Benedict Rogers: CCP unites politicians in Washington, DC and Westminster

Three days ago – in one of his final acts in office – the outgoing United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime is committing genocide against the Uyghurs. He described Beijing’s atrocities as “an extreme affront to the Uyghurs, the people of China, and civilized people everywhere”. And he promised: “We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity and its own people, imagine what it will be emboldened to do to the free world, in the not-so-distant future.”

In a rare moment of bipartisan unity, incoming Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, at his confirmation hearing in the US Senate, agreed. “On the Uyghurs I think we’re very much in agreement. And the forcing of men, women and children into concentration camps, trying to, in effect, re-educate them to be adherents to the ideology of the Chinese Communist Party, all of that speaks to an effort to commit genocide.”

Mr Blinken went further, saying that former President Donald Trump was “right in taking a tougher approach on China” and promising that the new Biden administration’s commitment to stand by Taiwan “will absolutely endure”.

On Hong Kong, Mr Blinken offered a note of hope to sceptics who worry that the new administration would soften its position. He stated that “democracy is being trampled” in Hong Kong and said the US should have acted sooner in response. He said the United States should “take in some of those fleeing Hong Kong, fleeing the repression, for standing up for their democratic rights,” and consider seriously the presence of American companies and institutions in the city. “Is it going to remain a hub and a financial centre? Does Beijing then get the benefit – both sides of the benefit? We should take a hard look at that,” he added.

The next day, President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States and although his inauguration speech did not focus on China or Hong Kong, its theme was a defense of democracy.

“Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause, a cause of democracy … We’ve learned again that democracy is precious, democracy is fragile and, at this hour my friends, democracy has prevailed,” he said. “What are the common objects we as Americans love, that define us as Americans? I think we know. Opportunity, security, liberty, dignity, respect, honor, and yes, the truth.”

Those are all values which the CCP detests. It is a regime that rules by lies, fear and repression, and one that grossly disrespects human dignity. It is a regime filled with insecurity, and one which denies its people any opportunity it feels threatened by. And that is why more and more, people around the world who love freedom are uniting against it.

On the same day that Mr Pompeo designated the suffering of the Uyghurs as a genocide, 308 Members of Parliament in the UK, from Conservative, Labour, the Liberal Democrat, Scottish Nationalist and other parties, voted for an amendment in the House of Commons to allow the High Court of England and Wales the power to determine cases of genocide, and require the government to abandon trade deals with those states found responsible for genocide. In the end, the amendment was defeated by the government – but by a majority of only 11. The amendment was led by the former leader of the Conservative Party Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former minister Nusrat Ghani, accompanied by 31 other Conservatives including several former ministers and the chair of the foreign affairs committee Tom Tugendhat and the chair of the defence committee Tobias Ellwood. They joined hands with MPs from all opposition parties, including shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy.

Although the amendment narrowly failed to pass, the strength of cross-party sentiment was very evident. Even those who spoke against the proposal in the debate indicated – unanimously – their revulsion at the CCP’s human rights violations and their utter intolerance of genocide and crimes against humanity. Their argument was primarily framed around concerns about Parliament’s supremacy and not wanting to tie a court decision to trade agreements.

The battle for a genocide determination mechanism is far from over. A new amendment will soon go to the House of Lords which will undoubtedly command even stronger cross-party support.

In other words, both in Washington, DC and Westminster, despite many other political disagreements between parties, there is a common – and growing – concern that unites politicians: the CCP’s atrocities.

Many Hong Kongers are sceptical about President Biden and understandably so. He served as Barack Obama’s vice-president, and the Obama strategy on China proved a significant failure. His own many years of engagement with China and his family’s alleged business links are a cause for concern. But his rhetoric over the past year, the comments by his nominee for Secretary of State, and the bipartisan support for legislation by Congress in response to the crisis in Hong Kong indicate that there may be reasons to be hopeful. Perhaps he has learned from the mistakes of the past, from the right approach adopted by the Trump administration and from the truth that now confronts the entire world of what the UK Conservative Party Human Rights Commission’s new China report terms the CCP’s “mendacity, brutality, inhumanity, insecurity and criminality”.

If the Biden administration adopts the essence of the Trump administration’s China policy – to confront and counter the CCP – and differs only in tactics, sceptics may be in for a pleasant surprise. If the United States works more closely with allies, including the United Kingdom, to develop a coalition of democracies to stand up for freedom, that is a good thing. When the free world stands as one, it becomes more difficult for Beijing to threaten, retaliate or play one off the other. Time will tell. Advocates for Hong Kong’s freedoms should be quick to call out the new administration if it shows signs of weakness, quick to encourage it to keep strong if it shows signs of wobbling, and quick to applaud it when it does the right thing. But if there is one thing that the events of the past few weeks in Washington, DC and Westminster have shown, it is that democracy and freedom are values that unite those who believe in them far more than partisan differences divide, and that the cause of freedom is very much the battle of our times.

Back to the question of genocide. In Mr Pompeo’s statement are these striking words: “Not every campaign of genocide involves gas chambers and firing squads.” He is right – and the CCP has been shrewd as well as cruel in its barbaric repression.

No one would suggest Hong Kong has yet reached the level of atrocity crimes under international law. But in a sense the CCP has achieved its intent – to snuff out Hong Kong’s freedoms – without physical destruction, without bloodshed, without the horrific headlines that sending in the People’s Liberation Army in full force would have attracted. Instead, the national security law is Hong Kong’s legislative Tiananmen – a massacre of the city’s freedoms without a shot being fired. But the fight goes on, in different ways, and the values of democracy and the rule of law will one day prevail again in Hong Kong.

A week ago, I spoke with the outgoing US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, for Hong Kong Watch’s interview series broadcast on YouTube, website and social media. A Republican former Senator, he emphasized his long-standing collaboration with Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi on China. And he was confident that such bipartisan unity on this issue would only strengthen.

This is a fight that the Communists have picked – and they will not win it,” said Ambassador Brownback. And his message to Hong Kongers is clear: “The people of Hong Kong now – you’re in a tough fight … But you’re going to be able to stand up to your children and grandchildren in the future and say ‘we fought for it and it was tough but we won’. What an honor to be a warrior in a very difficult battle. But you’re there, don’t give up, the world is watching, we’re praying for you and we’re behind you.”

Benedict Rogers is Co-founder and Chief Executive of Hong Kong Watch. This article was published in Apple Daily on 22 January 2021. (Photo: Apple Daily)