Pompeo Meets Former Hong Kong Governor and Democracy Activists Who Have Criticized China

Meeting Successive Figures Opposing Hong Kong Security Law to Pressure China
Calling for Broad Alliances to Respond to China at Press Conference

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] On the 21st (local time), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Chris Patten, the last British Governor of Hong Kong, and Nathan Law, a Hong Kong democracy activist who fled to the UK to escape the Hong Kong National Security Law, during his visit to London, UK.

On the 22nd, the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing sources, that Secretary Pompeo met with Chris Patten and Nathan Law at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's residence near Regent's Park in London, just before returning to the United States. The sources said Pompeo first met with Patten and then with Law.

The sources did not disclose what Pompeo discussed with Patten, but explained that the 20-minute conversation with Law provided Pompeo an opportunity to learn something. They said, "Secretary Pompeo was very interested in hearing perspectives on the nature and background of the Hong Kong protests," adding, "He heard Nathan Law's thoughts on the current situation in Hong Kong."

The fact that Secretary Pompeo met with two individuals who have strongly criticized the Chinese Communist Party's enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law is expected to cause considerable backlash from China, as it could be seen as pressure. Patten previously stated in an interview with U.S. media, "The Chinese Communist Party is trying to destroy Hong Kong, which was the freest city in the world and the financial center of Asia, through the National Security Law."

Additionally, Nathan Law is a prominent democracy activist who, along with Joshua Wong and others, led the 2014 Hong Kong democracy protests known as the "Umbrella Movement." Law had expressed concerns that he might be arrested by Chinese authorities due to the enactment of the Hong Kong National Security Law, and after the law was implemented, he left Hong Kong and sought asylum in London.

Earlier, Secretary Pompeo met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to focus on China-related policies, including 5G networks that do not rely on China.

At a subsequent press conference, Secretary Pompeo urged the UK to join a broad alliance to respond to China. He said, "The whole world must work together to ensure that all countries, including China, act within the international system in a manner that is appropriate and consistent with the international order," adding, "We want all nations to unite and respond to the Chinese Communist Party."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.