WASHINGTON – U. S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing a bipartisan resolution condemning the Chinese government’s ongoing crackdown against democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong and Beijing’s violation of the commitments it made in the legally binding international treaty known as the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The resolution also calls on the government of the United States to respond by using all diplomatic and economic tools to punish Beijing, including targeted sanctions and measures contained in the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (P.L. 116-149). The resolution further urges the United States to review the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) violations of its treaty obligations to Hong Kong as it contemplates any future agreements with Beijing and urges the International Olympic Committee to consider moving the 2022 Winter Olympics out of China because of the government’s ongoing human rights violations.
“The CCP’s brutal crackdown on the people of Hong Kong is unacceptable,” said Risch. “The United States must continue to use the tools provided by Congress to pressure the CCP to return rule of law and autonomy to Hong Kong. I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing a resolution reaffirming this effort.”
“The CCP’s continued aggression against Hong Kong and its crushing of Hong Kong’s autonomy and basic freedoms must be met with international condemnation and strong countermeasures,” Rubio said. “Words are not enough. We must act with all of the diplomatic and economic tools available to hold CCP officials accountable. This includes urging the International Olympic Committee to move the Olympics out of China to a country more deserving of the honor of hosting the games.”
“The U.S. stands with Hong Kong in its fight for democracy and freedom,” Cardin said. “It is unacceptable that the Chinese government refuses to honor its agreement to the Hong Kong people made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. We must continue to hold the government of China accountable and enact consequences for those who violate human rights.”
Risch, Rubio, Cardin, and Markey were joined by Senators Mike Braun (R-Ind.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).
Text of the resolution can be found here.
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