U.S. ‘MUST INVITE HK TO APEC SUMMIT’
Chief executive, sanctioned by Washington in 2020, puts ball in organisers’ court when asked if he will go to November meeting in San Francisco
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who has been sanctioned by the US, yesterday said Washington had a responsibility to “act in accordance with conventions” and invite members to an Apec summit in San Francisco in November, while government sources expressed hopes the restriction could be lifted by then.
Lee put the ball in the organisers’ court when asked whether he would attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, noting that Hong Kong, as a member, had always been part of the annual trade conference.
“Apec is an international organisation. It doesn’t belong to any country or economy.
“According to Apec’s rules and conventions, the organiser has the responsibility to invite members to attend,” Lee said, before the weekly meeting of the Executive Council, the government’s key decision-making body. “It is up to the organiser to act in accordance with these conventions.”
Several sources said that while the government had no substantial plans for the Apec meeting yet, it was expected that US President Joe Biden could lift sanctions on Lee, given Washington “has treated Hong Kong officials way better than those from mainland China”.
This year’s Apec Economic Leaders’ Week will be held in the Californian city in November. Lee attended last year’s edition in Bangkok on his first overseas trip as chief executive.
It remains unclear if the US authorities will grant Lee a visa to attend the summit, where he would be sharing the stage with Biden and other leaders.
Lee was one of 11 officials sanctioned in 2020 by the US government for their roles in enforcing the Beijing-imposed national security law in the city. Washington had alleged that the legislation undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Asked at the Bangkok summit last November whether he would take part in the next Apec meeting, Lee said: “Of course we will attend and support Apec’s meetings and activities as a member … This is unquestionable.”
Lee reiterated in January that he wished to attend the summit in person as it would be good to tell Hong Kong’s “genuine and great stories” to the world.
The Post has contacted the Apec secretariat, the American representative for the regional economic forum, the US State Department and the country’s consulate in Hong Kong for comment.
Lee previously said it was government policy for Hong Kong to be fully connected and cooperating with all world markets to develop the city’s business and economy.
Tok Sow Keat, a lecturer at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute whose research interests include Chinese foreign relations, said the city’s representation at the Apec meeting was likely to take the same form as that of Russia at the Bangkok event.
He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin – also sanctioned by the US and subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over the Ukraine war – sent Andrey Belousov, the first deputy prime minister, to the Thai capital.
As Washington had already signalled Russia would be invited to the San Francisco event, Tok said he believed a similar arrangement could apply to Hong Kong.
“[Hong Kong] will be invited, but whether or not John Lee attends is a non-question – Washington could still invite [Hong Kong] to the event without John Lee’s attendance,” he said.
Tok said Lee’s attendance was a minor issue in the face of the larger political climate dominated by strategic tensions between the US and China.
“Besides, Lee’s attendance will likely have little impact on the [Hong Kong] government promoting the city and ‘telling good Hong Kong stories’ anyway,” he said. “There are high-level officials who could potentially represent him, and there are other forums that he could attend to do the same.”
Lee, meanwhile, warned ahead of the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on Sunday that police would take measures against lawbreakers, without specifying if individuals’ acts of remembrance were unlawful.
“Police will take action resolutely, particularly in regard to public order activities,” he said. “Everybody should act in accordance with the law and think of what they do, so as to be ready to face the consequences.”
Security minister Chris Tang Ping-keung on Monday had also warned that anyone taking advantage of the “special occasion” – a reference to the Tiananmen anniversary – to threaten national security would face “resolute” police action.
The last major vigil to mark the anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown in Beijing was held in 2019 and organised by the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China.
Police blocked applications for the event in 2020 and 2021 on the grounds of Covid-19 restrictions. No group tried to hold the vigil last year following the alliance’s disbandment and with social-distancing rules still in place.
The usual vigil venue at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay will be used for a bazaar organised by pro-Beijing groups from June 3 to 5.
Apec is an international organisation. It doesn’t belong to any country or economy
CHIEF EXECUTIVE JOHN LEE