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PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #0984/01 1520331
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 010331Z JUN 09
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7727
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HONG KONG 000984 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM; ALSO FOR DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/29/2019 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EFIN ETRD SENV ENRG
OREP (PELOSI, NANCY), HK 
SUBJECT: CODEL PELOSI MEETING WITH HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE 
COUNCIL MEMBERS 
 
REF: HONG KONG 139 
 
Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: A far-ranging meeting May 29 between CODEL 
Pelosi and seventeen of Hong Kong's most active (and vocal) 
legislators covered a range of issues, with pan-democratic 
legislators calling for U.S. support on human rights in China 
and Hong Kong's democratic development.  Pro-establishment 
parties focused on the CODEL's interest in environmental 
cooperation and Hong Kong's efforts at home and on the 
Mainland.  In addition, legislators urged the United States 
to do more to screen departing passengers so as to prevent 
the spread of H1N1.  Speaker Pelosi and the delegation 
stressed their continued interest in Hong Kong's democratic 
development, noting the importance of consultations to be 
held by year's end on the next stage of democratic reforms 
(reftel).  She also assured legislators human rights would 
remain a key element of U.S.-China dialogue.  On the 
environment, she noted the critical importance of addressing 
climate issues now, as well as the issue's multidimensional 
impact on energy security, the economy, health, and our moral 
commitment to the well-being of our planet.  End summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
President Tsang introduces LegCo 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On May 29, Legislative Council (LegCo) President 
Jasper Tsang welcomed CODEL Pelosi to a series of meetings at 
LegCo.  He first briefed the delegation on both the current 
makeup of LegCo (30 directly-elected geographic seats, 30 
functional seats).  Noting that the eventual goal was to 
elect all seats in accordance with universal suffrage, he 
also noted support in some sectors for maintaining some 
element of the sectoral representation currently filled by 
the functional constituencies (FCs).  While the FCs as 
currently constituted are not seen as compliant with the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 
Article 25, there is considerable thought being given to 
models which might make FCs compatible with universal 
suffrage.  Tsang admitted no conclusions had been reached. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Tsang noted that political parties in Hong Kong were 
still young and relatively weak.  Even the largest -- his own 
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) -- 
held only ten seats and had only 10,000 members.  Moreover, 
while some like the DAB were reckoned as pro-government, 
members did not hesitate to oppose the government if its 
policies conflicted with the views of their constituents. 
Thus, the government was forced to build coalitions with a 
range of small parties to pass any legislation.  Tsang 
contended that development of parties would need to be a part 
of Hong Kong's overall democratic development, including an 
eventual end to the strict division between the non-partisan 
executive and the parties in LegCo. 
 
-------------------------- 
Democracy and Human Rights 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) After his introductory discussion with the delegation, 
Tsang handed the chair over to DAB Chairman Tam Yiu-chung and 
departed.  Tam chaired the second meeting, which brought 
together sixteen of Hong Kong's most prominent legislators 
for an interparliamentary dialogue.  Pan-democrats stressed 
their concerns about the future of Hong Kong's democratic 
development amid what they felt was a growing encroachment by 
the central government on Hong Kong's authority.  Of 
particular concern was ensuring universal suffrage truly met 
the standards of ICCPR Article 25, which for the 
pan-democrats meant the certain elimination of the FCs.  They 
also warned against the current 800-person election committee 
for the Chief Executive potentially becoming a nominating 
committee that undemocratically filtered candidates for the 
Chief Executive. They urged the United States and broader 
international community to remain focused on Hong Kong, 
including through a resumption of reports under the U.S. Hong 
Kong Policy Act.  They also urged the United States not to 
allow economic concerns to cause attention to human rights 
issues in China to waver. 
 
¶5. (C) Of the pro-establishment forces, only DAB legislator 
Starry Lee chose to take on the pan-democrats.  She reminded 
them and the delegation that, while all sides including the 
DAB supported the goal of elections by universal suffrage, 
the requirement was to reach a consensus among the people of 
Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government, and the central 
government on how to proceed forward.  The only other mention 
 
HONG KONG 00000984  002 OF 003 
 
 
from the establishment side was to note that, in a recent 
poll, 72 percent of Hong Kong citizens believed one country, 
two systems was working well.  The democrats noted that the 
same poll showed 60 percent of Hong Kong people wanted 
universal suffrage. 
 
--------------------------- 
Environment and the Economy 
--------------------------- 
 
¶6. (C) Pro-establishment members (mainly from the 
pro-business Liberal Party and business-related FCs) 
concurred in the CODEL's emphasis on environmental 
cooperation and engagement with the Mainland.  They noted 
Hong Kong's own efforts, such as changing over its entire 
taxi fleet to liquefied petroleum gas.  They also noted 
efforts to establish sustainable environmental improvements 
in industries on the Mainland, including clustering more 
polluting industries on special industrial parks so as to 
offer specialized waste management.  Several hoped the United 
States would expand its exchanges in the area of 
environmental technology with Hong Kong and the Mainland.  A 
few members criticized the role of Lehman minibonds in the 
financial crisis and also suggested pressure to keep prices 
low for products produced using cheaper Chinese labor worked 
against improving environmental standards. 
 
