US Director, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation @thecfhk • Commissioner @USCC_Gov • fmr Staff Director @CmteOnCCPDems @CECCgov
Washington, DC
Joined June 2010
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Jonathan Stivers retweeted
In 2021, then-Senator Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) urged the U.S. to “open our doors” to Hong Kongers persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. Now, as Secretary of State, he can help keep those doors open.
Unless action is taken, Deferred Enforced Departure protections allowing Hong Kongers to remain in the U.S. will expire in February. Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained at least a dozen Hong Kongers who are still legally living and working here.
We call on @SecRubio to act now to extend these protections so no one is returned to suffer punishments like those inflicted on publisher Jimmy Lai and former student activist Joshua Wong, both imprisoned in Hong Kong without prospect of release.
@PostOpinions makes clear what’s at stake:
“President Trump has said that #FreeJimmyLai is a priority in his dealings with Xi Jinping. That was welcome news. Wong and others unjustly imprisoned in Hong Kong deserve similar efforts.
"The least the Trump administration can do is stop the harassment of exiled Hong Kongers who might have to join China’s political prisoners if denied the right to stay in America.”
washingtonpost.com/opinions/…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
🧵1/6 As @USTreasury officials hold talks at the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in Hong Kong, we release a new report, "Safe Harbor for Sanctions Evaders: Hong Kong’s Brazen Support for Iran and Russia."
The research examines Hong Kong's role as the global hub for Iran and Russia to obtain Western finance, technology, and weapons components needed to sustain their military operations and evade United States and international sanctions and export controls.
Report author @jonstivers, CFHK Foundation U.S. director, said, "This week, top U.S. Treasury Department officials will hold talks at the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting in Hong Kong, the world’s capital of sanctions evasion for Iran and Russia.
"Since taking office, Secretary Bessent (@SecScottBessent) has played an ineffective game of whack-a-mole, sanctioning Hong Kong shell companies only to watch them reappear under new names within days.
"Secretary Bessent needs to get serious: impose secondary sanctions on the Hong Kong banks financing this trade and designate Hong Kong a Primary Money Laundering Concern.
"Only actions on that scale will disrupt the financing and facilitation that sustain the world’s most ruthless and deadly regimes."
To read the full report, visit: thecfhk.org/research/safe-ha…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
anti-Xi protesters can still be heard, despite a band trying to drown them out, as Trump and Xi pose for photos
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
.@thecfhk President @MarkLClifford said:
“The Hong Kong authorities have tried to pretend these kangaroo-court proceedings weren’t a political trial – but no one is fooled. These long jail sentences send a chilling message: If you challenge the government, even peacefully and legally, you risk years behind bars.
“The criminals here are the judges who’ve handed down these sentences. Remember their names: Alex Lee, Johnny Chan, and Anna Lai. They’ve punished the Hong Kong Alliance and its leaders for exercising the fundamental right to freedom of expression.
“Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung, and Lee Cheuk-yan are prisoners of conscience who should be freed now."
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
Today, @SpeakerPelosi stood on the floor of the House of Representatives to raise Joshua Wong's case on the day of his court hearing in Hong Kong. Speaking of Joshua, Jimmy Lai, and other prisoners wrongfully held in Hong Kong, Speaker Pelosi said: "We must speak out for freedom. We must not let this be ignored. The most horrible form of torture that the Chinese have over these people, is to tell them: 'nobody remembers you, or why you are here.' We want to be sure that they know that we remember them."
Thank you, Speaker Pelosi, for standing up for Hong Kong's political prisoners. Their names will not be forgotten, and neither will their fight for freedom.
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
Last week, the @USTreasury fully removed nine #HongKong and #Chinese officials from its sanctions lists and moved the remaining 39 to the lower-profile Non-SDN Menu-Based Sanctions (NS-MBS) List, following the Trump Administration's decision to let the national emergency declared under Executive Order 13936 expire.
thecfhk.org/u-s-treasurys-ho…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
Freedom House is alarmed by reports that the Trump administration has lifted sanctions on six Hong Kong officials while Jimmy Lai, Joshua Wong, and other political prisoners in Hong Kong remain unjustly imprisoned.
The United States should not ease pressure on those responsible for dismantling Hong Kong's freedoms without meaningful human rights concessions. Ahead of Xi Jinping's expected visit to Washington in September, Beijing should release those wrongfully detained in Hong Kong, and we strongly urge the Trump administration to renew the national emergency declared under Executive Order 13936 on #HongKong.
