U.S. Department of State
Department Press Briefing – March 5, 2021
NED PRICE, DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON
WASHINGTON, D.C.
MARCH 5, 2021
HONG KONG EXCERPTS
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QUESTION: I hope you can hear this one. I wanted to ask you about the situation in Hong Kong. The – in China, of course, you might have seen that there has – there’s been a move to look at lawmakers, to have approval over lawmakers there. I wanted to see if you have any comments on that, and are there any actions the United States will take in return? Thanks.
MR PRICE:
We do have a comment there. The United States condemns the PRC’s continuing assault on democratic institutions in Hong Kong. At the March 5 National People’s Congress opening session, NPC Standing Committee Vice Chairman Wang Chen previewed a series of quote-unquote “reforms” to Hong Kong’s electoral system. These are a direct attack on Hong Kong’s autonomy, Hong Kong’s freedoms, and the democratic processes, limiting participation, reducing democratic representation, and stifling political debate in order to defy the clear will of the people of Hong Kong and to deny their voice in their own government and governance.
If implemented, these measures would drastically undermine Hong Kong’s democratic institutions, and they run directly counter to the Basic Law’s clear acknowledgment that Hong Kong elections should progress towards universal suffrage. We call on the PRC to uphold its international obligations and commitments, and to act consistently with Hong Kong’s Basic Law. We’ve said this from the start, that the United States stands together with the people of Hong Kong, the people of Hong Kong who are seeking nothing more than the universal rights to which they are owed and should be guaranteed.
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