MARTIN LEE WORRIES ABOUT THE BASIC LAW, WELCOMES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 001341

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2034
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM HK CH MC
SUBJECT: MARTIN LEE WORRIES ABOUT THE BASIC LAW, WELCOMES
POLICY ACT RESURRECTION

REF: HONG KONG 1314

HONG KONG 00001341 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan, Reason 1.4 b/d


1. (C) Summary: During the Consul General's farewell call on
July 17, former-Democratic party chief Martin Lee linked his
work on behalf of Stanley Ho's sister to the recently
revealed 2008 attempt on his life and dismissed speculation
that the Chinese government might have had a role in the
plot. He worried that a recent Hong Kong court decision to
hear arguments about LegCo's subpoena power could elicit an
unwelcome ruling from the National People's Congress Standing
Committee (NPCSC) about LegCo's powers under the Basic Law.
Finally, he welcomed the news that the Hong Kong Policy Act
Report will be renewed in 2010, noting that this annual
review of Hong Kong,s democratic development is even more
important since China was granted Permanent Normal Trading
Relations (PNTR) as a prelude to its WTO-accession in 2001.
End Summary.

Lee Welcomes Hong Kong Policy Act Redux
=======================================


2. (C) The Consul General paid his farewell call on lawyer,
Democratic Party of Hong Kong founder, and former LegCo
member Martin Lee on July 17. Lee thanked the Consul General
for his service in Hong Kong and asked him to encourage
additional visits by senior U.S. officials from his new
posting in Washington. He also asked that U.S. visitors to
Beijing remind the Chinese government of our continued
interest in Hong Kong,s democratic development. "A little
word from such visitors is all it takes," said Lee.
Regardles of their public statements, the Chinese
authorties care about U.S. views on Hong Kong. Lee was
particularly pleased that Congress had included languge
resurrecting the Hong Kong Policy Act Repot, which had
lapsed in 2007. At a time when theU.S. government no longer
has the annual opportunity to review Chinese conduct in Hong
Kong as it did during PNTR debates of the past, the views
expressed in the Hong Kong Policy Act Report take on
additional importance, said Lee.

Assassination Plot Linked to Stanley Ho, Not PRC
============================================= ===


3. (C) Lee then turned to developments in the case against
the men recently convicted of conspiring to assassinate him.
He had recently heard from sources in the press that the man
who had ordered the attack had been arrested in China and
would be prosecuted in Shenzhen court in a few months. Lee
lamented that so far he has had no word from the Hong Kong
Police about the case. As the target of the planned attack,
he said, he hoped for more information from the police.


4. (C) He dismissed any idea that the Chinese government was
connected to the plot, noting that at the time of the
arrests, LegCo elections were imminent. An attempt on his
life would almost certainly benefit pan-democratic
candidates, an outcome that Beijing would not want, said Lee.
Instead, he speculated that the plot was connected to his
work for Winnie Ho, sister of Macau gaming tycoon Stanley Ho,
who had filed numerous lawsuits to prevent her brother from
launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) of his Macau
gaming conglomerate Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM).
Winnie Ho's lead attorney in these cases was legislator and
democracy advocate Albert Ho (no relation),who was famously
assaulted in 2006; the men convicted were all widely-rumored
to be linked to Stanley Ho. Winnie Ho's previous attorneys
and accountants had also been threatened, said Lee. Although
Winnie Ho eventually lost the case, the SJM IPO was delayed
by many months and the size was scaled down, costing Stanley
Ho as much as US$500 million. The plot was almost certainly
connected to this case, said Lee.

LegCo Powers At Risk?
=====================


5. (C) The recent Hong Kong court decision to hear arguments
about the LegCo's ability to call witnesses to testify before
special committees should be an easy win for the government,
Lee said, but has opened the door to the possibility of an
NPCSC ruling on the LegCo's powers. The law is clear on this
issue, he said, and the plaintiff (New World Development
Company CEO Henry Cheng) will lose, but it could take several
months for the case to wind its way through the appeals
process. The NPCSC could intervene after the Court of Final
Appeal makes its ruling. While this seems unlikely, Henry
Cheng has powerful friends in China, said Lee, and may be
able to sway the NPCSC to get involved. In the meantime, the

HONG KONG 00001341 002.2 OF 002


LegCo will be unable to call witnesses before standing
committees, meaning delays for any matter before a LegCo
standing committee. In the end, Lee considered an NPCSC
ruling on the issue unlikely, at least as long as the
pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and
Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) party elder and President of
LegCo Jasper Tsang is in power. Beijing will not want to
curtail LegCo powers during Tsang's watch, said Lee.
DONOVAN