The 2019 version of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio, Rep. McGovern & Rep. Chris Smith), as noted by the HK law expert Wong On-yin's On8 Channel, differs from the 2017 version, in that the former aims at sanctioning HK and China officials or others for violation of human rights ONLY in connection with rendition of people from HK to China, while the latter aims to sanction HK and China officials or others for violation of human rights in HK in general, e.g., press & speech freedoms, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, religious freedom. As the HK pan-democrats, who must have known this, have so far not disclosed it to the HK public, the only conclusion, Wong argues, is that they have taken part in persuading the US Congressmen to domesticate the Act.
Now that HK Chief Executive Carrie Lam has formally withdrawn the Extradition Bill, the effect of the revised HK Human Rights and Democracy Act on HK and China officials is not much.
We think that the only remedy now is for the US to enact this Act in conjunction with the Magnitsky Act, which will authorize the US government to sanction HK and China officials who it sees as human rights offenders, to freeze their assets, and ban them from entering the U.S. The cause of this mishap is the fact that the voice of Hong Kong localists, who put Hong Kong first just as President Donald Trump puts America first, is largely absent in Washington D.C.
In mid-August, HK pan-democracy lawmakers Dennis Kwok and Alvin Yeung flied to Washington and met officials ahead of Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act debate.
Pic credit: On8 Channel.
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