Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) following its announcement of plans to impose a sweeping new “national security” law on the former British colony of Hong Kong. The senator also called on U.S. allies to “hold the line” against the spread of the CCP.
The CCP’s figurehead legislature, the National People’s Congress (NPC), announced late Thursday that it would propose a national security law for “establishing a legal system and enforcement mechanism to defend national security” in Hong Kong. The bill is expected to pass, given the NPC’s role as a ceremonial rubber-stamp that approves directives from the CCP, and the pro-Beijing stance of the city’s chief executive officer Carrie Lam, who will need to issue a legal notice in the Government Gazette before the central government’s law can be put into effect.
“The Chinese Communist Party is fast moving to end what is left of Hong Kong’s autonomy, stripping away essential freedoms from Hong Kong’s people,” Cruz said in a statement, calling the CCP’s latest move an “escalation” to “deepen their control over Hong Kong.”
“This is unacceptable and will require a reevaluation of U.S. policy if it is not immediately reversed,” he added.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday in his annual report to the NPC that the CCP is moving to establish a “sound” legal system for the CCP to enforcement mechanisms to “safeguard” its “national security” in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Critics say such a law would further threaten Hong Kong’s autonomy and allow the CCP to target dissident voices under the guise of safeguarding China’s “national security.”
According to the draft legislation, the law will safeguard the central government’s “overall jurisdiction” as well as Hong Kong’s “high autonomy.”
“The relevant institutions of the Central People’s Government for safeguarding national security shall establish institutions in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as required, perform their duties of safeguarding national security according to law,” the draft states.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States would react strongly if the Chinese regime follows through on its plans to impose such a law on Hong Kong.
“If it happens, we’ll address that issue very strongly,” Trump told reporters on Thursday before leaving the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement late Thursday calling the CCP’s latest move “alarming.”
“Examples [of such entities] may include a police unit cracking down on Hong Kong protestors or Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for imposing a ‘national security’ law on Hong Kong,” they wrote.
State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus on Thursday urged Beijing to “honor its commitments and obligations in the Sino-British Joint Declaration.”
The State Department has said it delayed issuing an annual report on Hong Kong’s autonomy, to account for any further actions from Beijing during the NPC.
Large-scale pro-democracy and anti-CCP protests erupted in June last year in Hong Kong over a since-scrapped extradition bill, after locals feared the bill would threaten the city’s judicial autonomy. In recent months, the protests have quieted down due to the pandemic.
“No surprise that while countries are focused on a virus spread by China’s carelessness, the Chinese Communist Party moves forward with its strategic plan by passing a law that tackles the political dissent that erupted on Hong Kong’s streets last year,” she wrote on Twitter.
