On December 16, several members of Congress expressed their concerns about the current situation in Hong Kong during a Senate hearing titled “Supporting Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement through U.S. Refugee Policy.
Republican U.S. Senator Hawley: “What Beijing is doing to Hong Kong is what they want to do to the entire Asia-Pacific region and the world, and that’s why Hong Kong is our Berlin of today.”
Republican U.S. Senator Rubio: “Providing help to Hong Kong people seeking asylum is not only the morally right thing to do, it’s also in our national security interest because I’m convinced that Hong Kong is on the front lines of a much larger struggle. It is a broad struggle between authoritarianism and democracy.”
Since the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law on July 1, 2020, the situation on the ground has become increasingly dire as Beijing has increased its suppression of democratic demands in Hong Kong. Activists Wong Chi-fung, Chow Ting, and Lam Long-yin have been sentenced to prison under the National Security Law, Apple Daily founder Lai Chi-ying has been denied bail, and 12 Hong Kong residents who attempted to seek asylum in Taiwan by boat have been “sent to China.
On December 7, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Hong Kong People’s Liberty and Choice Act, which provides asylum to Hong Kong residents who have been politically repressed and persecuted by Beijing.
Although the bill did not pass the Senate unanimously before Congress adjourned, a number of lawmakers expressed their high regard for the issue of Hong Kong, including from their own experiences.
Democratic U.S. Senator Menendez: “As a Cuban-American, this issue is near and dear to my heart. I know very well what it’s like for my friends’ families to have their hopes and aspirations for freedom crushed by a communist dictatorship.”
Democratic U.S. Senator Blumenthal: “I feel firsthand about this issue of refugee protection. My father came to this country when he was 17 years old to escape persecution in Germany on the eve of World War II. Most of his family members perished in the Holocaust. From my father’s eyes, I know what it feels like to be a refugee who needs to be protected.”
Some Hong Kong activists appear to have embarked on a similar path, leaving their home countries for the space of free and safe initiatives in democratic countries.
Leung Chung-hang, who arrived in Washington in December, is the first former lawmaker to declare exile in the United States and seek political asylum.
I believe that every Hong Kong person, regardless of his or her political stance, has a thought inside his or her head about whether I should leave Hong Kong,” Leung told Voice of America. For me, I foresee that I may not be able to return to Hong Kong in a short period of time, but Hong Kong is everything to us, especially to our generation. There is just a sense of guilt, I guess. I must do something after I leave, otherwise I’m sorry to my brothers.”
Hong Kong activist in exile in the UK, Law Kwun Chung: “My father was an immigrant and a refugee. He swam to Hong Kong from mainland China in the 1970s, and this experience made me reflect on Hong Kong. Hong Kong is supposed to be a free place where everyone is welcome, not a place where people are forced to leave the city. And in reality, that’s what’s happening now.”
In addition to the exodus of local Hong Kong activists to overseas, some overseas may no longer be able to set foot in Hong Kong due to the impact of the National Security Law.
Moses Chu, executive director of the Hong Kong Democratic Committee, a Washington advocacy group, is a U.S. citizen. He and Law Kwun-chung were among the first people wanted by the Hong Kong government after the implementation of the National Security Law. He said his being wanted means that any American could be a target of the Chinese government.
It’s one of the small honors I’ve received in my professional and personal life to be part of this struggle,” Zhu told VOA. Not only do I have no regrets, but I think there are many more people who have suffered more than I have, who have been abandoned and who have taken more risks. Moreover, it is well known that this lives on in my family. My father played a key role in the support of the Tiananmen Movement, helping many dissidents escape in ’89 and ’90, and being convicted and sentenced for the 2014 protests in Hong Kong.”
Zhu’s father, Pastor Zhu Yaoming, was a central figure in Operation Yellow Bird, which assisted pro-democracy activists wanted by the Chinese government to travel to Hong Kong after June 4 and then to Western countries. He was also one of the founders of the Occupy Central Movement, which fought for universal suffrage and the peaceful occupation of Central.
