HONG KONG’S SUMMER OF DISCONTENT AND U.S. POLICY RESPONSES HEARING BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 Printed for the use of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China ( Available at www.cecc.gov or www.govinfo.gov U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 37–960 PDF WASHINGTON : 2019 VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:55 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 036743 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 C:\USERS\DSHERMAN1\DESKTOP\37960.TXT DAVID CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS House Senate JAMES P. MCGOVERN, Massachusetts, MARCO RUBIO, Florida, Cochairman Chairman JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio TOM COTTON, Arkansas THOMAS SUOZZI, New York STEVE DAINES, Montana TOM MALINOWSKI, New Jersey TODD YOUNG, Indiana BEN MCADAMS, Utah DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California CHRISTOPHER SMITH, New Jersey JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon BRIAN MAST, Florida GARY PETERS, Michigan VICKY HARTZLER, Missouri ANGUS KING, Maine EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS Not yet appointed JONATHAN STIVERS, Staff Director PETER MATTIS, Deputy Staff Director (ii) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:55 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 036743 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 C:\USERS\DSHERMAN1\DESKTOP\37960.TXT DAVID C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS Page Opening Statement of Hon. James P. McGovern, a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts; Chairman, Congressional-Executive Commission on China .. 1 Statement of Hon. Marco Rubio, a U.S. Senator from Florida; Cochairman, Congressional-Executive Commission on China ................................................ 3 Statement of Hon. Christopher Smith, a U.S. Representative from New Jer- sey .......................................................................................................................... 6 Joshua Wong, Secretary-General of Demosisto¯, pro-democracy activist, and Umbrella Movement leader ................................................................................. 9 Denise Ho, pro-democracy activist and award-winning Cantopop singer and actress ................................................................................................................... 11 Sunny Cheung, spokesperson for the Hong Kong Higher Institutions Inter- national Affairs Delegation ................................................................................. 13 Sharon Hom, Executive Director of Human Rights in China and Professor of Law Emerita at City University of New York School of Law ...................... 14 Daniel Garrett, Ph.D., political scientist and author of ‘‘Counter-Hegemonic Resistance in China’s Hong Kong: Visualizing Protest in the City’’ (2014) .... 17 APPENDIX PREPARED STATEMENTS Wong, Joshua ........................................................................................................... 49 Ho, Denise ................................................................................................................ 50 Cheung, Sunny ......................................................................................................... 52 Garrett, Daniel ......................................................................................................... 56 Hom, Sharon ............................................................................................................ 65 McGovern, Hon. James P. ....................................................................................... 72 Rubio, Hon. Marco ................................................................................................... 73 Smith, Hon. Christopher ......................................................................................... 74 SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD Witness Biographies ................................................................................................ 77 (iii) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:55 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 036743 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\USERS\DSHERMAN1\DESKTOP\37960.TXT DAVID VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:55 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 036743 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 C:\USERS\DSHERMAN1\DESKTOP\37960.TXT DAVID HONG KONG’S SUMMER OF DISCONTENT AND U.S. POLICY RESPONSES TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA, Washington, DC. The hearing was convened, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in room 419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Representative James P. McGovern, Chairman, presiding. Also present: Senator Rubio, Cochairman, Senators King, Daines, Young, and Peters, and Representatives Suozzi, Smith, and McAdams. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES P. MCGOVERN, A U.S. REPRESENTATIVE FROM MASSACHUSETTS; CHAIRMAN, CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA Chairman MCGOVERN. The committee will come to order. Good morning and welcome to today’s hearing on Hong Kong’s Summer of Discontent and U.S. Policy Responses. This is the second China Commission hearing this year on the situation in Hong Kong. During our May hearing, the Commission heard compelling testimony from Hong Kong pro-democracy advo- cates, including Martin Lee and Nathan Law, who expressed seri- ous concerns about the extradition bill that was quickly moving to- ward becoming law at that time. That legislation would have put anyone in Hong Kong, including U.S. citizens, at risk of extradition to mainland China where a lack of due process and custodial abuse have been well documented. Over the last 16 weeks, millions of people from all walks of life in Hong Kong have taken to the streets in an unprecedented and sustained show of unity. The protesters have inspired the world and have risked their lives, their health, their jobs, and their edu- cation to fight for the future of Hong Kong. Thank you for your courage and thank you for your bravery. We stand in solidarity with you. As protests continued throughout the summer, Hong Kong police used excessive and unnecessary force to target those engaged in peaceful demonstrations. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation. The U.K. has suspended ex- port licenses for the sale of tear gas and crowd-control equipment. And the House of Representatives—Congressman Chris Smith and I—have introduced H.R. 4270, the PROTECT Hong Kong Act, that would prohibit U.S. exports of police equipment to Hong Kong. U.S. companies should not be selling equipment used to violently crack (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:55 Dec 27, 2019 Jkt 036743 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 C:\USERS\DSHERMAN1\DESKTOP\37960.TXT DAVID 2 down on pro-democracy protesters. I hope Congress will pass this legislation as soon as possible. Although consideration of the extradition bill has been sus- pended, the people of Hong Kong are calling for greater account- ability and democratic participation. It’s my understanding that the Hong Kong protesters have outlined five demands of Hong Kong and Chinese authorities. I look forward to hearing from to- day’s witnesses what those demands are specifically, what progress has been made by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments on achieving them, what remains to be done, and how we in Congress and the international community might be helpful. The ‘‘one country, two systems’’ framework was enshrined in the 1984 Sino-British Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law. This is an international treaty signed by the Chinese government to allow Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy with the ultimate aim of electing its Chief Executive and Legislative Council members by universal suffrage. The 2014 Umbrella Movement protests were sparked by the Chi- nese government reneging on its commitment to make Hong Kong more democratic. It is the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s auton- omy and rule of law that fuels the protests in Hong Kong today. Over the last five years, the Chinese government has prioritized control over Hong Kong by stifling free expression and restricting the space for democratic participation. We have seen the prosecu- tion and sentencing of pro-democracy leaders, the disqualification and removal of pro-democracy legislators, and the introduction of a new national anthem bill that would restrict free expression. Anson Chan, the former Hong Kong Chief Secretary and Legisla- tive Council member recently offered this insight: ‘‘If only Beijing would understand what makes Hong Kong tick, what are the val- ues we hold dear, then they can use that energy to benefit both China and Hong Kong. Instead, they have this mentality of con- trol.’’ While the protests were sparked by concerns about the extra- dition bill, the heart of the discontent is that Hong Kong’s political leaders do not represent and are not accountable to the people. In- stead, Hong Kong’s leaders are beholden to the Chinese govern- ment. Millions of people would not have to protest in the streets if they could freely choose their political leaders. I hope the Chinese gov- ernment would understand that stability and prosperity can be achieved if Hong Kong’s autonomy is respected and if the Chief Ex- ecutive and Legislative Council members were elected without Chi- nese influence over candidate selection. In light of the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and the recent violence against peaceful protesters, I believe it is time for the United States to reconsider its policies toward Hong Kong. U.S.-Hong Kong relations are governed by the U.S.-Hong Kong Pol- icy Act of 1992 that commits the United States to treating Hong Kong as a separate customs territory from the rest of China so long as Hong Kong remains sufficiently autonomous. I am proud to support H.R. 3289, the