U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would provide a fast path to the United States for Hong Kong’s entrepreneurs, scientists and academics who want to escape oppression in their country from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
“Throughout history, from Iran to the Soviet Union, the United States has looked out for persecuted populations looking for basic human freedoms,” Rep. Kinzinger said on July 2. “With the recently enacted National Security Law in Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party has shown their true colors as they ignore international agreements and suffocate the freedoms of millions.”
Rep. Kinzinger on June 30 signed on as an original cosponsor of the Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act, H.R. 7428, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ). The bill reaffirms the principles and objectives set forth in the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, which allows the U.S. to continue to treat Hong Kong separately from mainland China for matters concerning trade export and economic control.
If enacted, H.R. 7428 also would provide expedited admission for Hong Kong’s high-skill community — including those with graduate degrees and those owning businesses with more than 50 employees — in recognition of ongoing U.S.-China strategic competition for human capital; and expedite residency for Hong Kongers who have fled to or found refuge in the U.S., according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Kinzinger’s office.
“I‘m proud to have worked on this important bipartisan legislation with my colleague Congressman Malinowski, and I look forward to moving this legislation forward,” said Rep. Kinzinger. “While more needs to be done, these actions are a clear first step at ensuring innocent men, women and children do not need to live in fear under the hand of this communist regime.”
The bill has garnered support from the Hong Kong Democracy Council and Wang Dan, formerly a student leader arrested and jailed for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest who has lived and continued his activism for a democratic China in the U.S. since 1998.