1 March 2023 – The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation’s Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Frances Hui, spoke outside of Congress alongside Congressman Mike Gallagher prior to the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) first hearing.
On the two-year anniversary of the arrest of the Hong Kong 47, Congressman Gallagher and the 23 other members on the Select Committee organised a gathering and sent a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to demand the immediate release of the Hong Kong 47 – now enduring a show trial – and all political prisoners in Hong Kong. Congressman Gallagher promised Americans, “The Select Committee is here today to send a message to the CCP and to prove Joshua Wong right – you can hold the bodies of brave activists captive, but you can’t contain their pursuit of freedom.” Ms Hui urged Congress to persevere in their latest efforts to challenge the CCP’s authoritarian tactics including their violation of human rights, export of surveillance, and censorship of criticism worldwide.
Following Ms Hui’s remarks, Congressman Gallagher launched the Select Committee’s first hearing. He detailed how the panel will “investigate and expose the ideological, technological, and military threat posed by the CCP” and declared the need “to act with a sense of urgency”.
The hearing included testimonies from Chinese human rights activist Tong Yi and former Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger, who highlighted the CCP’s fear of their own people. The hearing covered the CCP’s human rights violations within the business sector such as their illegal subsidies, dumping of products in US markets, and collaborations with Wall Street. Congressman Gallagher called for the removal of the three Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices on US soil, citing them as extensions of the CCP’s watchful eye. He warned, “This is not a polite tennis match. This is an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century – and the most fundamental freedoms are at stake.”
The CFHK Foundation’s Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, Frances Hui, said:
“It was never too young for me to start (my activism). And it is never too late for the US to step up its efforts to safeguard freedom in Hong Kong and hold the CCP and Hong Kong authorities to account.”
The CFHK Foundation’s President, Mark Clifford, said:
“The Select Committee on the CCP is an important initiative by the US Congress to blunt the Party’s continuing assaults on freedom in China, in Hong Kong and around the world. The CFHK Foundation looks forward to supporting the efforts of Congressman Gallagher and all 24 members of the Select Committee to defend Hong Kong and advance US policy that will further global democracy and freedom.”