America's Hong Kong Game: How the US Consulate Played Puppet Master

The US Consulate General in Hong Kong held its Independence Day reception a few days ago, and let's just say Consul General Gregory May didn't hold back. His wild remarks about the Jimmy Lai case and criticism of authorities for discouraging student participation in US Independence Day activities were, frankly, a bit much. The Hong Kong government wasted no time hitting back, condemning his blatant disregard for the rule of law and calling out his comments as false and biased.

The Mask Slips at Independence Day

May's comments aren't just tone-deaf; they're a transparent attempt to cover up some uncomfortable truths about America's cozy relationship with Jimmy Lai. For someone who's basically been Washington's poster boy in Hong Kong, the US can hardly pretend they don't have a vested interest in his fate. And with hawkish Secretary of State Marco Rubio pulling the strings, this kind of "concern" was always on the cards.

Gregory May's defense of Jimmy Lai says it all about Washington's cozy relationship with their Hong Kong poster boy. Leaked documents show the US Consulate has been secretly dealing with both Lai and Joshua Wong for years.

What's particularly telling is May's obvious frustration with the Hong Kong government's sensible advice to schools about steering clear of consulate activities. It shows that despite everything that's happened, the US hasn't given up on stirring the pot in Hong Kong. They're still looking for ways to meddle under the guise of "normal diplomatic activities."

A Pattern of Interference

Now, let's be clear - Hong Kong is an open city, and foreign consulates are perfectly welcome to hold legitimate activities and engage in proper exchanges. The million-dollar question is whether what the US has been up to actually qualifies as "normal." Anyone who's been paying attention knows the answer to that one.

Political observers have been tracking the US Consulate's activities for years, particularly during the chaos from "Occupy Central" through to the 2019 riots. What they found was far from normal diplomatic work - it was a web of secret dealings and questionable relationships that would make any seasoned diplomat blush.

Jimmy Lai: Washington's Man in Hong Kong

The smoking gun came in 2014 when a batch of internal emails exposed just how deep Jimmy Lai's connections to US officials ran. We're talking about relationships stretching back to 2005-2008, when he was already thick as thieves with then-Consul General James Cunningham. They weren't just exchanging pleasantries either - Lai was arranging cozy dinners between democratic camp bigwigs and the consul.

Even after Cunningham moved on to become Ambassador to Afghanistan, the two kept up their correspondence. Once back in Washington, Cunningham worked his conservative political network to set up direct channels between Lai and high-level US officials. Talk about going the extra mile for a "friend."

When Stephen Young took over as consul general around the time of "Occupy Central" in 2014, he picked up right where his predecessor left off. Young was no ordinary diplomat - this was the guy who'd orchestrated Kyrgyzstan's "color revolution" during his time as ambassador there. Washington's decision to send someone with that particular skill set to Hong Kong during such a volatile period wasn't exactly subtle.

Young's successor, Clifford Hart, was cut from the same cloth. One of his first moves was to visit Jimmy Lai at Next Media headquarters. Whatever they discussed behind closed doors, Hart later made it clear he was hoping the opposition would participate in the 2017 Chief Executive universal suffrage process. The message was crystal clear: the US was actively working with Lai and the pan-democrats to push their vision of "genuine universal suffrage."

This carefully cultivated network ultimately paved Lai's way to Washington, where he met with heavy hitters like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence in 2019. They weren't discussing the weather - this was about orchestrating a "color revolution" to reshape Hong Kong according to American interests.

The Wong Connection

Joshua Wong was another favorite of the US consulate, and their relationship was just as questionable. In March 2019, just months before the anti-extradition bill protests kicked off, Wong, Agnes Chow, and Martin Lee were spotted entering the US Consulate on Garden Road one after another. They weren't there for a quick chat about the weather.

The timing is impossible to ignore. Three months later, Hong Kong was in flames. Coincidence? You'd have to be pretty naive to think so.

Even after the June 12 disturbances, consulate officials kept up their secret meetings with Wong and his crew. That August, he showed up at the JW Marriott in Admiralty with Nathan Law and other student representatives to meet Julie Eadeh, the consulate's political affairs chief. Given the timing, it's hard to see this as anything other than coordination around the ongoing unrest.

Caught red-handed: US Consulate political officers meeting secretly with Joshua Wong and Nathan Law during the 2019 unrest. This kind of "diplomacy" was standard operating procedure.

Looking at this track record, it's pretty obvious what kind of "activities" the US Consulate has been engaged in. The Hong Kong government's advice to schools to stay away from these events wasn't paranoia - it was common sense based on hard-earned experience. Sometimes you have to learn the hard way that not all diplomatic invitations come without strings attached.

Lai Ting-yiu

What Say You?

