Washington D.C. – Today, House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul (R-TX) delivered remarks at a press conference with Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), among other bipartisan members of Congress and Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, to announce the House Foreign Affairs Committee will markup H.R. 3289, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019., next week. Lead Republican McCaul was also joined by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Congressional-Executive Commission on China Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and Denise Ho. Lead Republican McCaul’s remarks as delivered are available below:

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-Remarks as Delivered-

“Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I want to thank our freedom fighters here, our human rights activists. I want to thank Congressman Smith again for bringing this important legislation which will be marked up next week in our Committee.

“Today we stand here not as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans united in our strong support for Hong Kong.

“And next week we will mark up the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in our Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the most bipartisan Committee on the Hill.

“I would like to speak directly to the people of Hong Kong. America stands with you, and America will always support you. We hear you sing our national anthem, we see you carrying our American flag.

“This is a battle between democracy versus dictatorship, liberty versus tyranny, and freedom versus oppression.

“This press conference will be seen on the front pages in the Communist Chinese Party and in Hong Kong. We all stand here today as Americans united with freedom loving people in Hong Kong.

“The world will not stand by idly as the Chinese Communist Party continues to commit human rights violations.

“So next week, we will move this bill forward, we will show China there will be consequences to their ruthless and brutal actions.

“Thank you, Madam Speaker.”

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