China is demanding plans and floor plans of all foreign missions rented in Hong Kong, the Financial Times (“FT”) reported. Diplomats see in it the newspaper’s paranoia towards Beijing. According to the FT, the government believes other countries are interfering in the political situation in Hong Kong.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had apparently already asked diplomats for a number of details about the official premises of the foreign missions and the apartments of the employees in the past few months, insiders continued to the newspaper.
Installation of listening devices feared
With the order, the handling of the foreign representations in Hong Kong has now also been adapted to China. There are fears in the Hong Kong diplomatic community that information about the floor plans could be used by China to install wiretapping devices, according to insiders to the FT.
Crackdown on pro-democracy movement
China has long claimed that foreign powers, most notably the US, are involved in the pro-democracy protests that Hong Kong witnessed some time ago. Since Beijing enacted a “security law” in 2020, however, the special administrative region has been aggressively cracked down on pro-democracy activists and other voices critical of Beijing. The authorities are also using a British colonial law against “riots”.
Many activists are now in prison, awaiting trial or have fled abroad. In addition, several media outlets critical of Beijing were forced to shut down after the authorities cracked down on them with raids, arrests and indictments, including the popular tabloid Apple Daily last year.