I mentioned earlier that there are quite a number of ex-US diplomats and national security office-bearers ditching public service for the consulting world. They bring a pragmatic approach, focusing on real-world results for US firms operating in mainland China and Hong Kong. Instead of getting bogged down in ideology, they prioritize practical cooperation and mutual benefit, and that’s precisely why Beijing sees them as trustworthy partners. Take Kurt Tong, for instance – three years as US Consul General in Hong Kong, now a partner at The Asia Group. He's been active exchanging views with mainland institutions, recently swung by the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences for a chinwag on US–China relations.
Ex-US Consul General to Hong Kong, Kurt Tong (second from left), at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, slagging off the Trump administration's "monarchic" decision-making. He reckons the president's ego is running foreign policy, making US–China strategy a rollercoaster.
Now free from government constraint, he's laying into Trump pretty hard, saying that the administration was basically running like a "monarchy." All Trump, all the time. This top-down, centralized approach just cranks up the volatility and uncertainty when it comes to the US-China strategy.
The fact Tong's willing to take a swipe at Trump's strongman act shows he couldn't stomach it anymore. A friend of mine in the political circle who knows the US inside out, tells me Tong's not the only one. Loads of ex- and current diplomats are quietly seething about Trump's antics. It's depressig and it's doing serious damage to US diplomacy.
Besides Hong Kong, Tong was also the US Ambassador to APEC, so he knows his stuff when it comes to US Asia-Pacific and China policy. At that Shanghai event, he didn't pull any punches. He said the Trump administration's decision-making was straight-up "monarchic," all driven by the president's ego, with an "attack-style" vibe. This kind of setup makes it impossible for the US to have a consistent, stable foreign policy, so forget about predictable strategies.
Tong reckons the US political circus is seriously messing with US-China policy. There's no real coordination to bring together all the different voices on China, which just makes US policy even more erratic and unpredictable.
You'd think Congress would keep Trump's trade policy in check, but Tong says the Republicans are too busy being Trump's biggest bootlickers. That means they won't be putting the brakes on his trade agenda anytime soon. Oversight? Interference? Forget about it.
Tong also pointed out that the Republicans in Congress are Trump's biggest cheerleaders, so there's no one to keep this "monarch" in check.
Tong's Trump takedown boils down to three things:
Trump turned "democracy" into a "monarchy," like a two-century throwback. His word is law, no questions asked.
Because there are no checks and balances, and he's all about that "attack-style," policy is a mess – no system, no consistency, and stability is out of the window.
All this has a major knock-on effect on US–China relations, leading to more crazy swings and uncertainty.
My political insider pal also pointed out that Trump's been on a bit of a purge lately. Loads of experienced diplomats and analysts got the boot from the State Department, and the White House National Security Council's been gutted. With fewer people who know what they're doing, you've got clueless political appointees calling the shots, making foreign policy even more of a disaster. The pros who are still around are fed up, morale's in the toilet, and they're all looking for the exit.
Unsurprisingly, the US Consulate in Hong Kong hasn't been spared. They've been told to slash staff to comply with the Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) orders, so their operations in Hong Kong are going to take a big hit. Word on the street is that the current Consul General, Gregory May, is about to move on, with his replacement possibly showing up in September. With the US–China trade war raging and Hong Kong officials getting sanctioned, relations are in the dumpster, and the consulate's hardly talking to anyone in politics or business these days. Whoever's in charge isn't going to make much of a difference.
In the end, it's a good thing when ex-diplomats like Tong ditch the politics and help US companies make money in mainland China and Hong Kong. Ideology's out, profit's in.
Lai Ting-yiu
What Say You?
** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **
Think back to Hong Kong's turbulent years. Jimmy Lai had three brothers-in-arms, comrades he bankrolled through thick and thin – Cardinal Joseph Zen, Martin Lee, and Anson Chan. But their bonds weren't just ideological. Money changed hands, and plenty of it. Anson Chan pocketed HK$3.5 million from Lai's war chest. Cardinal Zen took in far more – at least HK$26 million in secret donations that the Hong Kong Diocese never knew about and never investigated. Where did all that cash go? That's the million-dollar question. Or rather, the 26-million-dollar question that remains unanswered.
Cardinal Zen met Pope Leo XIV in Rome, reportedly pushing for Jimmy Lai's release – but Vatican intervention looks unlikely.
