00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thanks to the great witnesses and all who are attending.
00:03As the chairman mentioned, this subcommittee has one of the longest titles of any subcommittee in the Senate.
00:09It's 15 words. Maybe somebody can beat us.
00:12But it is important to note that while the regional focus of the subcommittee is the Western Hemisphere,
00:18all of the foreign relations subcommittees also have subject matter jurisdictions.
00:23And it's really, really good that this jurisdiction focuses on human rights and other really important issues.
00:29And the chair and I have agreed that while the majority of our hearings will likely be within the hemisphere,
00:34we will also do some global hearings like this one on important human rights issues,
00:38which are obviously important in the Western Hemisphere as well.
00:42As we begin, I'm going to address one topic at the beginning that ties into the hearing today.
00:48It's really important for me and my constituents in Virginia because Virginia is home to many thousands of dedicated public servants,
00:54including those who work at the State Department and related agencies.
00:58The rifts in recent weeks at State have really focused on efforts to dismantle the Bureau of Democracy,
01:06human rights and labor at State.
01:08I'm not sure our adversaries have vigorous human rights portfolios where they think about human rights around the world
01:15and try to influence them in a positive direction.
01:17And I'm not sure that their ministries of foreign affairs really focus so much on these issues as we do.
01:22It's been a hallmark of this committee and of our State Department generally that this has been a priority across administrations of both parties.
01:30To the State Department employees whose morale is pretty low now and those of you who've received RIF notices,
01:37I just want to say I really admire your devotion to public service.
01:40I have visited with you all over the globe.
01:42I commend you for wanting to make the world a safer place and standing up for human rights values.
01:47We can proudly proclaim them, even though we need to be humble always about our own efforts and the need to do more both at home and abroad.
01:54Whether through political means, judicial redress of grievances, legislative advocacy or organizing, please stay engaged.
02:02And it's directly relevant to our hearing today.
02:06I would like to introduce, Mr. Chair, an article from June 6, 2025, The Washington Post,
02:11Chinese Propaganda Surges as the U.S. Defunds Radio Free Asia.
02:16If I could ask that to be entered into the record.
02:20Without objection.
02:20The proposed U.S. 2026 fiscal year budget proposes to take 82% of the funding out of our global media efforts.
02:29And we need to fight disinformation in the information space.
02:32We're not only laying people off, we're hobbling those efforts.
02:36I don't think we can safely assume that we can take the State Department's pro-human rights, pro-democracy efforts
02:43and just subsume them within the regionals and have the priority be what they need to be.
02:48I also believe that the rescissions package that we passed, like last week, will do additional damage to this important priority.
02:55And I do think it's important for the U.S., again, with the humility about our own imperfections,
03:00to continue to stand up for folks around the world who are under the thumb of authoritarians and dictators.
03:06And you can't do that without people.
03:08All right.
03:09This is a really timely hearing.
03:11And we're going to hear from witnesses about their assessment of where democratic values and human rights stand in Hong Kong,
03:16as the chair said, five years after the announcement of the national security law.
03:22As you all might know, the PRC imposed this law five years ago on Hong Kong to clamp down on civil society
03:28following large-scale protests against the bill, allowing the extradition of fugitives to mainland China,
03:35which many in Hong Kong viewed as directly in contravention with commitments that the PRC had made
03:42with respect to the status of Hong Kong and those living there.
03:46Some of the drastic impacts of implementation law, including a chilling effect on activists,
03:51political opposition groups, dissidents, and other civil society stakeholders.
03:56Let me give a couple of quick examples.
03:58Hong Kong National Security Police have arrested the father and brother of activist Anna Kwok
04:05for allegedly dealing with her finances.
04:07This is the first use of the city's security law to deal with the relatives of activists
04:13who have had to flee Hong Kong in fear of retaliation.
04:17Many activists, including Ms. Joyce Hsu, who's here today,
04:21have bounties for their capture based on spurious accusations
04:25about their human rights work being driven by collusion with foreign actors,
04:30as if people who live in Hong Kong can't have their own desire for human rights.
04:36Why would human rights have to be something that could only be ginned up by collusion with foreign actors
04:41rather than something that lives within the heart of freedom-loving people anywhere in the world?
04:46Let me be very clear.
04:49Oh, I also wanted to mention Jimmy Lai, who is still in prison,
04:52has been described by Amnesty International as a prisoner of conscience.
04:56Protesting should not be a crime.
04:58Demanding to live in a free and democratic society should not be a crime.
05:03Speaking out against authoritarianism should not be a crime.
05:06I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses today about their experience being unjustly persecuted
05:11for wanting to live in a democratic society,
05:14their assessment of where the U.S. policy has had success or could have more success,
05:19how Congress can play a role in fostering democracy and respect for human rights.
05:23The shared values of democracy, freedom of expression, rule of law
05:27should remain at the core of our foreign policy.
05:29I know the chairman of this subcommittee believes deeply in that, and I do as well.
05:32Let me turn it back over to the chair to introduce the witnesses and then get this hearing underway.
05:38I see the vote still hasn't started, so we may be able to do a really long hearing before we have to go.
