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| Hong Kong at night |
Beijing gave the US 30 days to vacate the building that has housed the consular offices of the US State Dept. in Chengdu. Personnel left shortly thereafter, but the heavy lifting was carried out by management members of the staff. Local Chinese employees were let go within days of the official order.
Sadly, these individuals were blacklisted by the government in Beijing. They cannot find other employment. There is no possibility they will be hired by any business that wants to stay on the good side of the Party. A few individuals who had worked on site for many years(25+) will be offered opportunities in the United States: to live and work with a path to citizenship for their dedication in the face of opposition from Beijing.
Meanwhile, the consular staff set about the task of cleaning out the consulate. Knowing that this building will never again be used by the US State Dept., it was imperative that no one else will ever use it. Despite the 100 year lease in effect, it was a convenient way for Beijing to rid this section of Chengdu of the footprint of a US entity. So, all the systems installed were rendered unusable: electrical, plumbing, kitchen, and all bathrooms.
The CG repaired to Foggy Bottom where he was given a desk and a stack of papers to shuffle. Within a few weeks, he was promoted to a higher rank. This promotion was obviously not the result of his leadership in Chengdu where he was held in low regard by all members of his staff as a bumbling, ineffectual leader who was in over his little head. But in an organization run by a pompous bureaucrat who is oblivious to the operation of a 60,000 man juggernaut, such moves and their results are the norm. Yes, the Department of State is too big to fail, no matter the budgeting put in place by Congress.
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