Condemning Continued Violation of Rights and Freedoms of People of Hong Kong By People's Republic of China and Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
Floor Speech
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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his very moving and profound statement on democracy and democratic freedoms in Hong Kong. I thank the chairman for his leadership for bringing this important legislation to the floor. I thank the ranking member, Mr. McCaul, for his leadership, as well, on an ongoing basis on this important issue and for his courtesy for yielding back.
It is always an honor to be with Chris Smith, we have been working on these issues together for 30 years--a very long time--to demonstrate the bipartisan nature of the support that we have for democratic freedoms in Hong Kong, in the House, and in the Senate, bicameral and bipartisan.
Mr. Speaker, Friday was a sad day and a disturbing day for the people of Hong Kong and for all freedom-loving people as sentences were handed down to Martin Lee, a global champion of human rights, and to other pro-democracy leaders for engaging in peaceful protests.
This afternoon, 3 days after that distressing development, I had the privilege to speak with activists from the Hong Kong Democracy Council. It was an inspiration to hear how they and the people of Hong Kong are responding to China's crackdown with great courage; how the dream of real autonomy cannot be extinguished by injustice or intimidation.
In our conversation earlier today--and in all my communications with Hong Kongers--they asked that the United States Congress continue to speak out to support their aspirations for the freedoms that they were promised. We were there when they promised them.
Today, with this resolution, Congress is honoring that call. I thank Chairman Meeks, Ranking Member McCaul, again, Representatives Bera and Malinowski, and the distinguished chair of the China Executive Commission, Mr. McGovern, for their work on this important legislation.
H. Res. 130 condemns the continued violation of rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong by the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
It states that Communist China continues to ``disregard its international legal obligations under the joint declaration'' which mandates, among other pledges, that ``Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy'' and ``the personal rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong would be protected by law.''
This resolution today makes clear that China has trampled on its promises, including its draconian so-called national security law used to target and round up peaceful protesters under the guise of terrorism; disqualification of pro-democracy candidates from participating in the September 6 legislative council elections; the indictments and arrests for six Hong Kong activists living overseas--as the distinguished chairman pointed out, including here in the United States--and the arrests and sentencing of dozens of pro-democracy activists, including, as was mentioned, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam--and opposition leaders, the Hong Kong 12, of this past December and January. Again, I mention Martin Lee.
The United States Congress has always supported Hong Kong on a bipartisan and bicameral basis, and we remain laser-focused on efforts to support Hong Kong's efforts to maintain and grow the rule of law and freedom of speech in their home, and we are determined to hold China accountable.
Our response must include further strengthening our work with international coalitions--this has to be multilateral--passing legislation in addition to this resolution, to support Hong Kong, building on the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in 2019.
Our legislative response must also address the plight of the Uighurs and Tibetans and the violation of their rights in China; and we must continue to use our platform to speak out about Beijing's crackdown on the global stage and ensure that the voices that the Chinese Government are trying to silence are heard.
In response, our focus must be on human rights. As I always say, if we do not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, then we lose all moral authority to speak out on human rights anywhere in the world.
That is what I have been stating and fighting for--as we have together--since 1991 when I went to Tiananmen Square and unfurled a black-and-white banner reading: To those who died for democracy.
Ever since, many of us have fought to ensure that human rights and trade are firmly linked, from sponsoring the U.S.-China Act in 1993 and in 1994 urging Congress to deny China most-favored nation status to goods made by the PLA in the prisons.
Mr. Smith and Mr. Frank Wolf went there and saw the evidence of prison labor goods being sent to the U.S. and corporate America just ignoring the whole thing.
Then in 2000 we fought efforts to give China a blank check when it failed to comply with its market commitment under the WTO, and they still continue to do that.
We cannot allow economic interests to blind us to moral injustices committed by China.
On Friday in a speech to court, the storied Hong Kong attorney, Margaret Ng, quoted Sir Thomas More, the patron saint of the legal profession, who was tried for treason because he would not bend the law to the king's will. Margaret Ng ended her statement by paraphrasing his final, famous words:
I stand the law's good servant, but the people's first. For the law must serve the people, not the people the law.
With that, I support an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote for this resolution and for the Congress' continued bipartisan and bicameral work to support the people of Hong Kong in the face of Beijing's exploitation of and assault on the law. It is a very important piece of legislation, and I am so glad it is going to have bipartisan support.
Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I thank the chair and the ranking member of the committee for their leadership.
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