{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sullivan-merkley-press-for-sanctions-of-hong-kong-judiciary", "Sullivan, Merkley Press for Sanctions of Hong Kong Judiciary", "2023-11-03", "2023", "2023-11", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Dan Sullivan", "S001198", "www.sullivan.senate.gov", "sullivan", "https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases?PageNum_rs=18", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014This week, U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) and the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), co-chair of the CECC, introduced the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act, which would hold officials of Hong Kong\u2019s judiciary accountable for human rights violations and support Hong Kongers facing persecution under Beijing\u2019s \u201cnational security law.\u201d\n\nThe Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act requires the President to determine whether certain Hong Kong officials violated human rights and whether sanctions should be imposed in accordance with the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, or the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.\n\nRepresentatives Young Kim (Calif.-40), Jim McGovern (Mass.-02), and John Curtis (Utah-03) introduced companion legislation in the House.\n\n\u201cWe all know Hong Kong\u2019s judiciary isn\u2019t the source of pride and independence it used to be,\u201dsaid Senator Dan Sullivan. \u201cSince the 2019 - 2020 crackdown, the judiciary in Hong Kong has become an instrument of the CCP to target innocent civilians. My colleagues and I are introducing legislation to focus the Biden administration\u2019s attention on this insidious aspect of the CCP\u2019s takeover of Hong Kong and the regime\u2019s flagrant violation of the civil rights and autonomy promised to Hong Kongers in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The Biden administration must let Beijing and their CCP lackeys in Hong Kong know that we are not fooled for a second.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs Chinese and Hong Kong officials continue to undermine Hong Kong\u2019s autonomy, freedoms, and the human rights of its people, the U.S. must continue to send a clear message to the Chinese government that we will not tolerate this,\u201d said Senator Jeff Merkley. \u201cWe will continue to speak and act in defense of the Hong Kong people against the oppression of an authoritarian system. That includes imposing sanctions against PRC and Hong Kong officials for their brazen disregard of their commitments to the people of Hong Kong as well as their obligations under treaties.\"\n\n\u201cI am pleased to join with my colleagues to shine a light on those responsible for the deterioration of freedom in Hong Kong and the persecution of pro-democracy activists. The United States has laws to sanction bad actors and we ask the Administration to review Hong Kong\u2019s judicial system officials to see if they meet the criteria,\u201d said Congressman John Curtis.\n\n\u201cJimmy Lai\u2019s case is unfortunately just the latest example of Beijing exploiting its \u2018national security law\u2019 to exert control of Hong Kongers,\u201d said Congresswoman Young Kim, who serves as Chairwoman of the Indo-Pacific Subcommittee. \u201cI am proud to lead the Hong Kong Sanctions Act so the United States can take strong, decisive action to support the freedom-loving people of Hong Kong and hold officials accountable in violation of human rights.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe national security law imposed by the People\u2019s Republic of China in 2020 delivered a body blow to human rights and democracy in Hong Kong,\u201d?said Congressman Jim McGovern.?\u201cU.S. law already authorizes sanctions on the officials responsible for enforcing that unjust law. Our bill simply asks the administration to explain whether certain officials meet the criteria for sanctions in light of their alleged actions that violate the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. America must stand with Hong Kong\u2019s brave activists who are being repressed for defending human rights and democracy.\u201d\n\nThe full text of the bill is available here.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:49:58Z"]], "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.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sullivan-merkley-press-for-sanctions-of-hong-kong-judiciary"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.778556102886796, "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"}