Hong Kong Watch returns to Washington, DC for the sixth time to engage with the White House and congressional offices

Last week, Hong Kong Watch had a successful visit to Washington, DC where we engaged with the National Security Council at the White House, congressional offices, as well as other government departments and civil society organisations, and launched our latest research report on Hong Kong’s special privileges. This is our sixth visit to the Capitol this year, as we continue to engage with policymakers in the US and share our policy recommendations.

During a high-level meeting with the China Director of the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House, we discussed the administration’s broader China policy in the light of the recent US-China meeting in Busan, the special privileges afforded to Hong Kong in US law, and possible countermeasures to deter military aggression in the Taiwan Strait.

Hong Kong Watch met with the offices of Select Committee on the CCP members, including Representative Ashley Hinson (R-IA) and Representative Rob Wittman (R-VA), Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) members, including Representative James McGovern (D-MA) and Representative Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), as well as the Chair and member of the East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, Representative Young Kim (R-CA) and Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA).

We also had productive meetings with the offices of five members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senator John Curtis (R-UT), Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA), Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), to discuss current and upcoming legislative measures to push back against the erosion of rights in Hong Kong, tackle transnational repression on US soil, and deter military aggression against Taiwan.

We were pleased to engage with the offices of Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Representative Bob Onder (R-MO), the Select Committee on the CCP, and civil society organisations, to explore avenues of further collaboration on advocacy for Hong Kong’s autonomy and rule of law under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

On 5 November, we launched our research report, titled The Limits of Autonomy: a review of Hong Kong’s special status under ‘one country, two systems’, at the Hudson Institute. The event featured panellists including Executive Council Member of the World Liberty Congress and Hong Kong activist Joey Siu, Director of the Global Taiwan Institute John Dotson, Executive Director of Georgetown Center for Asian Law Thomas Kellogg, Hong Kong Watch’s Senior Research and Policy Advisor and author of the report Thomas Benson, as well as Hudson Institute’s Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik as the moderator.

Hong Kong Watch expresses our heartfelt gratitude to all Members of Congress and US government officials for their continued support. We look forward to future opportunities to engage in these important issues to continue defending human rights in Hong Kong and upholding our shared democratic values.

香港監察第六次赴華府會晤白宮官員及參眾兩院議員

香港監察上星期再赴華盛頓，會晤白宮國家安全委員會（National Security Council）官員、國會議員辦事處，以及其他政府部門和民間社會組織，同時發布最新香港特權研究報告。這是我們今年第六次到訪華府，我們會繼續與美國政策制訂者交流，分享政策建議。

我們在白宮會見國家安全委員會中國事務主任，討論繼釜山美中峰會後本屆政府的廣泛對中政策、美國法律賦予香港的特殊權利，以及為遏止台灣海峽軍事侵略可能採取的反制措施。

香港監察會見多位眾議員的辦事處，包括中共問題特設委員會（Select Committee on the CCP）委員、共和黨眾議員Ashley Hinson和Rob Wittman；國會及行政當局中國委員會（Congressional-Executive Commission on China）委員、民主黨眾議員麥高文（James McGovern）和Suhas Subramanyam；以及東亞暨太平洋事務小組委員會（East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee）主席、共和黨眾議員金映玉（Kim Young）和委員、共和黨眾議員Ryan Mackenzie。

我們亦與五位參議院外交關係委員會（Senate Foreign Relations Committee）委員的辦事處會面，包括共和黨參議員John Curtis、Pete Ricketts、Dave McCormick、John Cornyn和民主黨參議員Brian Schatz，討論現時和未來的立法措施，用以抵制香港人權所受的侵害、打擊美國境內的跨國鎮壓行為和遏止對台灣的軍事侵略。

我們很榮幸與前眾議院議長、民主黨眾議員佩洛西（Nancy Pelosi）和共和黨眾議員Bob Onder的辦事處、中共問題特設委員會職員，以及民間社會組織會面，探討進一步合作倡議《中英聯合聲明》框架下香港自治和法治的途徑。

11月5日，我們在哈德遜研究所（Hudson Institute）發表研究報告《The Limits of Autonomy: a review of Hong Kong’s special status under ‘one country, two systems’》。發布會講者包括世界自由大會執行委員會委員、香港社運人士邵嵐（Joey Siu）；全球台灣研究中心主任鄭哲軒（John Dotson）；佐治城大學亞洲法律中心行政總監Thomas Kellogg；香港監察資深研究及政策顧問、報告作者湯柏森（Thomas Benson）；和擔任主持的哈德遜研究所資深研究員Michael Sobolik。

香港監察衷心感謝美國國會議員和政府官員的持續支持。我們期待未來就這些重要議題合作，繼續捍衛香港人權並擁護我們共同的民主價值。

Photo: Louis Velazquez on Unsplash