National security law: US defends diplomats in Hong Kong after judge says invitations from consulate led her to revoke ex-lawmaker’s bail

State Department spokesman says it is routine for diplomats to meet prominent local figures after judge points to invitations for suspect to ‘catch up’ with consul general

Spokesman calls judge’s allusion to foreign elements ‘an old propaganda trope used by authorities to shift blame and avoid accountability’

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The US State Department on Friday defended its diplomats in Hong Kong after a local judge alluded to invitation from the consulate in her decision to deny a suspect bail. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 6:50pm, 23 Apr 2021Updated: 7:37pm, 23 Apr 2021

Washington on Friday defended its diplomats in Hong Kong as simply doing their jobs after a judge revealed the local consulate’s repeated coffee invitations to a former lawmaker charged under the national security law had prompted her to revoke his bail.

In a statement to the Post, a US State Department spokesman said the country was “appalled” at what he characterised as the growing number of politically motivated prosecutions in Hong Kong, and noted that it was routine for diplomats to meet prominent local figures.

“Like all diplomats, including those from foreign countries posted in the United States, US Consulate General staff regularly meet with a wide cross section of people across Hong Kong, including government officials, legislators, members of civil society, and the business community, across political parties and ideological lines,” the spokesman said.

The statement was in response to a judgment handed down on Thursday, in which High Court Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping explained her decision last month to revoke bail previously granted to former Civic Party legislator Jeremy Tam Man-ho. Tam is one of the 47 opposition politicians and activists charged with subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law over an unofficial Legislative Council primary election last summer

In her judgment, Toh observed that Tam remained a person of interest to foreign powers, as evidenced by three emails from the US consulate between September and February inviting him to “catch up” with the consul general over coffee.

Ex-lawmaker Jeremy Tam Man-ho has been denied bail in his national security law case. Photo: Winson Wong

The invitations, which Tam had ignored, were submitted by his assistant as proof he had cut ties with foreign governments, but the judge felt otherwise, saying they instead showed how influential he was.