Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers in US to discuss city’s crisis with politicians and business leaders
- Dennis Kwok and Alvin Yeung of the Civic Party say they want to tell the truth about what’s happening in Hong Kong
- ‘Hong Kong is sick, Kwok says. ‘Every time that symptoms come out, you just give that guy … expired painkillers, hoping that symptoms will go away’
Two pro-democracy lawmakers from Hong Kong are in the United States to meet government officials and business leaders to discuss the political unrest that has left the city in turmoil.
Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu of the Civic Party said they wanted to tell the truth about what was happening in Hong Kong to the international community. They will also speak to government officials about how to move forward a bill US Congress will deliberate next month that could tighten Washington’s watch over the city.
The bill they referred to – the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act – was reintroduced in June and would require the US to assess Hong Kong’s level of autonomy each year to determine whether the city should continue to enjoy special trade status under the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992. If passed, the bill could force Beijing to back down to keep Hong Kong from losing its special economic status, which would affect investment in the city as well as on the mainland.
“The international community is important to Hong Kong,” Kwok said on Thursday at the Asia Society in New York. “I don’t think the [domestic] system is working as seen [by how the government dealt with] the extradition bill.”
On Tuesday, the Democratic speaker of the US House, Nancy Pelosi, issued a statement criticising the “escalating violence” against protesters in Hong Kong and calling it “extremely alarming”. She also pledged to rally support for the US bill.