New US diplomat to Hong Kong expected to be in place by autumn

Hong Kong is set to welcome a new top US diplomat as early as the end of this summer, according to the country’s acting consul general, who also indicated Washington’s keen interest in increasing engagement with the local administration.

David Schlaefer also confirmed on Tuesday that there was only one candidate for the position, previously held by Gregory May, and said that mainland China had not yet expressed any objections to the nominee.

The Post previously reported that Julie Eadeh, a career member of the US Senior Foreign Service, was expected to be the next US consul general to Hong Kong and Macau. She is the current US consul general in Istanbul.

While serving as the political section chief at the US consulate in Hong Kong during the 2019 anti-government protests, she met opposition activists. This led to criticism from the central government for alleged interference in the country’s internal affairs.

Under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the United States will require China’s permission for Eadeh to assume her duties. A state is not obliged to provide reasons if it refuses to issue a consular certificate.

“We’re still very hopeful that everything will be resolved soon and that we will have the new CG, whoever that is going to be, in place as soon as possible, hopefully by the end of the summer, and hopefully before the beginning of the fall,” said Schlaefer, who attended a reception organised by the Legislative Council for foreign consuls general.