Letter to Secretary Blinken Urging Concrete Action to Address Mistreatment of Political Prisoners in Hong Kong

This week, a bipartisan group of legislators urged Secretary of State Blinken to issue a report on prison conditions in Hong Kong and take additional diplomatic steps to address reported instances of torture and mistreatment of political prisoners. 

The letter was signed by Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Representative Christopher Smith (R-NJ) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the Chair and Cochair, respectively of the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China and the United States. 

The letter raises concerns about the treatment of Jimmy Lai, including solitary confinement, restricted access to sunlight, and the denial of independent medical care, and also cites concerning reports about physical and sexual abuse taking place in at least one juvenile detention facility. The letter asks the State Department to brief Congress on prison conditions and its efforts to hold Hong Kong government officials accountable for carrying out torture and arbitrary detention.    

Background: The Select Committee and CECC Chairs have urged the Biden Administration to sanction police, judges and prosecutors for their role in the arbitrary detention of Hong Kong democracy and rights activists, particularly in National Security Law cases. The Department of the Treasury last issued financial sanctions for Hong Kong officials in August 2020. 

The State Department imposed visa restrictions on unnamed Hong Kong officials responsible for the crackdown on rights and freedoms in March, 2024. 

The Chairs also urge swift passage of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Certification Act (H.R. 1103 / S. 490) which passed overwhelmingly in the House and awaits Senate action. The legislation would give the President the authority to strip the immunities and privileges granted to the three Hong Kong government diplomatic outposts in the United States, which reportedly engage in the surveillance of Hong Kong democracy advocates in the United States.

Click HERE to read the letter