Sen. Cruz Condemns CCP’s Tightening Influence Over Hong Kong
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement following the Hong Kong legislature’s passage of a new law (Article 23) that further expands the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) erosion of Hong Kong’s freedom and autonomy.
Sen. Cruz said, “The Chinese Communist Party is determined to coerce officials in Hong Kong to pass legislation that mirrors restrictions on freedoms across China. This law includes a broad definition of ‘state secrets’ and ‘external interference’ which will allow Hong Kong officials to prosecute people who oppose CCP policies. The result of these actions is that Hong Kong is becoming indistinguishable from any other Chinese city. American lawmakers must acknowledge this brutal, sad reality even as we continue to counter the CCP’s oppression of the people of Hong Kong and the acute threats that China poses to the national security of the United States.”
BACKGROUND:
This law, which is expected to go into effect on Saturday, March 23rd, expands the original national security law that the CCP imposed on Hong Kong in May 2020. In response, the Trump administration signed an executive order in July 2020 that revoked Hong Kong’s preferential trade status and imposed financial sanctions on CCP and Hong Kong officials. Since July 2021, the U.S. government has failed to sanction additional individuals under this authority.
Sen. Cruz has stated that China “is the single greatest geopolitical threat of our time.”
- In December of last year, Sen. Cruz called for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, a dissident and the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, who is being unjustly detained by the Chinese Communist Party and subjected to an illegitimate trial without his choice of legal representation.
- In April of 2020, Sen. Cruz worked to hold the CCP accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic.
- In 2019, Sen. Cruz introduced the Hong Kong Policy Reevaluation Act of 2019, which requires the State Department to report on whether China was eroding Hong Kong's autonomy, and to alter U.S. policy if it was. A version of the bill was signed into law in November 2019 as part of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.
- In October 2019, as part of his Indo-Pacific ‘Friends and Allies' tour, Sen. Cruz met with pro-democracy activists, dissidents, and protest leaders in Hong Kong and expressed his support for those fighting to protect Hong Kong's autonomy, free speech, and basic human rights.
- Sen. Cruz has called for a fundamental reassessment of the U.S.-China relationship, and has introduced numerous bills to unwind the United States from China. Read more about Sen. Cruz's comprehensive push to reassess the United States' relationship with China here.
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