US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, initiated a “hotline” process for the Senate to pass their Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act on Thursday.
The strategic procedure carried out by the upper chamber’s leadership checks for last-minute opposition to an attempt to bring a bill immediately to the floor for a vote.
If no senators voice opposition to side stepping a formal vote, the bill passes.
“The world witnesses the people of Hong Kong standing up every day to defend their long-cherished freedoms against an increasingly aggressive Beijing and Hong Kong government,” Rubio said in a press release.
“Their cries have been met with violence, and young Hong Kong lives have tragically been lost.
“Now more than ever, the United States must send a clear message to Beijing that the free world stands with Hongkongers in their struggle,” Rubio’s release said.
“I thank leaders McConnell and Schumer for their support, as well as Chairman Risch, Ranking Member Menendez and Senator Cardin for their strong partnership on this legislation and look forward to its enactment.”
Rubio’s comments came after China’s state-run Xinhua news agency earlier on Thursday quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as reiterating that Beijing supported the Hong Kong police’s use of force to quell the “continuing radical violent crimes”.
US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, launched a “hotline” process for the Senate to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Photo: AFP alt=US Senator Marco Rubio and Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, launched a “hotline” process for the Senate to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. Photo: AFP
Earlier in the day, China’s state-owned Global Times newspaper had published a post on its Twitter account asserting that Hong Kong authorities were preparing to announce the imposition of a weekend curfew. The tweet was later deleted.
“The world needs to see that the United States will stand up and tell the Chinese Communist Party that what they are doing to the people of Hong Kong is wrong,” Risch said.
“After more than two decades of broken promises, it is time to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy. The US stands with the people of Hong Kong, and I look forward to continuing to work with Senate leadership and my colleagues across the aisle to move this bill swiftly.”
In 2007, Beijing said it would grant universal suffrage to the city in 2017, but that plan was scrapped when the Chinese capital said in 2014 that the candidates had to be chosen by a “nominating committee”.
Protesters attack the University MTR Station on the East Rail Line and a train carriage near Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong alt=Protesters attack the University MTR Station on the East Rail Line and a train carriage near Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong
Hong Kong increasingly has become a battleground between police and protesters since June, when mass peaceful marches targeted a government proposal, since shelved, to allow the city’s criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China.
Those protests have since morphed into a larger activism, with Hongkongers demanding the right to vote for their own city leaders.
This week, the pro-democracy protests have taken a dark turn. On Wednesday, a 15-year-old boy was hit in the head by what appeared to be a tear-gas canister, according to the city Hospital Authority.
A day earlier, a battle between police and protesters turned the a top university’s campus into a combat zone.
On Monday, a Hong Kong police officer shot a protester, while in a separate incident, protesters apparently set on fire a man who had expressed support for police outside an MTR station.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell echoed Rubio and Risch in a tweet on Thursday, urging the US government to act quickly to protect the protesters.””The Senate needs to stand with Hong Kong, and I hope we can take action soon”” McConnell said.
“”I was encouraged by a productive conversation with [Rubio on Wednesday] on legislation to further help the people of Hong Kong.”
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would give the president a mandate to impose sanctions on foreigners determined to be responsible for the extrajudicial rendition to the mainland, arbitrary detention, torture, or forced confession of people in Hong Kong, as well as for other gross violations of human rights in the city.
A poster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin expresses support for the proposed US democracy bill amid a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong alt=A poster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin expresses support for the proposed US democracy bill amid a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Felix Wong
In addition, the bill would task the Executive Branch to develop a strategy to protect American citizens and others in Hong Kong from rendition or abduction to China, and to report annually to Congress any violations of US export control laws and United Nations sanctions occurring in the city. “
“Only international sanctions could impose some constraints on those who order to shoot and those who follow order to shoot. Senate needs to act as soon as possible on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act”” said Victoria Tin-bor Hui, a board member of Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), a Washington-based pro-democracy non-profit organisation.
Samuel Chu, an HKDC managing director, praised Rubio’s effort to institute a hotline process that would speed up the bill’s passage in the Senate.
“The quickest way for the Senate to move would be to seek unanimous consent using a hotline,” he said.
“If the Hong Kong bill is hotlined, and that can be done as soon as today, I firmly believe that the full Senate will stand united for Hong Kong””
“There is no time to waste, as every day we wake up to new images of a violent crackdown, increased bloodshed, mass arrests and suppressions on the streets, on university campuses, in private residences and even houses of worship”” Chu said.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2019 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.