The Beacon of Freedom and Democracy

U.S. Lawmakers Nominate Hong Kong Protesters For Nobel Peace Prize

By Russell Flannery

Protesters march on the streets against an extradition bill in Hong Kong on June 16, 2019. 

It isn’t easy to get politicians from the two main U.S. political parties to agree on much. 

One common area, however, is often U.S. policy toward China, and today a bipartisan group of American lawmakers released a letter nominating Hong Kong’s pro-democracy moment for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
The move comes at time when U.S.-China relations have been strained by trade and geopolitical tension, and as Beijing’s leaders are straining to control a coronavirus outbreak that has led to more than 400 deaths and 20,000 illnesses and threatens first-quarter economic growth (see related story here).

Representative James P. McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, Representatives Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, Thomas Suozzi, a New York Democrat, and Tom Malinowski, a New Jersey Democrat, as well as Senators Jeffrey Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, Steve Daines, a Montana Republican, and Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, supported the nomination. 

They are all members of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
The full letter is below:

January 31, 2020

Berit Reiss-Andersen
Chair
Nobel Peace Prize Committee
NO-0255 Oslo
Norway

Dear Chair Reiss-Andersen and Members of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee:

We, the undersigned members of the United States Congress, respectfully nominate the pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong to receive the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts to protect Hong Kong’s autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law as guaranteed in the Sino-British Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law.
The pro-democracy movement of Hong Kong has inspired the world as countless and often anonymous individuals risked their lives, their health, their jobs, and their education to support a better future for Hong Kong. 

They have demonstrated civic courage, extraordinary leadership, and an unwavering commitment to a free and democratic Hong Kong that upholds the rule of law and fundamental human rights and freedom.
In March 2019, a series of large-scale, pro-democracy protests began in Hong Kong in opposition to a proposed extradition bill that would have put anyone in Hong Kong at risk of extradition to mainland China, where arbitrary detention, lack of due process, torture, and other serious human rights abuses are well documented. 

The protest on June 16, 2019, included over two million participants out of a total population of approximately 7.5 million people living in Hong Kong, making it one of the largest mass protests in history.
The protesters represent a broad spectrum of Hong Kong society – students, children, retirees, women, teachers, flight attendants, bankers, lawyers, social workers, entrepreneurs, medical professionals, airport staff, migrant domestic workers, and civil servants. 

The entire city is engaged in a movement both unique and inspiring in its size, scope, and creativity. 

The protesters are savvy and have used peaceful and innovative methods of expression including art, music, lasers, projections on buildings, and joining hands across Hong Kong.
The pro-democracy movement made five reasonable demands of the Hong Kong government: 

1) withdraw the extradition bill; 

2) conduct an independent inquiry into the police violence; 

3) drop charges against all arrested protesters; 

4) retract the characterization of the June protests as “riots”; and 

5) the use of universal suffrage to elect the chief executive and legislative council members.
Instead of a pursuing political dialogue and negotiation, the Hong Kong government implemented a crackdown on peaceful protests and used excessive and unnecessary force in contravention of the U.N. Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms for Law Enforcement Officers. 

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an investigation of these incidents. 

The U.S. and the U.K. have both suspended the sale of police and crowd control equipment to Hong Kong.
Numerous individuals and organizations have for decades pressed for greater freedoms in Hong Kong, and the current movement is no exception. 

The pro-democracy movement of the past year has been impressively organized and coherent, yet notably leaderless and flexible. 

For this reason, rather than highlighting an individual or single organization, we wish to nominate the peaceful Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. 

This prize would honor the millions of people in Hong Kong whose bravery and determination have inspired the world.
We deeply appreciated the Nobel Committee’s past willingness to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo in 2010. 

Liu Xiaobo’s unjust imprisonment and ultimately his death is a stark reminder of the sacrifices made by so many people in China who have dared to speak out for their human rights.
We hope that the Nobel Committee will continue to shine a light on those struggling for peace and human rights in China and we believe the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is more than deserving of recognition this year.

Tibet human rights bill

US House Passes Bill on Sanctions Against Chinese Officials for Meddling in Dalai Lama's Succession.

The bill will also prohibit China from opening any new consulate in the US until Beijing allows Washington to open its diplomatic station in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

PTI

Washington/Beijing -- The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that authorises financial and travel sanctions against Chinese officials who interfere in the process of selecting the successor to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader based in India.
Introduced by Congressman James P McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the bill was passed by a overwhelming vote of 392 to 22 on Tuesday.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president, will also prohibit China from opening any new consulate in the US until Beijing allows Washington to open its diplomatic station in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
According to the bill, the succession or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is an exclusively religious matter that should be decided solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community.
Under the draft legislation, Washington would freeze any American asset and ban US travel of Chinese officials if they are found to be involved in "identifying or installing" a Dalai Lama approved by Beijing.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule.
While Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist who seeks to split Tibet from China, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate says he only seeks greater rights for Tibetans, including religious freedom and autonomy.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill sends Beijing a clear signal that it will be held accountable for interfering in Tibet's religious and cultural affairs.
The proposed legislation, she said, makes it clear that "Chinese officials who meddle in the process of recognising a new Dalai Lama will be subject to targeted sanctions, including those in the Global Magnitsky Act".
The Global Magnitsky Act allows the US to sanction foreign government officials implicated in human rights abuses anywhere in the world.
Pelosi said the bill deploys America's diplomatic weight to encourage a genuine dialogue between Tibetan leaders and Beijing.
"It is unacceptable that the Chinese government still refuses to enter into a dialogue with Tibetan leaders... We are supporting the Tibetan people's right to religious freedom and genuine autonomy by formally establishing as US policy that the Tibetan Buddhist community has the exclusive right to choose its religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama," she said.
Though introduced as a stand-alone piece of legislation, the bill serves as an amendment to the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which codified the US position of support for the Tibetan people.
"Our bill updates and strengthens the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to address the challenges facing the Tibetan people. But perhaps as importantly, it reaffirms America's commitment to the idea that human rights matter. That we care about those who are oppressed, and we stand with those who are struggling for freedom," Congressman McGovern said on the House floor.
"It should be clear that we support a positive and productive US-China relationship, but it is essential that the human rights of all the people of China are respected by their government," he asserted.
Last year, the US Congress passed the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, demanding that American journalists, diplomats and tourists be given the same freedom to travel to Tibet that Chinese officials have to travel freely in the US.
"The Dalai Lama should be commended for his decision to devolve political authority to elected leaders. The Tibetan exile community is also to be commended for adopting a system of self-governance with democratic institutions to choose their own leaders, including holding multiple 'free and fair' elections to select its Parliament and chief executive," McGovern said.
The bill also mandates the US State Department to begin collaborative and multinational efforts to protect the environment and water resources of the Tibetan Plateau.
"We are protecting Tibet's environmental and cultural rights: working with international governments and the business community to ensure the self-sufficiency of the Tibetan people and protect the environment and water resources on the Tibetan Plateau. It is really important to sustainability of our planet," Pelosi, a longtime advocate for Tibet, said.