HK spies relocate to Taipei, Macao, Seoul and Jakarta<\/p>\n
By Edward Neilan<\/p>\n
TOKYO (JP): Spies are said to be leaving Hong Kong in droves
\nahead of the July 1 handover of the British Colony to Chinese
\nrule.<\/p>\n
They are relocating to Taipei, Macao (which reverts to Chinese
\nrule from Portuguese control in 1999), Seoul, Jakarta and Tokyo.
\nThose cities will henceforth be competing for the mantle long
\nheld by Hong Kong of \"Spy capital of Asia\".<\/p>\n
After all, what self-respecting spy, trained in the dark arts
\nof a eavesdropping, intelligence analysis, reading other people's
\nmail and writing with invisible ink, could possibly contribute
\nanything original on the handover marking the end of 156-years of
\nBritish control of Hong Kong? The event already has a confirmed
\nguest list of thousands headed by Chinese President Jiang Zemin,
\nChinese Premier Li Peng, Britain's Prince Charles, and U.S.
\nSecretary of State Madeline Albright.<\/p>\n
\"Exclusive\" information will be hard to come by for your
\nordinary spy, who must compete with the likes of CNN, other
\ntelevision networks, and an estimated 6,000 journalists of every
\nstripe.<\/p>\n
The event may be the ultimate \"photo opportunity\" of the
\ncentury. A ceremony in the Chinese capital of Beijing hours after
\nthe handover in Hong Kong itself will be less glossy but highly
\nsymbolic.<\/p>\n
International spy agencies, by their nature, are not in the
\nhabit of releasing information about staffing levels. But in
\nrecent weeks there have been news items about the U.S. Central
\nIntelligence Agency (CIA) cutting back in Asia for budget
\nreasons, the once-feared Russian KGB reducing its size by two-
\nthirds and the Japanese intelligence services being merged and
\nstreamlined from three separate units into one.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong is not used to being relegated to an \"also-ran\"
\nstatus in the spy category. The wry joke at the bar of the Hong
\nKong Foreign Correspondents' Club currently that Bangkok is
\noffering tax incentives for relocating spies and other \"China
\nwatchers\" is balanced by the rejoinder that \"Bangkok has too much
\ntraffic, making tailing `the usual suspects'\" all that more
\ndifficult.<\/p>\n
Nigel Watt, a former director of Hong Kong's Government
\nInformation Services, once quipped that if many more electronic
\nlistening devices were placed on Hong Kong territory, the island
\nmight sink into the South China Sea from the sheer weight.<\/p>\n
The advent of the cellular telephone and e-mail have lessened
\nthat particular burden but some intelligence operatives complain
\nthat these days in Hong Kong pocket telephone and beeper (pager)
\nfrequencies are often dominated by Happy Valley race course
\nbookmakers and their clients.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong spy lore was described in the novel The Honorable
\nSchoolboy, by John Le Carre, who drew on real-life personalities
\nsuch as The Times of London correspondent Richard Hughes as
\ncharacter for his book. Australian Hughes, later a columnist for
\nthe Far Eastern Economic Review, had been a boxer and for a while
\nmanager of Tokyo's Foreign Correspondent's club. His son, also a
\njournalist, wrote in a book a few years ago that his colorful
\nfather had done a bit of spying in his day.<\/p>\n
During the Vietnam War, American correspondents based in Hong
\nKong were frequently asked by their desks back home to track
\nwhich U.S. Seventh Fleet vessels would be in Hong Kong during a
\ngiven week on R&R (rest and recreation). This would help indicate
\npatterns of bombing missions and other operations in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
But inquiries to the American Consulate General in Hong Kong
\n-- an institution that is larger than most U.S. embassies abroad,
\nbecause of its role in \"observing\" China -- would routinely
\nanswer \"We do not have that information on ship movements\" or \"No
\ncomment.\"<\/p>\n
But a quick trip to the Wanchai hostess bar district would
\nprovide the sought-after intelligence. Blackboards outside
\nestablishments with names such as \"Suzie Wong Bar\" and \"San
\nFrancisco Club\" would proclaim \"Welcome officers and crew, U.S.S.
\nMidway, U.S.S. Blue Ridge, U.S.S. Henderson and other escort
\nvessels.\"<\/p>\n
Tailor shops, awaiting fittings from measurements faxed or
\nmailed by sailors in advance, also would invariably know the
\ndates which ships would be in port.<\/p>\n
China and the U.S. recently signed an agreement to continue
\nport calls but other things have changed: custom-tailored suits
\nare no longer a bargain in Hong Kong and tiny Wanchai bars have
\nbeen relocated as glitzy and pricey cabarets.<\/p>\n
The writer is a freelance journalist based in Tokyo.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hk-spies-relocate-to-taipei-macao-seoul-and-jakarta-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }