Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the author of the House-passed Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, released the following statement condemning the Chinese government’s latest assault on Hong Kong freedoms.

   “I unequivocally condemn Beijing’s efforts to destroy Hong Kong as we know it—with its freedoms of press, speech and assembly, which are now imperiled—and I stand with the people of Hong Kong during this dark period,” Smith said. “We are witnessing the death knell of the ‘high degree of autonomy’ that China’s communist rulers had promised and are guaranteed under both the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Should Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam continue to follow the dictates of Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping and fail to protect the rights of the people of Hong Kong, she will have presided over the death of ‘One Country, Two Systems,’ and the United States will be forced, by statute, to reassess the status of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and our relationship with it.”

   According to Smith, under the law Trump  signed on November 27, 2019, the President must submit a report to congress not later than 180 days after he signed it,  identifying persons responsible for undermining fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong. “That means the report is due, starting today,” he said.

The Secretary of Commerce has a similar deadline to identify whether China is using Hong Kong to evade the United States’ export control regime in order to obtain sensitive dual-use technology.

   Smith is a Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.  He is also is a commissioner on the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which he previously chaired for two terms.

PICTURED: Rep. Chris Smith on the House floor Nov. 20, 2019 managing debate of the bill.

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