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By Kahon Chan in Hong Kongkahon@chinadailyhk.迷你倉comHong Kong has lost the chance to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Finance Ministers’ Meeting in September due to a need to “facilitate logistical arrangements”. Local officials dismissed any link to divisions in the city over constitutional reform or the “Occupy Central” movement.China assumed APEC chairmanship in 2014 and Hong Kong was named the host for the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) last September. The meeting was supposed to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) from Sept 10 to 12.But due to “the number of events and the broad range of themes and issues” covered at these meetings, the central government told Hong Kong the FMM will be postponed to “a new date after late September”, a Hong Kong government spokesman said in an announcement issued on Tuesday afternoon.“Accordingly, the location of the FMM will be changed to Beijing to facilitate logistics arrangements,” the spokesman said. The new date was not specified on the APEC website.Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung said the FMM is to be relocated to Beijing to better coordinate tightly scheduled meetings. He said the Hong Kong government supports arrangements which are most convenient to the organizer, adding that the city’s reputation as a reliable convention host will not be affected.The Legislative Council had earlier approved funding of over HK$60 million for security and organization of the event. Chan said although early manpower planning had commenced, the approved funds remained intact.Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Raymond Tam 迷你倉hi-yuen also said the decision had nothing to do with Hong Kong’s political reforms, nor the “Occupy Central” movement rally planned for the end of the year.“Whatever their plan is, we don’t need excessive speculation in the community,” he said, adding that people should focus their efforts on the first stage of the political consultation to narrow their differences on reform plans for the 2017 Chief Executive Election.National People’s Congress Deputy Ip Kwok-him said the decision not to host the APEC meeting in Hong Kong was a pity. But Ip said he did not think Hong Kong had become politically unstable. “There is nothing to support these worries. Nor Beijing has cited that as a reason,” he said.Executive Councilor and former security chief Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said legislators had expressed concerns about future demonstrations in Hong Kong. But she said other factors, such as the venue and timing, also had to be considered.Her fellow Executive Council member, Cheng Yiu-tong of the Federation of Trade Unions, said he was concerned about the “Occupy Central” campaign because it was difficult to know how it might affect future security arrangements. A change of location was, therefore, a safe choice for the APEC meeting, he added.Most exhibition space at the HKCEC and the AsiaWorld-Expo will be taken up from Sept 17 to 21 by the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. This claims to be “number one” event of its kind in the world. Hotel occupancy often surges during major fairs.The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be hosted at a new venue at Yanqi Lake, Beijing, from Nov 10 to 11. Macao will host the Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in August on unspecified dates.迷你倉沙田