Congressman John Curtis (R-UT),a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the China Task Force, released the following statement after the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted unanimously in support of the Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act, a comprehensive bill that includes language from Congressman Curtis’s Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act.
“Since the passage of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, we have seen arbitrary detentions of activists and crackdowns on their free press. This bill addresses this humanitarian crisis and shows Hong Kongers that the United States has their backs in their struggle for basic freedoms and liberty,” said Curtis. “I commend my colleague, Rep. Malinowski, for working to advance legislation to help those in need, which includes my language to give Hong Kongers expedited refugee status to come to the United States.”
Background:
This bill would facilitate the entry of Hong Kongers to the U.S. in the wake of the Chinese Communist Party takeover of Hong Kong.
The language taken from the Hong Kong Safe Harbor Act includes:
* Designation of select Hong Kongers as refugees
* The waiving of refugee caps for Hong Kongers to ensure they don’t take slots from other groups refugees
* Special emphasis on protecting frontline activists in Hong Kong including those arrested for participation in protests
* Calling for the U.S. to work with like-minded allies to take in Hong Kongers as refugees
This legislative package included multiple Hong Kong centric bills and was introduced by Representative Tom Malinowski (D-NJ) on Monday, September 28th.
Curtis and fellow China Task Force member Congressman Chris Stewart this week unveiled the final China Task Force report. The China Task Force has regularly received briefings from policy experts and current and former administration officials from both parties on strategies to combat the growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The final report is a culmination of this months-long effort and will serve as a policy blueprint to address the Chinese Communist Party’s malign behavior on the world stage. Eight of Congressman Curtis’ bills were included as recommendations. To read the report, click HERE.
Curtis and Stewart also published an op-ed in the Deseret News. Read it HERE.
