{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-opening-statement-at-hearing-on-democracy-and-human-rights-in-hong-kong", "CURTIS OPENING STATEMENT AT HEARING ON DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN HONG KONG", "2025-07-22", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "Senate", "UT", "John R. Curtis", "C001114", "www.curtis.senate.gov", "curtis", "https://www.curtis.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator John Curtis (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women\u2019s Issues, today gave the following opening remarks at a hearing examining the Status of Democracy and Human Rights in Hong Kong, Five Years After the PRC\u2019s Judicial Takeover.\n\n\u201cFirst, a note that the full title for this Subcommittee is \u2018Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women\u2019s Issues.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cWhile the Subcommittee focus is on the Western Hemisphere, we also have jurisdiction over global human rights and democracy, and Ranking Member Kaine and I will be holding some hearings this Congress on the topic of global human rights and democracy such as this one.\u201d\n\n\u201cFive years ago, the Chinese Communist Party imposed the so-called National Security Law on Hong Kong\u2014an act that marked the end of \u201cOne Country, Two Systems\u201d and culminated in the full-scale dismantling of Hong Kong\u2019s freedoms, rule of law, and judicial independence.\u201d\n\n\u201cLast year, Hong Kong doubled down on its repression and enacted the \u201cArticle 23\u201d law\u2014a sweeping expansion of the National Security Law that introduces dangerously vague offenses like \u201cexternal interference\u201d and \u201cstate secrets,\u201d punishable by life in prison. This hearing is not just about an anniversary\u2014it\u2019s about the people whose lives have been reshaped by the loss of liberty, and the warning their story sends to the rest of the world.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe meet today to reaffirm a bipartisan truth: human rights do not end where the reach of the CCP begins. The United States has a moral obligation to stand firmly with those in Hong Kong whose voices have been silenced, whose rights have been stripped, and whose future has been thrown into uncertainty by the Chinese Communist Party. In the years since 2020, I\u2019ve watched as courageous Hong Kongers have been arrested, exiled, and silenced. Courageous Hong Kongers like Jimmy Lai prove the CCP\u2019s fear of free voices. Mr. Lai has spent the last 4\u00bd years largely in solitary confinement. Authorities are so threatened by his image that the last photo of him\u2014taken two years ago by an AP photographer\u2014led to that photographer\u2019s expulsion from Hong Kong. Since then, guards have used umbrellas, tarps, and even boarded-up windows to keep the world from seeing him.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019ve watched as judges\u2014once seen as guardians of an impartial legal system\u2014have become enforcers of Beijing\u2019s repression. Let\u2019s be honest: what was once an impartial legal system is now being used as a political tool\u2014twisting the law not to protect rights, but to erase them. That is why I introduced the Hong Kong Sanctions Act in the House, to push for sanctions on those in the judicial system responsible for the deterioration of freedom. As if to prove my point, Hong Kong prosecutors responded to this bill by pushing a warrant for my arrest in Hong Kong. I am proud to have joined with Senator Sullivan and my fellow Subcommittee Member, Senator Merkley, in re-introducing this bill in the Senate.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd in the face of this, I have a message for those who believe threats and arrest warrants from 8,000 miles away will intimidate us into silence: They won\u2019t. We will not be silenced.\n\n\u201cThe louder the CCP tries to shout us down, the firmer our resolve becomes to defend freedom in Hong Kong, and anywhere it is under siege.\u201d\n\n\u201cYears ago, I spent time in Hong Kong and saw firsthand a city alive with energy, enterprise, and freedom. Now, instead of a beacon of liberty, Hong Kong has become a key node in a global network that assists Russia and other adversaries in evading sanctions, money laundering, and circumventing export controls. To crack down on Hong Kong\u2019s status as a money launderer and sanctions evasion hub, I have introduced the Stop CCP Money Laundering Act.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe struggle for democracy and human rights in Hong Kong is not over\u2014and this Subcommittee will continue to shine a spotlight on the abuses and advocate for accountability and action.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:48:13Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.curtis.senate.gov/press-releases/curtis-opening-statement-at-hearing-on-democracy-and-human-rights-in-hong-kong"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.867678016424179, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}