This blog is authored by Jon Stivers, Shannon Van Sant & Frances Hui of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation hosted its second annual symposium at the U.S. Capitol on September 12th, where political leaders, experts, Congressional staffers, and journalists, convened with advocates to discuss policy solutions to stop the ongoing crackdown and intensifying repression in Hong Kong.
The CFHK Foundation convenes the annual symposium with a goal of facilitating discussions among decision-makers and advocates on how to effectively counter the CCP’s threat and promote freedom in Hong Kong and around the globe. The symposium allows us to demonstrate how the deterioration of rule of law in Hong Kong is relevant to today’s political agenda and remind people of the CCP’s power to crush freedom.
Ambassador James Cunningham, the Board Chairman of the CFHK Foundation, opened the symposium by focusing on the mission of the CFHK Foundation and our initiatives to strengthen U.S. and UK policy to better respond to repression in Hong Kong and support for our efforts to free political prisoners, many of whom continue to languish in Hong Kong jails.
Over 100 attendees heard from invited speakers from all parties who shared thoughts and ideas about US policy towards Hong Kong and China including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi; Senator Jeff Merkley, Co-Chair of the CECC and Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Congresswoman Young Kim, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Indo-Pacific; and Congressman Jim McGovern. They offered messages of support and encouragement to the people of Hong Kong and those standing up against the CCPs interference in the city.
Their participation reflects the CFHK Foundation’s years-long effort to build relationships and support on Capitol Hill and raise awareness of the situation in Hong Kong.
Panel discussions explored media freedom in Hong Kong, where Aleksandra Bielakowska of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Anna Kwok, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), joined CFHK Foundation President Mark Clifford to discuss the Hong Kong government’s rapid dismantling of press freedom. Samuel Bickett, lawyer, head of the U.S.-Hong Kong Policy Roundtable, and author of the CFHK Foundation’s report “Beneath the Harbor,” was joined by China policy analyst and CFHK advisory board member, Carolyn Bartholomew, and Doug Klain, Policy Analyst with Razom for Ukraine, a humanitarian organization, to discuss Hong Kong’s growing role as a center of sanctions evasion and illicit finance, and how this fuels Russia’s war in Ukraine. And CFHK Foundation’s Shannon Van Sant spoke with Peter Mattis, President of the Jamestown Foundation, and Rick Switzer, former State Department diplomat and Founder and Principal at ProjX Technology Consulting, about Hong Kong’s investments in emerging technologies, and its role within the PRC’s national strategy and military-civil fusion policy.
The CFHK Foundation produced a video for the symposium documenting Hong Kong’s crackdown on democracy, rule of law and human rights. The CFHK Foundation was established in 2021 to keep a spotlight on the Chinese Communist Party’s abuses in Hong Kong and to hold those responsible to account. With the opening of its Washington office in 2022, the CFHK Foundation has worked with the Administration and Congress, with Republicans and Democrats, and civil society on a wide range of Hong Kong issues to ensure they continue to stay on the U.S. and international agenda.
These efforts have led to many accomplishments. Last week the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act (HR 1103) by a 413-3 vote. The bill would require the U.S. Secretary of State to annually certify whether HKETOs should continue to have diplomatic privileges and immunities now that Hong Kong’s special autonomous status has been decertified.
The CFHK Foundation is also supporting bipartisan legislation in support of the Hong Kong people including the Review of Sanctions with Respect to Hong Kong Act (H.R. 6153/S. 3177), the Jimmy Lai Way Act (H.R. 8125), the Hong Kong Business Integrity and Transparency Act (H.R. 2815), the Transnational Repression Policy Act (H.R. 3654), and legislation to extend sanctions related to Hong Kong, Tibet, and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (H.R. 8366).
We will continue to urge and to work with all Members of Congress to support these legislative initiatives.
The 2024 symposium set the stage for the CFHK Foundation’s goals going forward. We intend to strengthen our efforts to press the Administration and Congress to apply diplomatic, economic, and other pressure on the Chinese and Hong Kong governments to cease repression in Hong Kong and to free Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners. We will not rest until the Hong Kong people are able to enjoy the freedoms that they deserve.
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation Team
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