US lawmakers want Mike Pompeo to highlight democracy activists’ arrests in Hong Kong autonomy evaluation

Round-up earlier this month included media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and ‘father of democracy’ Martin Lee Chu-ming

‘Failing to address Beijing’s efforts to erode Hong Kong autonomy will undermine its people’s human rights,’ bipartisan lawmakers write US Secretary of State

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Former Hong Kong lawmaker Martin Lee Chu-ming walks out of Central Police station after his arrest earlier this month. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 8:10am, 29 Apr 2020Updated: 8:25am, 29 Apr 2020

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers wrote Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday requesting that his department’s upcoming assessment of Hong Kong’s autonomy reflect a recent wave of arrests by the city’s authorities of pro-democracy activists.

Citing their roles in unlawful protests, Hong Kong police rounded up at least 15 opposition camp activists earlier this month, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and prominent barrister Martin Lee Chu-ming, known as the city’s “father of democracy”.

“As you know, the situation in Hong Kong has continued to decline over recent months even as Covid-19 has stymied the pro-democracy protests that garnered the world’s attention,” the eight US lawmakers, led by Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Representative James McGovern, a Democrat, wrote in their letter to Pompeo.

Denouncing Lee’s arrest, the lawmakers called the 81-year-old “a pillar of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and staunch advocate of the rule of law and peaceful protest”.

Lawmakers wrote that “the situation in Hong Kong has continued to decline”, in their letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: AFP

In addition to the recent arrests, the US lawmakers also raised concern about the assertion made by Beijing’s liaison office in the special administrative region that it is not bound by a clause in the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, that protects against interference in the city’s affairs by mainland departments.

“This constitutes a significant departure from previous statements about the role of these two offices in Hong Kong affairs and risks further diminishing Hong Kong’s autonomy,” the letter said.

US lawmakers want Mike Pompeo to highlight democracy activists’ arrests in Hong Kong autonomy evaluation

Round-up earlier this month included media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and ‘father of democracy’ Martin Lee Chu-ming ‘Failing to address Beijing’s efforts to erode Hong Kong autonomy will undermine its people’s human rights,’ bipartisan lawmakers write US Secretary of State

Round-up earlier this month included media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and ‘father of democracy’ Martin Lee Chu-ming

‘Failing to address Beijing’s efforts to erode Hong Kong autonomy will undermine its people’s human rights,’ bipartisan lawmakers write US Secretary of State