Developments in Hong Kong and Macau
(Washington, DC)— U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), chairman of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), chaired a hearing on Hong Kong this week examining the long-term prospects for human rights and basic freedoms in Hong Kong as well as challenges to preserving its promised “high degree of autonomy.” Witnesses also provided the Commissioners policy options for consideration in light of the Chinese government’s continued interventions in Hong Kong’s political affairs and courts.
Twenty years after the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China, there are serious concerns about viability of the “one country, two systems” model in light of Beijing’s unprecedented encroachments in recent years. The late 2015 disappearances of several Hong Kong-based booksellers sent shockwaves through the territory and the recent election of a new Chief Executive is a reminder that the promise of universal suffrage remains unfulfilled. At the same time there is a continuing erosion of press freedom and growing threats to judicial independence, both vital in any healthy democracy.
STATEMENT ON HONG KONG'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE ELECTION
Beijing Asserts Right To Interfere in Already Restricted Election; Pressures Election Committee Members Despite Basic Law’s Guarantee of Autonomy Concludes New CECC Analysis
March 27, 2017
(Washington, DC)—The Chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, Senator Marco Rubio, chair, and Representative Christopher Smith, cochair, issued the following statement on the election of Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor as the fourth Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
“Small-Circle Election” First Since Fall 2014 Pro-Democracy Protests
The ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong have focused global attention on Hong Kong’s debate over the future of its political system. This hearing will examine China’s commitments to Hong Kong and the international community in light of the recent pro-democracy protests. Will an increasingly polarized Hong Kong be able to find a mutually acceptable plan for electoral reform? How will the protests continue to shape the debate? And what do the protests mean for the future of human rights and democracy in Hong Kong and China?
Congressional-Executive Commission on China | www.cecc.gov
October 1, 2014
(Washington, DC)—The chairs of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China issued the following statement in response to ongoing demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Transcript (PDF) (Text)
Under China’s “one country, two systems” policy, Hong Kong residents enjoy greater freedom and autonomy than people in mainland China, including freedoms of speech, press, and religion. China has stated it intends to allow Hong Kong residents to elect their Chief Executive by universal suffrage for the first time in 2017 and to elect Hong Kong’s Legislative Council by universal suffrage in 2020.
Hong Kong's current electoral system, the proposed changes, and the compromise solution
On April 14, 2010, Hong Kong Chief Secretary Henry Tang presented the government's Package of Proposals for the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2012, according to a press release issued by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United States. Some Hong Kong citizens reportedly have grown frustrated with the pace of democratic reform. As reported in a January 27 New York Times article, "The political system in Hong Kong is increasingly paralyzed, and street protests are growing more confrontational as public dissatisfaction on economic issues and a lack of democracy is rising."