CONSUL GENERAL'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER HONG KONG

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 001303

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EINV CH HK
SUBJECT: CONSUL GENERAL'S FAREWELL CALL ON FORMER HONG KONG
CHIEF SECRETARY ANSON CHAN

Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: During the Consul General's farewell call on
former Hong Kong Chief Secretary Anson Chan on July 15, Chan
said ethnic and religious conflicts in China are "likely to
worsen," and Beijing must rethink its positions on China's
religious and ethnic minorities. She said PRC officials
increasingly focus on Taiwan-related issues (at the expense
of attention paid to Hong Kong),while the Hong Kong
government (HKG) has become less assertive about its autonomy
under the one country, two systems framework. Chan said Hong
Kong's business community opposes constitutional reforms that
could reduce the functional constituencies' representation in
the Legislative Council. Business leaders are "out of touch"
with local residents' perception that HKG officials routinely
collude with big business at voters' expense, according to
Chan. She will visit the United States in late September,
with public speaking engagements in Washington, New York and
San Francisco. End summary.

Background
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2. (U) As part of a series of farewell meetings with senior
HKG officials, the Consul General met on July 15 with former
Hong Kong Chief Secretary Anson Chan. From 1993-2001, Chan
was the first woman and the first ethnic Chinese individual
to hold the second highest governmental position in Hong
Kong. Following a single term as an elected member of LegCo,
Chan formed the Citizens' Commission on Constitutional
Development (CCCD) in 2008, a group examining constitutional
reform in Hong Kong. She is chairman of the CCCD's steering
committee.

Minority Groups in China
--------------


3. (C) While discussing the recent violence in Urumqi, Chan
said the PRC must rethink its priorities and positions with
regard to the country's minority ethnic groups. Chan stated
that most government officials in Urumqi are Han Chinese that
"don't have much sympathy" for religious or ethnic minority
groups. She cautioned that ethnic tensions in China are
driven by minority groups' increasing sense of religious and
cultural oppression. "Such conflicts in China are likely to
worsen and precipitate more crackdowns," she said.

Chan's Opinions on Hong Kong/China Issues
--------------


4. (C) The CG asked Chan's opinion about the status of Hong
Kong's relationship with Beijing under the one country, two
systems approach. Chan said "certain central government
factions" increasingly ignore Hong Kong's views, partly due
to China's renewed focus on boosting political and economic
ties with Taiwan. Exacerbating the situation, Hong Kong's
leaders emphasize the Special Administrative Region's unique
autonomy status less and less and "let Beijing walk all over
them," she said.


5. (C) Chan recently reached out to Hong Kong business
leaders to ascertain their views regarding constitutional
reforms involving the functional constituencies in Hong
Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo). Describing those
discussions as "depressing," Chan said the business community
is "out of touch" with a growing sense of injustice among
Kong residents, related to perceived government "collusion
with big business." She noted that local business leaders
cite three primary reasons for opposing reforms involving
their functional constituency seats in LegCo: 1) possible
decline in political influence; 2) necessity to
counterbalance populist LegCo members; and 3) uncertainty
regarding Beijing's stance on the issue. The CG noted, and
Chan agreed, that Beijing may be content to wait out the
constitutional reform process, if Hong Kong appears to lack
consensus on the way forward.


6. (C) Chan welcomed a July 14 Court of First Instance
decision granting a plaintiff's request for a judicial review
of a LegCo select committee's powers to summon the plaintiff
and demand documents from him. Chan said such select
committees have sometimes behaved as "cowboy outfits." She
recalled her negative experience in 1998, when she was called
before a LegCo committee regarding operating difficulties at
Hong Kong's newly opened international airport. Chan said,
"I'd rather be called into a courtroom, where behavior is
more regulated."

September Visit to United States

HONG KONG 00001303 002 OF 002


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7. (SBU) Chan described her planned late September visit to
Washington, New York and San Francisco. She said her
contacts at the Heritage Foundation will arrange speaking
engagements for her, to include the U.S. Council on Foreign
Relations in Washington and the Commonwealth Club in San
Francisco. The CG said he looked forward to meeting Chan in
Washington, schedules permitting. (Note: End note.).


8. (C) In concluding remarks, the CG said the USG views the
PRC's treatment of Hong Kong as one indicator of China's
internal political direction and development. Chan agreed
and encouraged the USG to occasionally remind Beijing that we
care about Beijing's handling of Hong Kong-related issues.
Regardless of what the PRC leadership says publicly, Beijing
cares about what other countries - and especially the United
States - say about them, she said.
DONOVAN