China yesterday defended its request for foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit the names, residential addresses and job descriptions of their local staff.
China’s Office of Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (OCMFA) in Hong Kong sent letters dated Monday to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit details of their local staff, documents seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP) showed.
The documents include a letter in English and Chinese, as well as two forms for consulates to fill in with their local staff’s details.
Photo: AP
China has ratcheted up control of the territory in the past few years and imposed a sweeping National Security Law in 2020 in the aftermath of huge pro-democracy protests.
Two diplomatic sources on Tuesday confirmed that they had received the requests, saying it was the first time local staff members’ personal details had been requested.
The European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau said it was “looking carefully into the matter.”
The OCMFA yesterday said in a statement on its Web site that its request “was in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular [Relations] and international common practice.”
“It’s understood that China’s consular bodies in foreign countries have also provided their local staff’s information in accordance with the local governments’ requests,” the statement said.
According to the documents seen by AFP, the forms were prepared by the Hong Kong government’s Protocol Division, which handles consular affairs and official visits to the territory.
The Protocol Division has not responded to requests for comment.
The letter gave consulates until Oct. 18 to “return the completed forms to the Protocol Division.” It also asked all consulates in Hong Kong to “provide information on all staff locally engaged...[including] both permanent residents ... and non-permanent residents.”
In other news, Hong Kong on Tuesday faced further accusations that it had denied consular access to jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who holds a British passport.
In its latest six-monthly report on Hong Kong, the British government wrote that Hong Kong officials “do not recognise dual nationality, and therefore do not recognise [Lai’s] British nationality.”
Lai has been behind bars since 2020 as he awaits trial for foreign collusion charges.
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