“President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are to be commended for sanctioning six Hong Kong officials complicit in undermining the city’s freedoms and responsible for transnational repression targeting American citizens and Hong Kongers residing in the US. The Hong Kong government’s intimidation and harassment of Americans is unacceptable, as is the arbitrary detention of over 1,500 political prisoners—only Burma and Belarus have jailed political prisoners at a higher rate in recent times. President Trump promised to gain the freedom of entrepreneur and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai and today’s sanctions are a great first step and certainly ratchet up the pressure on both the Hong Kong government and the Chinese Communist Party.”     

Background:  As Chair of the bipartisan Congressional- Executive Commission on China, Smith has held hearings and issued staff reports on the dismantling of democratic institutions in Hong Kong and recommended sanctions for several of the HK officials targeted today.  See the following for more information, including other officials complicit in undermining Hong Kong’s freedoms.

• One City, Two Legal Systems: Hong Kong Judges’ Role in Rights Violations under the National Security Law, dated May 10, 2023.
• Hong Kong’s Civil Society: From an Open City to a City of Fear, dated October 3, 2022.
• Hong Kong Prosecutors Play a Key Role in Carrying Out Political Prosecutions, dated July 12, 2022.

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