By: Sarah Johnson
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act was first proposed in 2017 and re-introduced this year. The bill was first sponsored by Chris Smith and Marco Rubio, co-chairmen of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Both the House and Senate bills died in 2017 after being read and referred to committee. In June of this year, Smith and Rubio re-introduced the legislation with some changes in light of the protests that have been taking place in Hong Kong all summer opposing a proposed extradition bill.
When he re-introduced the bill, Smith said
“We introduce this legislation today because democracy and freedom are under assault in Hong Kong, and it is critical for the Congress to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to Hong Kong’s autonomy, to the human rights guaranteed the people of Hong Kong, and to those peacefully protesting the Chinese government’s increasingly rough oversight of Hong Kong. It is in everyone’s interest that Hong Kong remain a free and prosperous bridge between China and the world. But if Beijing intends to force Hong Kong into becoming just another mainland Chinese city under authoritarian rule, we must reevaluate whether Hong Kong warrants the special status granted under U.S. law.”
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 is bicameral, bipartisan and aims to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in regards to Hong Kong and the Chinese government’s relationship. The bill states its purpose to be “to renew the historical commitment of the United States to uphold freedom and democracy in Hong Kong at a time when its autonomy is increasingly under assault.” The House bill calls for annual evaluations of whether Hong Kong still meets the conditions put in place in 1992 to grant Hong Kong special economic status – including remaining autonomous.
Background on Hong Kong, Britain and China
At the end of the First Opium War in 1842, Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after Qing China relinquished Hong Kong Island. The territory further expanded twice more, first to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War, and second to include the New Territories when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the land in 1898. When the end of Britain’s lease was approaching in the late 1990’s, the colony and region faced uncertainty. In 1984, diplomatic negotiations between Britain and China resulted in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. This declaration ensured that if the United Kingdom agreed to transfer the colony in 1997, China would guarantee Hong Kong’s economic and governing systems stay in place for 50 years after the transfer (until 2047). This “special administrative region” is maintained by the principle of “one country, two systems”. This principle was put in place to help reassure the people of Hong Kong that their civil service, independent courts, free press, (eventually) open internet and the other “free” characteristics of their society would be preserved, distinguishing the region from mainland China.
After the transferal of its colony, Hong Kong faced many issues including a mass emigration, the outbreak of H5N1 avian-flu and a SARS epidemic, all taking a great toll on their economy. The region also has experienced difficulty with maintaining their “protected” freedoms, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act states that,”Beijing has consistently undermined the ‘one country, two systems’ principle and infringed on the autonomy the residents of Hong Kong are supposed to be guaranteed.” In 2014, China issued a decision it would perform pre-screening of nominees before allowing them to partake in the Chief Executive elections. This was widely perceived as a restrictive policy and resulted in a two and a half month long protest in the region known as the Umbrella Revolution.
In 2016, a court in Hong Kong disqualified four pro-democracy candidates for failing to “sincerely take the oath of office” when they amended their oaths during their swearing in ceremonies. This action took the veto power from the pro-democracy party in Hong Kong’s government and gave it to the pro-establishment (pro China) side. Amendments the candidates did to their oaths range from prefacing the oath with a quote from Gandhi and a pledge to serve the Hong Kong people to using “Shina” instead of “China” (a racial slur term against Chinese people) to holding a yellow umbrella (a symbol of the Umbrella Revolution). People believe this action has discouraged open challenges to the Chinese government and greatly influenced the political speech used to fight for greater democracy in the region.
Finally, there are other stories out of Hong Kong detailing threats to its freedom like China seizing a billionaire and abducting booksellers from Hong Kong to be taken to China.
Why are People Protesting the Extradition Bill?
The extradition bill, proposed in February 2019, would “amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance in relation to special surrender arrangements and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance so that assistance in a criminal matter covered by bilateral arrangements for mutual legal assistance that are ‘prescribed arrangements’ can be made between Hong Kong and any place outside Hong Kong.” The bill essentially would allow for the detention and extradition of people wanted for a qualifying crime in countries and territories currently excluded from extradition treaties like Taiwan, Mainland China and Macau. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, said the bill was introduced and urgently needed in order to extradite and prosecute a Hong Kong man wanted for the murder of his girlfriend in Taiwan.
Opposition to the bill is centered around the necessity of following orders from the Communist Party of China and the possibility of a slippery slope. Although the law would require the Chief Executive to approve an extradition request before an arrest warrant is issued, people believe it would be incredibly hard for someone to reject a request from superior China. The bill would also allow Hong Kong courts to investigate if there is a case against a suspect, supposed to safeguard against any malicious intent.
Residents and opposition to this bill fear it could one day target not just criminals but lead to the targeting of political activists as well. Critics say this extradition bill represents a further erosion of the city’s freedoms and could eventually enable and allow for China to round up opponents to their government to face trial on the mainland.
What the Act Proposes
- Require the Secretary of State to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment afforded to Hong Kong by the U.S. Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
- Require the President to identify persons responsible for the abductions of Hong Kong booksellers and journalists and those complicit in suppressing basic freedoms in Hong Kong, including those complicit in the rendition of individuals, in connection to their exercise of internationally recognized rights, to mainland China for detention or trial, and to freeze their U.S.-based assets and deny them entry into the United States.
- Require the President to issue a strategy to protect U.S. citizens and businesses from the risks posed by a revised Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, including by determining whether to revise the U.S.-Hong Kong extradition agreement and the State Department’s travel advisory for Hong Kong.
- Require the Secretary of Commerce to issue an annual report assessing whether the government of Hong Kong is adequately enforcing both U.S. export regulations regarding sensitive dual-use items and U.S. and U.N. sanctions, particularly regarding Iran and North Korea.
- Make clear that visa applicants shall not be denied visas on the basis of the applicant’s arrest, detention or other adverse government action taken as a result of their participation in the nonviolent protest activities related to pro-democracy advocacy, human rights, or the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Only time will tell to see if this legislation is passed, if it influences the events in Hong Kong and China and what will happen to the millions of protesters fighting to preserve their rights. This story changes almost weekly, so make sure you continue to keep an eye on this space.
Photo by Florian Wehde on Unsplash
About BillTrack50 – BillTrack50 offers free tools for citizens to easily research legislators and bills across all 50 states and Congress. BillTrack50 also offers professional tools to help organizations with ongoing legislative and regulatory tracking, as well as easy ways to share information both internally and with the public.