Developments in Hong Kong and Macau
February 3, 2021
(Washington, DC)—U.S. Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today released a letter nominating the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee was also signed by Representatives Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), and Vicky Hartzler (R-MO) and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Todd Young (R-IN).
In August 2020, Chinese authorities arrested 12 Hong Kong residents in the South China Sea on allegations of illegal border crossing while they were en route to Taiwan, reportedly to seek asylum. All but one detainee had underlying criminal charges in Hong Kong connected to the ongoing protests in 2019, including one charge based on the new National Security Law that took effect in June 2020.[1] Authorities have been effectively holding the Hong Kong residents incommunicado, denying family visits and genuine legal representation, which raises human rights concerns.
The National Security Law, which provides for four criminal offenses carrying heavy penalties, was passed on June 30, 2020 by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and without any participation by Hong Kong residents in the legislative process. Twenty-seven countries expressed concerns that the law undermined Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy as China committed in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.[1] The new law likewise caused concerns for human rights violations. As of October 2020, nine countries, including the United States, suspended their extradition treaties with Hong Kong.[2]
August 10, 2020
(Washington)—Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) were joined by CECC colleagues Senators Steve Daines (R-MT), Angus King (I-ME), James Lankford (R-OK) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Representatives Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Brian Mast (R-FL), and Ben McAdams (D-UT) on a statement about the recent arrests in Hong Kong of Jimmy Lai, Agnes Chow and other pro-democracy advocates.
June 4, 2020
(Washington)—Commissioners from the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) introduced a resolution on the thirty-first anniversary of the Tiananmen protests and their violent suppression. The resolution condemns the Chinese government’s efforts to dismantle the promised freedoms and autonomy of Hong Kong, including through the arbitrary arrest of democracy advocates and the forced imposition of national security legislation and it calls on the Administration to build an international coalition, and use all available diplomatic means and targeted sanctions, to protect the human rights of the Hong Kong people.
June 3, 2020
(Washington)--Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) issued the following statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen protests and their violent repression.
(Washington, D.C.)—Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued a statement on the imposition of national security legislation in Hong Kong by the National People's Congress.
February 4, 2020
(Washington, DC)—U.S. Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair, respectively, of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) today released a letter nominating the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize. In addition to the Chairs, the letter to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee was signed by Representatives Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY) and Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) and Senators Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), Steve Daines (R-MT) and Todd Young (R-IN)--all are CECC Commissioners.
September 27, 2019
(Washington)— U.S. Representative James McGovern (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), the Chair and Cochair respectively of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), today issued a joint statement on the fifth anniversary of the 2014 pro-democracy protests (“Umbrella Movement”) in Hong Kong.