The six nominees announced by the parliamentary commission on China are ‘ardent champions’ of human rights in Hong Kong
Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen, one of Asia’s highest-ranking Catholic clerics, attends Mass at the Holy Cross Church in Hong Kong on May 24, 2022. (Photo: Peter Parks/AFP)
A parliamentary commission on China in the United States has nominated six pro-democracy campaigners of Hong Kong including outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen and jailed Catholic media tycoon Jimmy Lai for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The other nominees are Tonyee Chow Hang, Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Joshua Wong.
“The nominees are representative of millions of Hong Kongers who peacefully opposed the steady erosion of the city’s democratic freedoms by the Hong Kong government and the government of the People’s Republic of China,” the statement read.
The US Congress created the congressional commission in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China.
The bipartisan, bicameral commission consists of nine Senators, nine Members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President.
Senator Christopher Smith (Republican) chair and Senator Jeff Merkley (Democrat) cochair of the commission along with senators James P. McGovern (D) and Marco Rubio (R) former chairs of the commission proposed the nominations.
Through the nominations the commission aimed to “honor all those in Hong Kong whose bravery and determination in the face of repression has inspired the world,” the statement read.
The nomination from the US senators come right after a group of 15 academics in an open letter had nominated Chow, Ho, Lai, Lee, and Wong for the Nobel Peace Prize on Jan. 6.
“The five we are nominating symbolize the hopes not only of millions of Hong Kong people who are worried about the fate of their city but also of countless people on the China mainland who cannot express their views,” the letter signed by the academics read.
“The principles they are acting upon undergird human rights and human dignity everywhere, and their voices emerge at a time when human rights and dignity are coming under ever-greater pressure around the world,” the letter further read.
Rights activists across Hong Kong have been persecuted since Beijing imposed the draconian National Security Law in the city-state in 2020 following the massive, oft-violent pro-democracy protests of 2019.
In November 2022, Cardinal Zen and five others were fined HK$4,000 (US$500) for failing to properly register a now-defunct humanitarian fund as a society. The fund had helped pay legal and medical costs for people arrested during the 2019 unrest.
Posted by 