Beijing Demands More Info of Locals Working in Consulates

Beijing asks for more information from consulates in Hong Kong

Beijing is stepping up its reach in Hong Kong, this time asking for detailed information of all local staff who work in consulates in the city.

They must provide names, job titles, residential addresses, ID or passport numbers, as well as a copy of all identification documents. The consulates, including the office of the European Union have until October 18 to provide all this information, and if a new employee is hired, they have 15 days to prepare the paperwork for Beijing.

The US consulate in Central

According to the Basic Law, Beijing is responsible for Hong Kong's foreign affairs, which explains the ability to request this information.

Twice last year, the Commissioner's Office had another curious request -- asking consulates about the properties they used in the city -- including the floor plans, according to the Financial Times.

In addition in July, Beijing warned that consular staff could not visit detainees who had dual citizenship, while in 2018, China asked consulates general in Hong Kong and Macau that were based in Hong Kong not to use "Macau" in their names and vice-versa. And if they were setting up election ballot boxes for their expatriate citizens, the consulates had to make a "formal note of application" beforehand.

Ironically, last July Liu Guangyuan, Beijing's deputy director of the liaison office in Hong Kong, urged consulates to "present the vibrant and promising Hong Kong to the world in a more objective way."

Liu asked consulates to present a vibrant HK

Hard to do when you're asked to jump through numerous bureaucratic hoops that seem more for surveillance than for building good will...