Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I want to thank Senator Rubio for the work that he has done on this a few minutes earlier. Today, I spoke about the cause of freedom and how we are seeing people around the world stand up for freedom--and, yes, indeed, we see this in Hong Kong, and it does inspire us. The message that we are sending to Beijing is that, indeed, we are watching and we are paying attention--and to the Hong Kong protesters, for them to know that we are watching what they are doing and that we are standing with them.
It is important to note that China has really earned its place atop the list of the world's most notorious human rights violators, and over the past few weeks, Hong Kong's descent into chaos and bloodshed has provided a much-needed reminder of the horrors, the absolute horrors of authoritarian rule.
There can be no change without accountability, and Beijing needs to know we are focused on that accountability, which is why, today, I am so pleased to stand with these other Members of this Chamber in support of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The bill does demand accountability, not only from Beijing but also from us. It will require us to monitor Hong Kong's progress toward autonomy and China's behavior toward Hong Kong people who choose to exercise their internationally recognized rights, those rights that we have spoken of in this Chamber today.
The bill will help us identify the tactics Beijing uses to capture Hong Kong's dissidents and then to trap them on mainland China, and we will also ensure that no peaceful protesters are denied visas to the United States because of the alleged crimes.
Now, I will tell you, the bill is a great start, but the time and the work that we put in it will be wasted unless every single Member of this Chamber makes a commitment to hold us accountable, to hold China accountable. I would encourage my colleagues to view their support of this legislation as a promise to these protesters in Hong Kong, that their cries for help are not going to go unanswered.
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