U.S. and Hong Kong (2001)

State Department Noon Briefing, June 26, 2001

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Daily Press Briefing
Tuesday, June 26, 2001 -- 12:45 P.M.

BRIEFER: Richard Boucher, Spokesman

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

Q: There is a report that the State Department is going to resume a report on Hong Kong's self-rule. Is that true? If yes, based on what ground that you resume that?

MR. BOUCHER: The answer is yes. It has been --

Q: (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: All right. I will review that in a second.

The Hong Kong Policy Act called for the State Department to produce a series of three annual reports to Congress on Hong Kong status after its 1997 reversion to Chinese sovereignty. The last of these mandated reports was submitted last year in May of 2000. We are continuing to be very interested in the high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong, and therefore the Administration has decided to submit a voluntary report to Congress this year on developments in Hong Kong. We think the continuation of this practice of drafting annual reports is useful.

Q: Can I follow up? (Inaudible.)

MR. BOUCHER: Sometime in the coming months. No specific date is set at this point.

Q: But the Chief Executive Officer is seeking the second term to be head of Hong Kong. Is this a measure to impact on that election in any way?

MR. BOUCHER: No.

Q: Well, what exactly is -- you say it's "useful." In what way is it useful? Is this designed to send a message to the Chinese that you are watching closely what they do in Hong Kong?

MR. BOUCHER: I think the Chinese understand, and the Hong Kong Government understands, that we continue to attach great importance to Hong Kong's autonomy. We continue to work very closely in Hong Kong and elsewhere with Hong Kong authorities to make sure that we cooperate and work with Hong Kong in areas of its autonomy.

So they know how important this is to us. This report is a reflection of that. It is a chance for us to inform our Congress of where things stand and the wider world of our view of things.

Q: Is there a reason to be concerned about a decreasing level of autonomy in Hong Kong?

MR. BOUCHER: I will just leave it at the importance of the autonomy. We have always held that, and we will continue to emphasize that.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

(The briefing concluded at 1:20 P.M.)

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