Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) helped manage debate and final passage today of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act— which he had introduced in every Congress since 2014—while on the streets of Hong Kong students demonstrated amid escalating threats by the Chinese Communist government against Hong Kong’s residents.

“Today, Hong Kong is burning. The status quo is no longer—the brutal government crackdown on democracy activists has escalated. Tragically, under President Xi Jinping, human rights abuse throughout China has significantly worsened including the pervasive use of torture, religious persecution , human trafficking and genocide against Muslim Uighurs,” said Smith, Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (TLHRC). He is the author of the House companion bill that passed in October.

“The Hong Kong government prefers bullets and batons over peaceful and political dialogue that would address the Hong Kong people’s rightful grievances. That is the sad and disgusting reality. And it is what the Chinese Communist government does best—suppress, repress, torture and censor.” Click here to read Congressman Smith’s full statement.

Smith’s Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, H.R. 3289, which he first introduced in an earlier version five years ago, passed the House on October 15. The final bill that passed today was drafted in collaboration with colleagues in the Senate, S.1838, introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio. It passed 417-1.

“With passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, the United States Congress is making it clear that beating, torturing and jailing democracy activists is wrong,” Smith said. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Hong Kong. There will be strong sanctions, other ramifications, for this crackdown and abuse of power.”

The final bill has sanctions for those who commit human rights abuses. Although the controversial extradition bill to allow extradition of Hong Kong residents to China was begrudgingly withdrawn months ago, the residents of Hong Kong, especially students, have taken to the streets to assert rights to universal suffrage, investigation of police tactics, and freedom.

Smith, who noted 2019 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre—an international, documented historical event the Chinese government has all but erased from the internet and its history books—first introduced the Hong Kong bill to allow for more flexible and robust U.S. responses to the steady erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and human rights.

“We cannot avert our eyes to what is happening in Hong Kong. We cannot not silence our voices when the rule of law, democracy, human rights, free speech and autonomy are being threatened in Hong Kong. We must remain steadfast in support of the people of Hong Kong,” Smith told his colleagues. “The whole world has a stake in a peaceful and just resolution in Hong Kong. The passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is an important signal that this Congress considers Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy a critical interest of the United States and the international community.”

Smith is a commissioner on the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which he chaired for two terms.

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