Date: 2003-06-25
Speaker: LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Florida

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker. I know the hard work that the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) has put into this. along with. obviously. the leadership of the Committee on International Relations that have made it possible. the gentleman from Illinois and the gentleman from California . for this resolution to come forward in a timely basis. Timeliness is critical here. Time is of the essence because of what the Chinese Communist regime is seeking to do precisely in these weeks in Hong Kong. It seems as though. Mr. Speaker. tyranny knows only one modus operandi. to repress the people by any means necessary to prevent dissent. We have seen this all too clearly with the dictator only 90 miles off our shores here. off the shores of the United States. And now a bastion of freedom in the face of one of the most tyrannical regimes in theworld is facing a dire threat. Hong Kong may soon have its important freedoms destroyed by the socalled Peoples Republic of China. the PRC. In an act of complete cowardice and desperation. the PRC has prepared new legislation called article 23 of the Basic Law which seeks to severely restrict the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. The communist government in Beijing is pressuring the local government in Hong Kong to pass tliis legislation before July 9. Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are in great jeopardy because of this legislation. The actions of the Chinese regime fly in the face of promise made by Beijing of "one country. two systems." a 50year commitment that was made to the world to preserve Hong Kongs respect for human liberties. But a mere 6 years after the British handed Hong Kong to the Communist Chinese. we see that the totalitarianism has no patience. It cannot stand to see the failures of its regime in the very face of the shining example that Hong Kong has been of freedom and civil liberties. The elimination of freedom of speech holds countless dangers. For example. the recent SARS outbreak in China and many parts of the world was hastened in fact by the PRCs inability to deal with the truths. The regimes lies and deception hamstrung the ivorld from dealing effectively with the crisid. The truths about the epidemics extent were unclear. totalitarianism simply could not face or did not know how to face reality. Now. this created a grave health threat in Hong Kong and really for the rest of the world. Freedom of speech. Mr. Speaker. is important for every aspect of life. It protects individual citizens from the deception that we saw in the example of the SARS crisis by offering multiple Important sources of information. The PRC claims that this law it is seeking to impose on the people of Hong Kong is a means to ensureits national security. The rest of the world rightly sees it for what it is. an attempts to roll back liberties that Hong Kong has to thwart any pressure for greater liberties throughout the rest of China. Now. if the world does not stand up to the PRC now. this will only be the beginning of the tightening of its totalitarian grip on the people of Hong Kong. The United States Government has an obligation to stand with the people of Hong Kong. The State Department must not fail to show the outrage of the American people 9t the destruction of the most basic liberties which have survived up to now on the island of freedom that is Hong Kong.