Yau gets APEC invite as Lee guessing game continues

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Algernon Yau Ying-wah has been invited to attend an APEC ministerial meeting next month in San Francisco, but it remains to be seen whether Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will be able to attend as well.

Sources said Yau was invited to attend the meeting on November 14 and 15.

Responding to media inquiries, Yau's bureau said the government will make announcements in due course in accordance with APEC's regulations and usual practices.

Lee and 10 other Hong Kong officials have been sanctioned by Washington for their roles in the introduction of the national security law in 2020. He has yet to receive an APEC invitation and it is still unclear if he will be invited to the summit.

But other officials have attended meetings before, such as when Yau attended the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Detroit in May and Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan went to the APEC Energy Ministers' Meeting in Seattle.

Lee last week said the US, as the organizer, should send invitations to leaders according to APEC guidelines and protocol, hinting that the SAR would send a representative.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, said ministerial meetings and the summit are different in nature.

He expects Hong Kong's bureau chiefs to attend if they are invited as their attendance will promote international exchange.

"But the biggest uncertainty is whether the US will suspend the implementation of their sanction to allow Lee to enter their country," Lau said.

"The US can take reference from previous measures that allowed Iran's official representatives to attend a United Nations summit, but that still depends on whether China will accept the terms presented by the US."

He also said whether Lee could attend the summit involves diplomatic tensions between China and the US, which will be one of the factors affecting a potential meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden.

"The US has not taken any concrete actions to improve the relationship with China after their meeting in Indonesia last year, but has instead stepped up its efforts to contain China in the area of science and technology."

"If Lee is refused ... what kind of message will be sent out? China will have to consider whether the meeting between the two heads can achieve concrete results."