I think it’s one of the greatest blessings for me and my family to have the choice and freedom to support and speak out for Hong Kong,” said Chu.
Chu said the Hong Kong Democratic Committee will not back down and will continue to be a voice for the people of Hong Kong in the United States and provide support for the people of Hong Kong in the United States, including assistance with exile settlements and initiatives.
Yang Jinxia, founder of the New York pro-Hong Kong group NY4HK, is also a U.S. citizen wanted by the Hong Kong government. She has been involved in the democracy movement in the United States since the June 4 incident and sees many similarities between the two generations in exile.
They both came out when they were young, and many of them have been in prison because of the 1989 incident,” Yang told Voice of America. Some of them later engaged in the pro-democracy movement and spent their whole lives on 1989, vindicating the rebellion and fighting against the CCP, but often there were people who left. But for the Chinese Communist Party, it seems to say whether or not there is really a threat to them, or to force it. Their efforts over here, it seems to get a little bit of results, and it’s not that they are going to overthrow them, or as you can see, it’s even more serious now. So in summary, I would see that there is this very sad place.”
Liang Songheng believes that to force the Chinese government to respond to the current situation in Hong Kong, the adoption of economic sanctions will be an effective method.
I very much hope that the United States will continue their support for Hong Kong people’s struggle for democracy and freedom, including some sanctions against Hong Kong’s financial system,” Leung said. For China, the most important position of Hong Kong is the ATM, the ATM, the place to get money. If you shut it down, I’m pretty sure China’s economy won’t be able to withstand that kind of impact. He will be more easily forced back to the negotiating table.”
Zhu believes the new epidemic, which began in early 2020, has had an impact on Hong Kong’s protests, but the volume of Hong Kong’s issues still scares the Chinese government enough to speed up the implementation of the National Security Law.
The epidemic allows them to crack down faster, without any possibility of public protests and gathering in Hong Kong for public action,” said Zhu. But even during the new crown pandemic, we can clearly see that the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government are very fearful of the global attention that Hong Kong continues to generate, bringing a mindset that poses a threat to the sense of control over the whole of China. I think that’s why they stepped up the fight and proposed the National Security Law in May, which was quickly passed and then implemented in June.”
Zhu Mumin said that the Hong Kong protest movement has entered a new phase under the National Security Law, and that U.S.-led international cooperation is particularly important as local resistance becomes more difficult.
In an online seminar of the Hong Kong Democratic Committee, Mr. Lo replied to a question from the Voice of America that the movement is at a low ebb, but the anger of Hong Kong people has not abated, even though it is difficult to translate it into practical action. He argued that it is now more important for civil society to work together and to rethink how to support those who are in prison, in the judicial process and in need of help, and that such networks and resources are being built in the private sector.
The movement has cycles, there are lows and highs, and what is important is how we can persevere when we recognize that we are at a low ebb, how we can stay sustained, and how we can shift our focus to supporting those on the front lines and suffering,” said Lo. I think our civil society is operating in that direction.”
Yang Jinxia called on protesters to keep the faith in the doldrums and that the light will eventually come.
We must hold that faith,” she said. If you ask Wang Dan, Wang Dan still holds the desire to go back to Beijing, which is an ideal in the hearts of our protesters. Because without that confidence, without that purpose, how can we continue to go on? Wang Dan has been walking for thirty years, so these Luo Guancong, Xu Zhifeng, Liang Songheng, are all very young people, this road they may have to walk in the future for ten, twenty or even thirty or forty years, we do not know, but we must have this confidence. Because human rights and freedom is a worldwide value. This tactic of the Chinese Communist Party, this hegemony, will not be accepted by the world.”
Liang Songheng said, “I think this should be one of the greatest hopes of Hong Kong people overseas. For me, my biggest hope is that Hong Kong becomes back to Hong Kong for Hong Kong people, and then we can go back.”
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