UK consulate staff member detained after visiting Shenzhen
August 21, 2019
China confirmed that it detained a Hong Kong British Consulate employee who went missing on a business trip to mainland China. Britain's Foreign Office said it is "extremely concerned" about the case.
Image: Reuters/Facebook/Free Simon Cheg
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A missing employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong was detained during a trip to the mainland, China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.
The consulate staffer, identified as Simon Cheng, was given 15 days of administrative detention for breaking a public security law, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, without offering further details.
He added that since Cheng is a Hong Kong resident, the matter is entirely an internal Chinese affair. It was unclear whether the missing staff member possessed a diplomatic passport.
"As for Britain's comments, we've made stern representations to Britain for the series of comments and actions they've made on Hong Kong," Geng said.
"We request they stop making these irresponsible statements, stop meddling in Hong Kong's affairs and stop interfering in China's internal affairs," he added.
UK 'extremely concerned'
Hong Kong media said the consulate employee had attended a business event in Shenzhen, in China's southeastern Guangdong province, on August 8, but never returned — despite plans to travel back to Hong Kong on the same day via the high-speed Express Rail Link launched last year.
In a statement, the British Foreign Office said it was "extremely concerned" about reports that its employee had been "detained while returning to Hong Kong from Shenzhen."
Shenzhen, a boom city of 12 million, abuts Hong Kong, a semiautonomous financial hub handed back to China conditionally by the UK in 1997 and gripped in recent months by an unprecedented political crisis.
On Sunday, a rally in Hong Kong drew 1.7 million people demanding democratic reform as its organizers sought to reclaim the moral high ground after previous outbreaks of violence.
Absent Sunday were arrests and police baton and tear gas charges — prompting embattled city leader Carrie Lam to describe the rally as "largely peaceful."
A Hong Kong protest agenda for the rest of this week, issued via social media, listed actions ranging from blocking metro stations on Wednesday, to forming a human chain and blockading transport routes leading to the airport.
Campaign to 'discredit'
On Monday, the American tech giants Twitter and Facebook accused the Chinese government of backing a social media campaign intent on discrediting Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and sowing discord.
Both firms said they had closed accounts originating from China after what Twitter called "intensive investigations."
Twitter and Facebook are banned in China, part of its government's so-called "Great Firewall" of censorship.
Hong Kong protests rattle global firms
Global companies, including Walt Disney and Marriot, are feeling the heat of the protests. Hong Kong officials are warning of more pains ahead as the financial hub reels from its worst political crisis in decades.
Image: imago/Photoshot/Construction Photography
Disneyland footfall drops
The unrest in Hong Kong is prompting people to stay away from Walt Disney's Disneyland theme park in the city. The US company's chief executive, Bob Iger, told analysts that visits to the park were significantly suffering because of the protests. "We will feel it in the quarter that we’re currently in, and we’ll see how long the protests go on," he said on an earnings call.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Jialiang
Turbulence at Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong's flagship carrier said ticket sales fell in July as fewer people travelled into the city. The protests are also hurting future bookings at the airline. Cathay Pacific found itself into further trouble after Beijing asked the airline to bar crew members who had taken part in the demonstrations from flying into mainland China.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. De La Rey
Hotel business hit
Intercontinental Hotels, which owns Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn chains, said earlier this month the unrest in Hong Kong was hurting demand. Declining tourist and corporate arrivals are also putting a strain on the businesses of Marriot and Wynn hotels, who expect the protests to hit their second-half results.
Image: picture-alliance/J. Hoelzl
Luxury shoppers stay away
The unrest has taken a toll on popular luxury brands such as Cartier and Prada, which have built a strong presence in the city to cater to the rising affluent consumers from mainland China. Cartier-owner Richemont said its sales were hit because of store closures and a fall in tourist arrivals, especially from China. Italian fashion brand Prada's business was also affected by the protests.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Z. Junxiang
Retail sales fall
Retail sales, a key part of the city's economy, fell nearly 7% in June, hurt by the mass protests. Shopkeepers see a steeper fall in July and August. They say tourist arrivals halved last month.
Image: Getty Images/A. Kwan
'Difficult economic environment'
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan warned on Sunday that the city was entering "a very difficult economic environment" amid weakening trade and slowing growth. He said the protests had hurt Hong Kong's reputation of being a safe city for tourists and businesses. The city's leader, Carrie Lam, has already warned of the economic fallout from the unrest.
