Members of the U.S. Congress from both parties have strongly condemned the disqualification of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators by China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley issued a joint statement on Nov. 11 strongly criticizing the disqualification of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy legislators Yang Yueqiao, Guo Rongqiang, Guo Jiaqi and Liang Jichang by China’s National People’s Congress (NPC).
Their statement said, “Democracy in Hong Kong is suffocating. This morning, China’s unelected and unaccountable Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) took yet another serious step to deprive the people of Hong Kong of their sacred rights and freedoms.”
The statement said, “These lawmakers, who were being elected by their constituents, have been forced out of office by a new directive from Beijing that disqualifies anyone who advocates and supports Hong Kong’s autonomy from holding public office, which Beijing has promised to protect.”
Both Rubio and Merkley are members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and they are co-chairs and members of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional and Executive Administration China Committee (CECC), respectively.
In a joint statement, the two senators said, “It is critical that the United States and all allies of liberty share a common sense and condemnation of this authoritarian power grab that removes what little vestige of democracy remains in Hong Kong and tramples on China’s treaty obligations.”
The statement continued: “We stand with the disqualified public servants, the 15 of their colleagues who resigned in protest of today’s repression, and all Hong Kong people who have repeatedly stood up to a brutal regime for the sake of their city and the values they hold dear. The world hears, sees and supports you. Beijing will face consequences for its actions.”
Republican Congressman Chris Smith, the author of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, also issued a statement the same day condemning the actions of the Chinese Communist government.
The statement said, “The Chinese Communist Party’s forcible disqualification of four duly elected democratic members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council is outrageous, unjustified and absolutely disgraceful. It tells the world that under Xi Jinping’s dictatorship, human rights and the rule of law are cruel jokes.”
Smith is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as chairman of the Lantos Human Rights Commission. He is a former chairman of the Congressional and Administration Committee on China and is currently a senior member of that committee.
In a statement, Representative Smith said, “The general resignation of all remaining democratic members of Congress today in protest of Beijing’s iron-fisted policies against Hong Kong and its legislators deserves the deepest respect, support and admiration of everyone who cherishes freedom. The entire free world – not just a few countries like the United States – must sanction Beijing and hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable.”
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