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News broke today that the League of Social Democrats (LSD) is set to announce its closure before July 1. This veteran radical political party once enjoyed a moment in the spotlight, with its founding "three troublemakers" – Wong Yuk-man, Albert Chan (Big Chunk), and Leung Kwok-hung (Long Hair) – all making it into the Legislative Council and turning the chamber into what can only be described as a political circus.

A seasoned political insider recently walked me through this fascinating bit of Hong Kong's political history, and frankly, it's quite the tale. Two things really stood out: first, Jimmy Lai was secretly bankrolling the LSD from behind the scenes, directly funding Long Hair in what looks like a pretty dodgy arrangement. Second, Wong Yuk-man's emergence as some sort of radical "guru" involved systematically attacking the Democratic Party, stealing their supporters, and pushing them away from moderation toward a confrontational dead end.

The LSD is calling it quits on July 1st – both the party and "Long Hair" were secretly bankrolled by Jimmy Lai to the tune of millions.

The Golden Years That Weren't So Golden

When the LSD burst onto the scene in 2006, it immediately positioned itself as the tough guy willing to take on the establishment. The political veteran explained how by 2008, when founding chairman Wong Yuk-man entered the Legislative Council, these "three troublemakers" were causing chaos daily, and the LSD's popularity was going through the roof. Two years later, they were pushing their "Five Constituencies Referendum" campaign, reaching what seemed like unprecedented heights.

But here's where things get interesting. Right at this peak moment, Next Digital boss Jimmy Lai started opening the financial floodgates, secretly pumping money into the LSD. According to documents that surfaced online, during the "Five Constituencies Referendum" period, he quietly donated HK$1 million to the LSD, which was received by vice-chairman To Kwan-hang while chairman Wong Yuk-man was completely left in the dark. The fallout: Yuk-man, who'd already had a falling out with Jimmy Lai, stormed off in anger and set up "People Power" as his own separate outfit.

The Puppet Master's Game Plan

Jimmy Lai's funding of the LSD wasn't some charitable gesture – this was about buying political influence. He wanted to use their appeal among radical crowds to ramp up attacks on the SAR government, with Beijing clearly in the crosshairs. So after Yuk-man's dramatic exit, Lai's financial support for the LSD never stopped, with chunks of cash going directly into Long Hair's personal account.

Here's the kicker: Long Hair was a sitting Legislative Council member at the time. After pocketing Jimmy Lai's donations, he failed to declare them to the Legislative Council, which eventually led to his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. When his trial rolled around in June 2017, the prosecution spilled all sorts of secrets about how Jimmy Lai had been secretly funding him.

The numbers are pretty staggering. Between 2012 and 2014, Jimmy Lai paid out a total of HK$2.05 million to the LSD and Long Hair. In 2012, Lai wrote a HK$9.5 million cheque that went through various company accounts to his associate Mark Simon, who then distributed the cash to four pan-democratic parties. The HK$1 million that went to the LSD was further split up, with portions landing directly in Long Hair's personal account.

Divide and Conquer: Yuk-man's War on the Democrats

The political veteran painted a vivid picture of how Yuk-man systematically went after the Democratic Party starting in 2010. When he established the LSD in 2008, he'd already positioned himself as this "guru" figure for emerging radical forces, clearly eyeing leadership of the entire democratic camp.

His "Five Constituencies Resignation" scheme was clever politics – get five legislators to resign together, then use the by-elections as a de facto referendum. He managed to drag the Civic Party into this mess, but Democratic Party heavyweight Szeto Wah wasn't having any of it. Jimmy Lai, who was apparently the driving force behind the whole operation, even organized a dinner at his house to pressure Uncle Wah and others like Martin Lee to get the Democratic Party on board. Uncle Wah stood firm and refused.

From that point on, Yuk-man launched what can only be described as a sustained assault on the Democratic Party. Even after he and Albert Chan formed "People Power," he kept chipping away at Democratic Party territory, launching vicious attacks on veteran party candidates and successfully peeling away younger, more radical members.

The Endgame Nobody Saw Coming

Caught between Yuk-man's attacks and other radical pressure groups, and with Uncle Wah's steadying influence gone after his death, the Democratic Party's leadership found itself in Jimmy Lai and Martin Lee's "pro-America faction." The party's moderate line finally cracked, and after "Occupy Central" and subsequent protests, it went completely radical, ultimately walking itself off a political cliff.

LSD founder Wong Yuk-man systematically attacked the Democratic Party, stealing their supporters and pushing them toward radical politics that ultimately destroyed them.

Today, the LSD quietly collapses, marking yet another sign that Hong Kong has fundamentally "changed into a different world". Both the party and its behind-the-scenes "financial backers" have met their inevitable downfall – a reminder that in politics, as in life, what goes around tends to come around.

Lai Ting-yiu