Law family was not
new in Hong Kong, the interview reminded readers that Chinese
people who "have association with foreign forces" could be
treated as law-breakers on the mainland.

"Mirror" Magazine
--------------


11. (C) Well before Hu Jintao even became president of the
PRC, Hong Kong's "Mirror" magazine, formerly published by
CPPCC Standing Committee member Xu Simin (who died September
9 at age 93),had been harshly critical of alleged U.S.
interference in Hong Kong. Any thought that the magazine's
editorial bias might change with Xu's passing, however, was
quickly vanquished by its October 1 article entitled "U.S.
Consuls in Hong Kong Rally for Anson Chan Fang On-Sang's
By-Election Bid." One of a series of three articles
attacking Chan, that piece criticized U.S. officials in Hong
Kong for directing the "political opera" by coordinating the
efforts of other foreign (EU, Canada, Australia, Japan)
consulates, telling U.S. consultant firms to conduct opinion
polls, and advising local democrats to support Chan's
candidacy. The magazine claimed that Chan's political
objective, similar to that of Martin Lee, "Apple Daily"
publisher Jimmy Lai, and Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen, was to
promote the U.S. strategy of developing a democratic system
in Hong Kong, which could impact the mainland.
Cunningham