U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement Monday (Nov. 2) strongly condemning the arrest of eight pan-democratic politicians, including many current and former legislators, by Hong Kong police. The statement said the arrests are a clear abuse of law enforcement for political purposes.
A day earlier, Hong Kong legislators Wong Pik Wan, Wan Siu Kin, Wu Chi Wai and Cheung Chiu Hung, former legislators Chu Hoi Dee and Chan Chi Chuen, and Labor Party Chairman Kwok Wing Kin were arrested by Hong Kong police. They are accused of violating the “Contempt” and “Interference with Legislative Officers” provisions of Hong Kong’s Powers and Privileges of the Legislative Council Ordinance for their acts of defiance at the May meeting of the Legislative Council. “The arrests of the seven individuals were made on the same day. The day after the seven were arrested, Democratic Party congressman Raymond Hsu was also arrested when he reported to the police station on the 2nd of February for another case. They were all later released on bail.
In response to the arrests, the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Spokesman released a statement from Secretary Pompeo on Monday, saying, “The United States strongly condemns the arrests of eight pan-democratic political figures in Hong Kong, including five sitting members of the Legislative Council. The arrests of these legislators, six months after the events in question, are a clear abuse of law enforcement for political purposes. The Hong Kong government’s harassment and intimidation of pro-democracy representatives and its attempts to silence dissenting voices are blatant examples of its continued complicity with the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to abrogate its commitment to Hong Kong’s autonomy and respect for human rights. We call on Beijing and the Hong Kong government to respect the right of the people of Hong Kong to express their grievances through their elected representatives. The United States stands with the people of Hong Kong.”
When Hong Kong’s Legislative Council convened its House Committee on May 8 this year, a heated physical confrontation broke out between the pan-democrats and the pro-establishment camp over who should chair the meeting, and a number of pan-democrats were driven away from the venue.
A number of Hong Kong pan-democratic lawmakers said they were attacked by some of the pro-establishment lawmakers in that incident and called the police to deal with the situation, but the police ignored the physical violence of the pro-establishment camp on that day and still did not take any action.
On Sunday, after the arrests of seven pan-democrats, pro-democracy lawmakers issued a statement strongly condemning the police’s arrests as totalitarian and indiscriminate. Democratic Party lawmaker Raymond Hui, who was arrested on Monday, said before his arrest that the regime is highly involved in the affairs of the Legislative Council, and that the police’s arrest of the pro-democracy lawmakers shows the world that the government is using the law as a tool for political suppression, which is a disgrace to all Hong Kong citizens.
China’s forcible implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law in Hong Kong aroused strong international concern and criticism. In response, the United States suspended Hong Kong’s special preferential status, imposed multiple sanctions on the Hong Kong government, and sanctioned 11 Chinese and Hong Kong officials, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.
The United States continues to be concerned about the current state of democracy in Hong Kong following the implementation of Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law. Pompeo also recently issued a statement expressing concern over the detention of 12 people in Guangdong Province who were allegedly attempting to abscond and were denied access to their lawyers.
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