Hong Kong has seen a 50 per cent surge in the number of envoys; they are seeking business opportunities and insight into China affairs
PUBLISHED : Monday, 10 August, 2015, 2:29am
UPDATED : Monday, 10 August, 2015, 2:29am
The "dynamic cosmopolitan Asian city" drew the Canadian Consul General, James Ian Burchett to his post in Hong Kong, citing the city's potential for networking is "second-to-none." Photo: May Tse
The city's diplomatic corps has flourished since the handover with global movers and shakers in the consular world flocking to Hong Kong, propping up its inimitable status as a territory within China but also distinctly separate from it.
Coupled with Beijing's recent large-scale crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists amid a backdrop of its increasingly tight grip on dissenting views, Hong Kong's community of career diplomats - one of the largest communities of foreign representatives in the world - is in an ever more unique position, experts say.
"If control over information in China continues to get tighter, Hong Kong's utility can only be enhanced," said David Zweig from the Centre on China's Transnational Relations at the University of Science and Technology.
Last month, Beijing targeted more than 200 human rights lawyers and activists in an unprecedented crackdown, prompting a group of Hong Kong lawyers to launch a global petition calling for detainees to be allowed a fair and open judicial process.
Zweig described Hong Kong as a city of "remarkable economic, political and social vitality", making it a drawcard for diplomats.
"It is a great place for consuls general who want to promote their countries' economic opportunities and a terrific outpost for understanding politics in China, as the city has many very well informed observers of China and freedom of information."
Just before Hong Kong's 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty, the city was home to about 500 foreign service officers working in fully-fledged consulates.
Today, that figure has swelled to 780, up more than 50 per cent. This figure does not include honorary consular officers.
Currently, the 17-member government department that liaises with the city's diplomatic community is the Protocol Division, which operates under the Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary's Office.
It was first established in 1963 with two officers and was then known as the Protocol Section.
A spokeswoman said the key roles of the division "remained largely the same before and after the PRC's resumption of sovereignty in 1997, except that our work was expanded to include the development and administration of the Hong Kong honours and awards system as well as giving advice on the use of the national and regional flags and emblems."
Currently, there are 122 consular posts, compared to 1997 when there were 95. A consular post means either a consulate-general headed up by a consul general or a consulate with an honorary consul.
Canadian Brendan Warren, 27, moved to Hong Kong a few years ago and interned at the Peruvian consulate in Central, giving him an insight into the city's consular corps.
"I often feel that consuls general in Hong Kong are the best-kept secret as an information source about political happenings in this city and East Asia more broadly," the business manager said.
"They have years of experience analysing foreign policy and politics writ large and are able to succinctly tell you in 10 words exactly which way the political winds are blowing, whereas any other source would take paragraphs. They are incredibly well read and have all the right informants.
"Many of the Western liberal democracies have diplomats on the political side monitoring human rights issues in China from Hong Kong. They meet local activists and keep an ear to the ground for what is happening in China. This is all conveyed back to the foreign ministries in the capital cities."
Last year's 79-day civil disobedience movement was a prime example of that process.
"The Occupy Central protests kept the diplomatic cables humming as foreign ministries used their local consulates as an information collection centre for what Beijing is doing vis-a-vis Hong Kong," Warren said. "In short, Hong Kong is a key hub to understand what is happening on the mainland."
Canada's top diplomat in Hong Kong, James Ian Burchett, said he sought a posting in the city because he wanted to live in a "dynamic cosmopolitan Asian city" that shared values with his home country such as good governance and the rule of law.
"Other things that make Hong Kong different from other postings, or working in Canada, are the dense population and the pace of life, which is stimulating. Additionally, the network that one can build in Hong Kong is truly second-to-none."
He also described Hong Kong as a key "docking station" for Canadian businesses in accessing the mainland and other Asian markets.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1848094/diplomatic-surge-how-hong-kongs-appeal-forging-business-and
