The Florida congressman who leads Republicans on Asia issues in the U.S. House teamed up with a top Democrat to sound the alarm on China’s handling of protests in Hong Kong.
This week, U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., the chairman of the U.S. House Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, paired up with U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., who leads Republicans on the subcommittee, on the continued protests. The protests, which started over an extradition policy that could lead activists in Hong Kong to be deported to mainland China, have resulted in the shutdown of the Hong Kong airport.
“The people of Hong Kong have every reason to protest and they are exercising their right to assemble while they still can,” Yoho said on Wednesday. “Beijing has overstepped in Hong Kong, both by hand-picking Chief Executive Lam - who is by proxy a CCP supporter - and by rapidly introducing an extradition bill that had little to no public support.
“This could be ended today by fully withdrawing the extradition bill instead of continually accusing the United States of meddling in these affairs,” Yoho added.
“The Hong Kong people are peacefully expressing their opposition to China’s failure to live up to the promises it made about Hong Kong’s autonomy in the Joint Declaration and Hong Kong Basic Law,” Sherman said. “As a major power, China must listen to the people of Hong Kong and not violently suppress peaceful protests. The world is watching.”
Yoho and Sherman pointed to the “United States-Hong Kong Policy Act” which was enacted back in 1992. That act committed the U.S. to backing a “high degree of autonomy” for Hong Kong and insisted the “human rights of the people of Hong Kong are of great importance to the United States.”