¶7. (C) From the pan-democrats, Civic Party Leader Audrey Eu 
noted there was a certain statistical sleight-of-hand by the 
Hong Kong government.  While the government was correct that 
Hong Kong's emissions were low compared with GDP, they are 
growing in real terms.  In addition, Hong Kong government 
statistics do not capture emissions generated by citizens 
traveling by air, which are considerable for many Hong Kong 
residents.  Hong Kong still lacks emissions targets, she 
noted, to which Rep. Markey replied that the United States 
also has not yet set such targets.  Legislators from both the 
pan-democratic and pro-establishment camps expressed hope 
that the United States and China would reach agreement on 
environmental goals in Copenhagen. 
 
---- 
H1N1 
---- 
 
¶8. (C) Legislators from the Democratic Party (DPHK), led by 
DPHK Vice Chair Emily Lau, took the delegation to task over 
what they felt was a failure by the United States to prevent 
the spread of H1N1.  They called on the United States to more 
strictly screen departing passengers for symptoms of H1N1. 
The Speaker countered that the United States was in fact 
taking H1N1 very seriously.  She recalled a gathering at her 
grandson's church for First Communion involving over a 
thousand people.  A reception was to have followed the 
ceremony.  However, organizers pulled her aside and told her, 
as one of the students involved in the ceremony was diagnosed 
with flu, they were required to end the ceremony and close 
the affiliated school for two weeks.  They further asked her 
not to greet parishioners, since they feared the physical 
contact in a receiving line might spread the disease.  The 
Speaker pointed out (to nods from the pan-democrats) the 
challenge of screening for H1N1, since sick people became 
contagious before they exhibited symptoms.  That said, she 
stressed the United States was responding appropriately to 
H1N1. 
 
-------------------------------- 
The Speaker Addresses the Issues 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) In addition to her intervention on H1N1, Speaker 
Pelosi responded to a number of the issues raised: 
 
Human Rights in China:  The Speaker noted that there would be 
commemorations of June 4 next week in Washington.  Her 
delegation had stressed in Beijing that there was a 
bipartisan consensus in the Congress that human rights was a 
core element of U.S. policy and our dialogue with China. 
 
Hong Kong's Democratic Development:  The Speaker contended 
the Congress gave up considerable leverage in pushing for 
democracy in Hong Kong by not linking it to permanent Most 
Favored Nation status for China.  That said, she said the 
Congress remains keenly interested in the issue and hopes for 
Hong Kong's success in moving to universal suffrage.  She 
noted that the support for one country, two systems cited by 
the pro-establishment camp rests on people's belief that a 
timetable has been set for universal suffrage.  She 
reiterated comments made to LegCo President Tsang about the 
 
HONG KONG 00000984  003 OF 003 
 
 
U.S. support for the Chief Executive's commitment to begin 
consultation on democratic reforms this year. 
 
Environment and Energy:  Calling climate change "the 
challenge of this generation," the Speaker noted the 
relationship between environmental issues and U.S. energy 
independence and energy costs, business opportunities and 
jobs linked to environmental technologies, human health, and 
even our moral obligations as stewards of the planet.  She 
and her colleagues have traveled to Europe, Asia and even 
Alaska to see first hand the very real impact of climate 
change on the planet and how other countries are addressing 
the issues.  The Speaker called for international cooperation 
based on transparency and accountability. 
 
The Economy:  The Speaker noted that the Congress and the 
Obama Administration hoped to address the current financial 
crisis by taking a long-term view of energy, education and 
health care needs.  She joined LegCo members criticism of the 
failure of the Lehman minibonds, noting many investors in the 
United States had been left with no remedy following the 
collapse of Lehman Brothers. 
 
------------ 
Participants 
------------ 
 
¶10. (U) United States: 
Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Paul Pelosi 
Consul General Joseph Donovan 
Rep. Edward Markey 
Rep. Earl Blumenauer and Mr. Jon Blumenauer (son) 
Rep. Jay Inslee 
Congressional staff and military escorts. 
 
Hong Kong: 
Hon. Jasper Tsang Yok-sing, LegCo President (Democratic 
Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB) 
Hon. Tam Yiu-chung (Chairman, DAB) 
Hon. Starry Lee Wai-kin (DAB) 
Hon. Audrey Eu Yuet-mee (Leader, Civic Party) 
Hon. Alan Leong Kah-kit (Vice Chair, Civic Party) 
Hon. Ronny Tong Ka-wah (Civic Party) 
Hon. Albert Ho Chun-yan (Chairman, Democratic Party of Hong 
Kong (DPHK) 
Hon. Emily Lau Wai-hing (Vice Chair, DPHK) 
Hon. James To Kun-sun (DPHK) 
Hon. Miriam Lau Kin-yee (Chairwoman, Liberal Party) 
Hon. Tommy Cheung Yu-yan (Deputy Chair, Liberal Party) 
Hon. Cyd Ho Sau-lan (Civic Act-up; Pan-democratic Caucus 
Convenor) 
Hon. Lee Cheuk-yan (Confederation of Trade Unions) 
Hon. Abraham Shek Lai-him (Professional Forum) 
Hon. Priscilla Leung (Professional Forum) 
Hon. Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen (Independent) 
Hon. Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung (Independent) 
Staff of the LegCo Commission 
 
¶11. (U) CODEL Pelosi cleared this message. 
DONOVAN