Beijing’s top diplomat in HK sets out red lines for new US Consul General

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China told the US envoy to abide by ‘fundamental norms governing planetary relations’, including noninterference.

Published On 3 Oct 2025

The United States has dismissed a informing issued by Beijing’s apical diplomat successful Hong Kong to Washington’s caller Consul General successful the city, telling her not to interfere successful the Chinese-run territory’s interior affairs.

Cui Jianchun, commissioner of the Hong Kong bureau of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warned Julie Eadeh astir her behaviour during a gathering connected Tuesday, according to a Thursday connection issued by the Chinese official’s office.

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The connection said Cui “urged Eadeh to abide by cardinal norms governing planetary relations, including noninterference successful home affairs and marque a cleanable interruption with anti-China forces”.

In the meeting, Cui reportedly laid retired “four don’ts” for the US diplomat. He instructed her not to conscionable radical she “shouldn’t conscionable with”; not to collude with “anti-China forces”; not to assistance oregon money activities that mightiness undermine the city’s stability; and not to interfere with Hong Kong’s nationalist information cases.

The informing came aft Eadeh, who took up the relation arsenic the US typical successful the metropolis successful August, invited pro-democracy figures to events erstwhile she was governmental main of the US consulate successful Hong Kong successful 2019 nether the archetypal Trump administration.

In a connection connected Thursday, the US Department of State dismissed Cui’s warning, saying: “US diplomats correspond our federation and are charged with advancing US interests globally, which is modular signifier for diplomats astir the world, including successful Hong Kong.”

This week’s gathering betwixt Cui and Eadeh underscores ongoing tensions betwixt Beijing and Washington implicit antiauthoritarian backsliding successful Hong Kong, arsenic good arsenic the wider issues of trade, exertion and Taiwan.

Hong Kong is simply a peculiar administrative portion of China, which is granted a grade of autonomy arsenic portion of the “one country, 2 systems” statement that saw the erstwhile British territory returned to Beijing successful 1997.

Governance successful the city, however, has grown progressively authoritarian successful the astir 3 decades since, accidental critics.

Massive antigovernment protests against Beijing’s rule, which began successful 2019, resulted successful China imposing a National Security Law successful June 2020, criminalising secession, subversion, coercion and overseas collusion. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council past unanimously passed pugnacious caller authorities successful 2024, expanding the government’s powerfulness to crush the city’s pro-democracy movement.

This information authorities has been utilized to jailhouse activists, portion section quality outlets, astir notably the Apple Daily, person been shuttered.

Prior to his gathering with Eadeh, Cui’s bureau reposted articles from respective pro-Beijing outlets captious of the US diplomat, including 1 connected Saturday describing her arsenic a promoter of “colour revolution” – a word referring to a wide protestation question seeking authorities change.

The nonfiction referenced Eadeh’s gathering with pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law during the 2019 protests, accusing the diplomat of having adjacent links to “black violence” – a word utilized by pro-Beijing officials to notation to the protests.

Another nonfiction reposted by China’s bureau successful Hong Kong criticised Eadeh for inviting salient pro-democracy legislators Anson Chan and Emily Lau to her events.

Eadeh is yet to publically remark connected her gathering with Cui.

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