Hong Kong police shock the world by using the National Security Law to arrest 53 pro-democracy activists. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded that the United States will not sit idly by while Hong Kong people are oppressed by the Communist Party and will consider imposing sanctions on those involved.
In a statement Wednesday night (Jan. 6), Pompeo said the U.S. is outraged by the raids, which reflect the Communist Party’s contempt for its own people and the rule of law, and will take action to stop them, and that “the United States will not stand idly by while Hong Kong people are oppressed by the Communist Party.”
He said that “the United States will consider imposing sanctions or other restrictions on any individual or entity involved in the suppression of Hong Kong people,” including Hong Kong’s trade representatives in Washington.
Among the 53 arrested pro-democracy activists is John Clancey, 79, a human rights lawyer and treasurer of Democracy Power, who is a U.S. citizen. Pompeo stressed that the United States will not tolerate arbitrary detention or harassment of U.S. citizens. Clancey was released on bail late Wednesday night Hong Kong time.
Not only is the U.S. considering sanctions, but the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition on China Policy (IPAC), a group of more than 170 members of the parliaments of 18 countries and Europe, has also issued a statement saying that the arrests are further evidence that Hong Kong’s national security laws are being used to “suppress political opposition of all types in Hong Kong” and that the international community should take “urgent and unprecedented action” to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for violations of international law, including considering common punitive economic action at the United Nations to ensure that the Chinese Communist Party does not act arbitrarily.
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