Hong Kong

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, over the past few days and weeks, reports about the democratic protests in Hong Kong have grown more and more troubling. The authorities in Hong Kong have cracked down violently on some of the protesters, firing hundreds of rounds of tear gas at a local university and even using lethal force in a few tragic situations. As many have observed, some of the pictures coming out of Hong Kong are reminiscent of a war zone.

Yesterday, the Chinese Communist Party dealt another blow to Hong Kong's special status, criticizing the ruling by the territory's High Court that reversed the Hong Kong Government's ban on masks. The Communist Party declared that only the Chinese legislature has the right to decide whether Hong Kong's laws are consistent with the Hong Kong basic law and that no other authority has the right to make these judgments. That assertion by the Chinese Communist Party is a direct assault on Hong Kong's judicial independence. Make no mistake about it, this Communist Party is cruel and relentless in cracking down on any dissent in every part of China. What they are doing to the Uighurs at the other end of the Chinese country--far away from Hong Kong--is just brutal and awful.

We in the United States stand in solidarity with the democratic protesters, who have every right to assemble and petition their government for the rights of the citizens of Hong Kong. The administration and the President himself should voice their support for the protesters in Hong Kong, which would send an important message to the Chinese Communist Party not to get involved or in any way escalate the situation. Secretary Pompeo's call for calm yesterday is weak tea-- not close to enough. Beyond the Presidential statement, there are actions we can take here in Congress because, frankly, I have been very disappointed that the President, in this dramatic situation with Hong Kong, does not do what Democratic or Republican Presidents have done in the past in standing up for human rights and democracy. He has not done that. He doesn't seem to care. As we know, he seems more eager to please dictators than to please those who are fighting for democracy.

Congress can act. We have a bipartisan bill in the Senate that has many cosponsors, including the senior Senators from Florida and New Jersey and from Maryland as well, that would reaffirm our steadfast support for Hong Kong's autonomy, democracy, and respect for human rights. It would amend the Hong Kong Policy Act in order to give us the tools to safeguard and protect Hong Kong's democracy and autonomy and hold accountable those responsible for the abuse of the human rights of the people of Hong Kong.

We believe the Senate should pass it. If there are objections on the Republicans' side, let's take a few days and work through the bill on the floor. We haven't done much legislation. Here is a place at which we can come together in a bipartisan way. So, if there are no objections, great. Let's pass it this afternoon. I believe the Senator from Florida will make a unanimous consent request in that regard. If there are objections, I urge the Republican leader, who has spoken out and defended the protests, to take a few days. Let someone try to invoke cloture--it will fail miserably--and let's vote on this. Then, maybe, the House will pass it. That would be something, I think, that would happen and with the President as well.

In addition, the Senator from Oregon, along with some others, has a bill that U.S. companies shouldn't sell lethal types of equipment to the Hong Kong police that have been used on the protesters. I would hope we could find a way to work that proposal into this bill or, maybe, we could make a unanimous consent request alongside it.

Nonetheless, we should pass the bipartisan bill in the Senate, reconcile it with similar legislation in the House, and quickly send it to the President's desk. It would be the strongest action Congress could take immediately to demonstrate Americans' support for the protests in Hong Kong. It would send a strong and clear message to the ruling party in Beijing. It would make a real difference.

The words on the floor the Republican leader mentioned yesterday were good but were not sufficient. Again, I urge him to move on this legislation, if we can, by unanimous consent. If not, let's have a debate on the floor so the handful of Senators who might try to block it are thwarted, and the bill will move forward.

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