BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s certification to Congress that Hong Kong does not continue to warrant treatment under United States laws in the same manner as U.S. laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1997:
“It is not surprising that Secretary Pompeo has determined that Hong Kong no longer enjoys the high degree of autonomy that its people were constitutionally guaranteed. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken advantage of the world’s focus on COVID-19 to undermine the freedom of the Hong Kong people, as well as the long-standing laws and international treaties intended to safeguard Hong Kong’s autonomy. Last week’s announcement that the CCP will introduce legislation in the name of national security to implement Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law was just the latest act. We continue to support the people of Hong Kong and their aspirations to live free from Beijing’s grip.”
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