[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 142 (Monday, August 10, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S5360]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               HONG KONG

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on a totally different matter, this 
weekend brought more unsettling news in the ongoing struggle for Hong 
Kong to preserve any shred of its civil liberties and self-governance.
  One of the region's most prominent pro-democracy advocates, Jimmy 
Lai, was arrested yesterday for alleged violations of the so-called 
national security law imposed by Beijing.
  Last year, after a historic election that saw millions flock to the 
polls to overwhelmingly reject President Xi's preferred candidates, the 
Chinese Communist Party moved quickly to choke Hongkongers' free 
expression.
  Mr. Lai has been at the vanguard of the vibrant Hong Kong-based media 
and publishing world.
  Jimmy Lai was arrested for an alleged violation of the so-called 
national security law imposed by Beijing. He has devoted much of his 
life to advancing precisely--precisely the sort of values that the CCP 
finds most repulsive: freedom of thought and freedom of speech.
  The Senate, the country, and freedom-loving nations across the world 
stand with Mr. Lai and with all the peaceful demonstrators who have met 
the business end of the CCP's repression.

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