Washington, DC - Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State: "Beijing’s onslaught against Hong Kong’s freedoms and liberties continues. The United States strongly condemns the “patriotism” resolution passed by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee on November 11, which disqualified four members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council for exercising their mandates as lawmakers.
"This resolution tramples on the rights of the people of Hong Kong to choose their elected representatives as guaranteed by the Basic Law and further exposes Beijing’s blatant disregard for its international commitments under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a U.N.-registered treaty. Beijing has eliminated nearly all of Hong Kong’s promised autonomy, as it neuters democratic processes and legal traditions that have been the bedrock of Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity. Once again, the CCP’s twisted vision of patriotism is a pretext to stifle freedom and the call for democracy.
"The United States will continue to work with our allies and partners around the world to champion the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and call out Beijing’s abject failure to honor its commitments. We will hold accountable the people responsible for these actions and policies that erode Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms. We stand with the disqualified pan-Democratic lawmakers, the pro-democracy lawmakers who resigned in protest, and the people of Hong Kong."
