Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR)—a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and past Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)—teamed up with currentCECC Chair Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Senator John Curtis (R-UT), and Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to introduce bipartisan legislation that cracks down on Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs), which were originally granted special privileges because Hong Kong was treated as autonomous, but now operate on behalf of Beijing.
The HKETO Certification Act—which Senator Merkley previously co-led with then-Senator Marco Rubio— requires the U.S. State Department to determine whether HKETOs should continue to receive diplomatic privileges, exemptions, and immunities, or whether those privileges should be withdrawn and their operations terminated, given Beijing’s dismantling of Hong Kong’s autonomy and its campaign of repression against Hong Kongers.
“As the Chinese government continues to undermine the autonomy, freedoms, and basic human rights of Hong Kongers, the time for business as usual has passed,” said Merkley. “Republicans and Democrats stand united in the defense of the people of Hong Kong. The United States must use the tools provided by Congress to address the Chinese government’s brazen disregard for its obligations to the people of Hong Kong. Our bipartisan bill is a concrete consequence for destroying Hong Kong’s autonomy.”
“Since the dramatic events of 2019 and 2020, Beijing has made it increasingly and brutally clear that Hong Kong’s autonomy is dead,” said Sullivan. “That being the case, it makes zero sense for Hong Kong to have its own diplomatic posts in the U.S. There is a fundamental lack of reciprocity in US-China relations that I have been working for years to reverse. The China mainland and Hong Kong together having more official offices in the U.S. than we have in China is one of them. This bill will fix it.”
“Since the 2020 takeover of Hong Kong, the Chinese Communist Party has run a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office acting as a second Chinese embassy to influence and gather intelligence in our nation’s capital,” said Curtis. “Given that Hong Kong is no longer independent of the Chinese Communist Party, this office should be shut down immediately.”
“In recent years, we’ve seen how Hong Kong officials in the United States have done the bidding of the People’s Republic of China by promoting propaganda and opposing human rights—all while they continuing to receive diplomatic privileges and immunities,” said Kaine. “This bipartisan legislation would require the State Department to determine whether these privileges should be terminated. The PRC is openly violating the human rights of Hong Kongers, and has destroyed Hong Kong’s autonomy. We should not permit the PRC to extend this campaign of oppression into the United States.”
China is not just silencing people inside Hong Kong. It is also engaging in transnational repression by going after their families overseas, including in cases like U.S.-based activist Anna Kwok, whose father is currently on trial in Hong Kong after she spoke out against Beijing’s crackdown in the city.
The Merkley-led bipartisan bill:
- Requires the State Department to regularly decide whether Hong Kong’s economic and trade offices should continue to receive diplomatic privileges;
- Requires the HKETOs to terminate operations in the United States if the Secretary of State determines those privileges are no longer warranted;
- Gives Congress the power to block a positive certification and force the termination of HKETO operations through a joint resolution of disapproval; and
- Restricts U.S. federal agencies from partnering with HKETOs unless the Secretary of State certifies they remain eligible.
The House companion bill is led by U.S. Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), the Republican Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Jim McGovern (D-MA), the House Democratic Ranking Member. Last Congress, the HKETO Certification Act overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
As past Chair of the CECC and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Merkley has led the charge to highlight the cases of pro-democracy advocates who have been targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments’ crackdown on free speech and democracy. He held a hearing on political prisoners in Hong Kong, as well as threats and intimidation faced by Hong Kongers globally. Merkley, Sullivan, and Curtis also lead the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act—legislation that holds officials of Hong Kong’s judiciary accountable for human rights violations and supports Hong Kongers facing persecution by the Chinese government and its accomplices in Hong Kong.
Full text of the HKETO Certification Act can be found by clicking here.
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