Beijing summons top US diplomat over alert on new Hong Kong law compelling nat. sec suspects to reveal passwords

2026-03-30 - 07:33

Beijing has summoned the top US diplomat in Hong Kong after the country issued an alert over a new rule in the financial hub empowering police to demand that national security suspects surrender their passwords. US Consul General Julie Eadeh (centre) at her welcoming reception. Photo: US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau, via Facebook. In a statement on Saturday, Beijing’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said it had summoned Julie Eadeh, the US consul general in Hong Kong, for “solemn representations.” The statement said the move was in response to the “so-called ‘security alert'” issued by the US Consulate General on Thursday, days after the Hong Kong government introduced a new rule requiring suspects in national security investigations to surrender the passwords of their electronic devices or help decrypt them. See also: ‘False, misleading’: Gov’t denies claims police can demand passwords on street under new national security rules Police can also compel anyone believed to know of the password or how to decrypt a device under investigation to disclose such information. The US consulate in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Failure to do so can be punished by up to one year behind bars and a HK$100,000 fine. The US Consulate General said the law “applies to everyone, including U.S. citizens, in Hong Kong, arriving or just transiting Hong Kong International Airport.” Beijing’s foreign ministry in the city said in its statement that the office’s commissioner, Cui Jianchun, expressed “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition.” Cui urged the US to “immediately cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs in any form,” the statement added.