The US Senate, in a unanimous vote, on Tuesday passed legislation aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong amid a crackdown on a pro-democracy protest movement, drawing Beijing’s ire.
Following the voice vote, the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” must go to the US House of Representatives, which approved its own version last month.
The two chambers would have to work out their differences before any legislation could be sent to US President Donald Trump for his consideration.
Photo: AFP
“The people of Hong Kong see what’s coming — they see the steady effort to erode the autonomy and their freedoms,” US Senator Marco Rubio said at the start of the brief Senate debate, accusing Beijing of being behind the “violence and repression” in the territory.
The Senate passed a second bill, also unanimously, that would ban the export of certain crowd-control munitions to the Hong Kong Police Force.
Under the first bill, the US secretary of state would have to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for special US trading consideration that bolsters its status as a world financial center.
It also would provide for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations.
China yesterday condemned the passage of the first bill.
“This act neglects facts and truth, applies double standards and blatantly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and China’s other internal affairs,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) said in a statement. “It is in serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. China condemns and firmly opposes it.”
In Hong Kong, dozens of protesters stood firm within the besieged Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hung Hom, where an “SOS” sign was laid out as supporters took up calls to distract police surrounding the campus by disrupting the territory’s transport.
The epicenter of nearly six months of pro-democracy protests has shifted to the campus, a stone’s throw from the territory’s harbor, where hardcore protesters have held off riot police with Molotov cocktails, bricks and arrows.
Protesters at the university said about 50 of their number remained after hundreds had fled deteriorating conditions and officials warned that police might fire live rounds.
Exhausted bands of young people continued to wander the debris-strewn campus, preparing Molotov cocktails while others slept on a gym floor.
The holdouts included about 20 of the university’s students, a school official said.
Others were medically evacuated overnight, and yesterday before dawn journalists watched as police chased down and arrested about a dozen students making a break for it.
Meanwhile, Simon Cheng (鄭文傑), a former employee of the British consulate in Hong Kong, yesterday alleged he was tortured while being detained in China, during a 15-day ordeal in which he said he was branded “a British spy” and held in solitary confinement.
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Dominic Raab has summoned the Chinese ambassador to Britain to demand an explanation.
Cheng, 29, a Hong Kong citizen, was detained for 15 days in August while trying to return to Hong Kong from a trip in mainland China.
He said he was tortured for days before being forced to falsely confess that he and the British government had played a role in the protests in Hong Kong.
He was put in what is known as “tiger chair,” a metal chair with bars that disables a detainee’s movements, and was hung handcuffed and shackled on a steep “x-cross” and forced into a spread-eagled position for hours.
“I have made clear we expect the Chinese authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account,” Raab said.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
RSS