In this campaign, you will contact your Congressional representatives to urge them to take these steps on an urgent basis. Beijing and the Hong Kong government must not be led to believe they can trample Hongkongers’ rights without any international consequences.
On March 19 2024, the Hong Kong government followed up the 2020 National Security Law by passing a second, even more repressive law under Article 23 of the city’s Basic Law. This “NSL 2.0” legislation criminalizes new forms of political expression and severely tightens existing restrictions, including with respect to criticizing the government (“sedition”), obtaining and revealing information that paints the government in a bad light (“state secrets”), and working with foreigners and foreign organizations (“external interference”). The bill adopts many aspects of mainland Chinese security laws in violation of Hong Kong’s guaranteed autonomy.
The U.S. must remain a leader in standing up for democracy, human rights, and freedom across the world. Beyond that important role, however, there are other, more specific U.S. interests threatened by the law:
- NSL 2.0’s prohibitions are explicitly extraterritorial, meaning that individuals in the U.S. will be targeted, including U.S. citizens, which will exacerbate transnational repression. The law also permits canceling exiles’ passports in violation of international law, which would leave Hongkongers in the U.S. stateless.
- NSL 2.0 undermines internationally accepted norms for individual rights by stripping away due process and fair trial protections. It also violates Hong Kong’s obligations under treaties including the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- By criminalizing many types of interactions with foreign organizations, NSL 2.0 jeopardizes Hong Kong’s role as an open international city, threatening the free exchange of information with Americans, the safety of U.S. expats in Hong Kong, and U.S. investment in the region.
On March 14, the leaders of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party wrote to the Secretary of State noting their bipartisan support for U.S. action in response to NSL 2.0. With respect to Congress, the letter highlighted potential actions including:
- Passing the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act S.490 | H.R. 1103, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee on November 29, 2023 by a vote of 39-0 and is ready for immediate floor consideration. If passed, this bill would begin a process to revoke privileges and close the three HKETOs in the United States, which operate as propaganda arms of the Hong Kong government;
- Passing the Transnational Repression Policy Act S.831 | H.R.3654, which would combat growing transnational repression by Beijing and the Hong Kong government, among others; and
- Passing new Hong Kong sanctions legislation S.3177 | H.R. 6153 targeting those responsible for implementing, enforcing, prosecuting, and ruling on the 2020 NSL and 2024 NSL 2.0.