Word broke earlier that Cardinal Zen just made a pilgrimage to the Vatican for a sit-down with the newly minted Pope Leo XIV. The private meeting lasted about an hour. On the agenda: the conviction of "Catholic" Jimmy Lai. Sources say Zen pressed the pontiff hard to "save Lai." What did the Pope say? Nobody's talking. But you can bet the Vatican knows all about the questionable financial ties between Zen and Lai – a relationship the Cardinal has never properly explained to his own Diocese. Did personal interests play a role? The doubts are real.
A Vatican Gambit
Cardinal Zen's "612 Humanitarian Relief Fund" case is still grinding through the courts, and authorities had confiscated his passport. But when the Vatican called its recent "Special Consistory" – bringing cardinals from around the world to Rome – the court granted him temporary travel privileges. During the gathering, Pope Leo XIV carved out time for a private one-on-one with Zen after a breakfast session. The topics? Whether the China-Vatican agreement should be renewed, and the fate of Jimmy Lai, now convicted under Hong Kong's National Security Law. But whether the Pope took any position on Lai remains under wraps.
Zen views Jimmy Lai as both a close friend and a comrade-in-arms, so naturally he's pushing the Vatican to intervene. But here's the Vatican's dilemma: it's not just about China-Vatican relations. It's about the unresolved financial relationship between Zen and Lai – a relationship that has seriously damaged the Cardinal's credibility.
The Secret Pipeline
October 2011 brought a massive leak. Jimmy Lai's secret donations to political parties, politicians, and organizations spilled into public view – and Joseph Zen, then Bishop of Hong Kong, was on that list. Between 2006 and 2010, he received HK$20 million from Lai over four years. From 2012 to 2014, another HK$6 million landed in his hands. The total: a staggering HK$26 million.
When the news broke, Zen went silent. Only after relentless media pressure did he offer an explanation, claiming the money went to support underground churches in the Chinese Mainland and other charitable organizations. With a casual smile, he described himself as a "spendthrift," saying most of the money had already been spent with only a few hundred thousand remaining – and even expressed hope that Lai would keep the donations coming.
Talk is cheap. He provided no concrete evidence to back up his claims. The Hong Kong Diocese knew nothing about his receipt of this massive sum from Lai – the entire "money pipeline" operated in secret. To this day, he has never given the Diocese a complete accounting.
Because this financial channel remained so deeply hidden, suspicions naturally arose that personal interests were involved. But given Cardinal Zen's position, the Diocese refrained from investigating him. The true destination of the funds? Still shrouded in doubt.
HK$26 million from Jimmy Lai to Cardinal Zen – Diocese in the dark, money's whereabouts still a mystery. The trio behind Hong Kong's unrest!
Vatican Cold Shoulder
Cardinal Zen's questionable relationship with Jimmy Lai, combined with his overly hawkish stance toward China, put him in the Vatican's bad books after Hong Kong's National Security Law took effect in late June 2020. Around that time, Zen traveled uninvited to the Vatican, demanding a meeting with then-Pope Francis to discuss Hong Kong's bishop selection and issues facing underground churches in the Mainland. The Pope gave him zero face. Francis refused to see him. After cooling his heels in Rome for four days with nothing to show for it, Zen returned to Hong Kong empty-handed.
Later, Zen and Lai joined forces on Jimmy Lai's "Live Chat" livestream program to blast the Vatican, accusing it of staying silent on underground churches, Tibet, and Hong Kong human rights issues. This clearly shows how the "Zen-Lai duo" consistently conspired to incite underground church activities in the Mainland, stir up religious conflicts, and undermine China-Vatican relations.
Cardinal Zen's latest Vatican trip for a private papal audience, where he lobbied to "save Lai" and reiterated his opposition to renewing the China-Vatican agreement, proves one thing: at 94 years old, the cardinal's anti-China, pro-chaos heart hasn't changed one bit.
Long Odds
The new Pope's willingness to meet him represents a slight thaw from his predecessor's icy attitude. But the chances of Vatican intervention to "save Lai"? Extremely low. The unresolved questions about Zen's financial relationship with Jimmy Lai have significantly diminished his influence with the Vatican.
From a legal perspective, his cardinal status currently shields him from serious consequences. But risks remain. Perhaps it's time for him to follow Anson Chan's example and retire from such activities while he still can.
Lai Ting-yiu
