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

Beijing’s top diplomat in Hong Kong issued a warning to Washington’s new Consul General in the city, telling her not to interfere with the Chinese-run territory’s internal affairs, but the US has since refrained from doing so.

Julie Eadeh was informed about her conduct during a meeting on Tuesday by Cui Jianchun, the head of the Hong Kong office of the Chinese government’s foreign affairs ministry, according to a statement the Chinese official’s office issued on Thursday.

Cui “urged Eadeh to adhere to fundamental standards governing international relations, including non-interference in domestic affairs, and to make a clean break with anti-China forces,” according to the statement.

According to reports, Cui reportedly gave the US diplomat “four don’ts” during the meeting. He told her not to “interfere with” the people she “shouldn’t meet with,” not to “collude with anti-China forces,” not to support or fund activities that might undermine the stability of the city, and not to interfere with Hong Kong’s national security investigations.

Eadeh, who became the US representative in the city in August, had invited pro-democracy figures to events while serving as the US consulate in Hong Kong at the time of the first Trump administration.

The US Department of State refuted Cui’s warning in a statement on Thursday, saying that diplomats represent our country and are tasked with advance US interests internationally, which is accepted practice for diplomats from all over the world, including in Hong Kong.

The ongoing tensions between Beijing and Washington over the democratic backsliding in Hong Kong, as well as the wider issues of trade, technology, and Taiwan, are highlighted by this week’s meeting between Cui and Eadeh.

As part of the “one country, two systems” agreement, which led to the former British territory’s return to Beijing in 1997, Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China.

However, according to critics, city government has become more authoritarian in the nearly three decades since.

In response to widespread anti-government demonstrations against Beijing’s rule, which first started in 2019, China passed a National Security Law in June 2020 that criminalized sectarian activity, subversion, terrorism, and international collusion. In 2024, Hong Kong’s Legislative Council unanimously approved tough new legislation, giving the government more authority to overthrow the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Despite this security legislation, local news outlets, most notably the Apple Daily, have been shut down while activists have been imprisoned as a result.

Prior to his meeting with Eadeh, Cui’s office reposted articles from various pro-Beijing outlets, including one that described the US diplomat as a proponent of the “color revolution,” a term used to describe a nationwide demonstration for regime change.

The article made reference to Eadeh’s meeting with pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law during the protests, accusing the diplomat of having close ties to “black violence,” a term used by pro-Beijing officials to describe the protests.

Eadeh was criticized for inviting renowned pro-democracy legislators Anson Chan and Emily Lau to her events in a separate article that was reposted by China’s office in Hong Kong.