APEC pulls out from HK Occupy Central blamed for international meetings rescheduled to Beijing

KEY IDEAS : 1. APEC meetings scheduled to be held in Hong Kong will be moved to Beijing. 2. Some said the move was due to concerns over the Occupy Central campaign. 3. Hongkongers were asked not to speculate. BEIJING (北京) has moved a high-profile meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders out of Hong Kong, sparking claims it fears civil strife from Occupy Central (佔領中環). The SAR government said on Tuesday the change was to ease logistics – but a local politician suggested it could be due to fears of Occupy Central troubles. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting of finance ministers was scheduled to be held in Hong Kong from 10 to 12 September, but will now be moved to Beijing and "postponed to a new date after late September". The SAR government said the change was also due to the number of events and the broad range of themes and issues. Some meetings will have to be rescheduled to ensure that various APEC events are well organised and coordinated, it added. Beijing told the SAR government of the change on Tuesday. A spokesman said the SAR government "fully respects and understands Beijing's decision". As the APEC summit host this year, China will chair the annual meeting of leaders from the Asia-Pacific region as well as a number of ministerial and other meetings. However, Executive Council (行政會議) member Cheng Yiu-tong (鄭耀棠) suggested the move was related to the Occupy Central movement, with its organisers threatening to blockade the business district if the government's political reform proposals for the 2017 chief executive election do not include genuine universal suffrage. "There are fears over how the movement will affect Hong Kong," said Cheng. "I think that the organiser [the central government] has changed the meeting venue to ensure that the APEC meeting can be held smoothly." Cheng said the switch could affect Hong Kong's image as it gives the impression that Hong Kong is chaotic. However, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary (政制及內地事務局局長) Raymond Tam Chi-yuen (譚志源) said the cancellation had nothing to do with Occupy Central. He urged the public not to speculate. Tam said the Occupy Central organisers had threatened to launch their movement at the end of this year or early next year. The dates did not coincide with the APEC meeting, which was originally scheduled for mid-September. (The Standard, Eddie Luk, 26 February, 2014) 1. civil strife (n phr) 內亂 2. logistics (n) 統籌安排 3. ministerial (adj) 部長級的 4. blockade (v) 封鎖 5. impression (n) 印象 6. chaotic (adj) 無秩序的