11/19/2019
[U.S. Academia Joint Statement
On the Escalation of Tensions in Hong Kong and at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong]
Last week, Hong Kong government and police blockaded the campuses of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (PolyU). In CUHK, more than 2000 tear gas canisters and rubbe bullets were fired, even the administrative professors and Vice Chancellor were suffered from tear gas, which contains toxins such as dioxin and cyanide. In PolyU, the police force cut all the possible route for supplies and trapped more than 600 students and staffs, forcing them to surrender instead of following standard procedure of legal actions.
In response to the police brutality at the level of humanitarian crime, we urge:
The United States Federal Government to offer necessary measures of protection to all American students in Hong Kong and Hong Kong students in the United States.
The Senate to immediately vote for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (S. 1838), and for the House of Representatives and Senate to accelerate the subsequent conference committee process in order to reconcile the differences between competing versions of the bill.
The Trump administration to issue a statement of potential revocation of Hong Kong’s special trade status as guaranteed under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act in the event of a large-scale violent suppression in Hong Kong.
The United States government to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese policymakers, senior police officials, and Chinese government officials responsible for the escalation of violence.
Best wishes to Hong Kong.