China suggested that the US has restored privileges for Hong Kong that Trump revoked in 2020, describing the move as an important step toward improving ties bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
One day ago, Trump accused China of 2020 US election interference against him. Today, he chose to respond not by punishing China, but by rewarding China. This is done through loosening measures against Hong Kong, easing the strictness of sanctions against some HK human rights abusers, and lifting sanctions altogether against other HK human rights abusers. Far from achieving peace through strength, Trump is showing p*** through weakness against China and Hong Kong.
apnews.com/article/hong-kong…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
The US today has removed sanctions against six Hong Kong officials:
Justice Secretary Paul Lam
National Security Dept chief Sonny Au
Former Police Commissioner Raymond Siu
Former Police Commissioner Stephen Lo
Assistant National Security Dept chief Dick Wong
Former Assistant National Security Dept chief Margaret Chiu
All key current and former players in the crackdown on human rights, imprisonment of opposition political leaders and activists, and abrogation of the city's autonomy.
Just shocking and shameful action by the Trump Administration.
This is horrific, a kowtow by the Trump Administration to Xi Jinping, and a betrayal of Hongkongers and their fight for democratic self-determination. Many sanctions against Hong Kong officials are now removed, and this appears to be a major step in normalizing relations with Hong Kong.
Anyone genuinely paying attention to Trump, his praise of Xi over the years, and his negative comments on Hong Kong and its democracy advocates since 2019 has expected a betrayal eventually. Hopefully, however, the subset of Hongkongers who have continued to support Trump will now, finally, see him for what he is.
Shameful.
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
🚨 Hong Kong Watch strongly opposes the non-renewal of the 🇺🇸 national emergency declared under Executive Order 13936 on #HongKong.
This action appears to lift sanctions on human rights abusers in return for financial concessions, while repression in Hong Kong has only deepened since the emergency was put in place.
We urge @POTUS to immediately reverse this decision to protect the people of Hong Kong.
hongkongwatch.org/all-posts/…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
The Trump administration's allowed the national emergency on Hong Kong--renewed every year for the past six years--to expire. A major & regrettable change in US policy on HK, which involves removing many sanctioned individuals from the sanctions list.
ofac.treasury.gov/recent-act…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
See my statement below on the Trump Administration's decison to not renew the national emergency in the HK executive order and to lift sanctions on Hong Kong officials that have committed human rights abuses
Today, the Chinese Communist Party (#CCP) was the first to announce that the Trump administration would not renew the national emergency declared under Executive Order 13936 on #HongKong—apparently as part of a financial concession. The Treasury Department has now confirmed that decision. The CFHK Foundation is stunned that the administration allowed U.S. policy to be announced by the CCP before informing the American public, and we strongly oppose this decision.
President Trump's decision not to renew the Hong Kong national emergency is a textbook case of the appeasement and weakness that members of Congress and so-called China "hawks" have rightly condemned in the past. Compounding this failure, the concession did not even secure #JimmyLai's release from prison, despite the President's repeated promises to do so.
Serious questions now surround the nature of these concessions and who truly benefits from them. The public deserves answers: Do sanctions on Hong Kong officials for human rights abuses remain in place? Is the administration restoring Hong Kong's economic, trade, and financial privileges? And what, precisely, has been conceded to the Chinese Communist Party? Congress must also act to codify the executive order's provisions into law, consistent with legislation it has already passed by strong bipartisan majorities.
Make no mistake: repression in Hong Kong continues to intensify, and democracy advocates and freedom fighters remain behind bars. The Administration and Congress should support the people of Hong Kong at this critical moment. This decision amounts to nothing less than a betrayal.
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
URGENT "Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Safeguard Defenders call on Thai authorities to refrain from deporting detained prominent Chinese journalist Bai Zhaodong to China." Please help amplify this message 🙏 rsf.org/en/rsf-safeguard-def…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
‘Unprecedented’ plane crash tests Beijing’s sense of security ft.trib.al/r0YVCNH
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
🧵 THREAD: Big news from London this morning. HKETO office manager Bill Yuen has been sentenced to 8 years in prison, and co-defendant Peter Wai to 10 years, for spying on Hong Kong pro-democracy activists in the UK on behalf of Chinese government intelligence services 1/
Today at the Old Bailey, Hong Kong spy Bill Yuen was sentenced to eight years for assisting a foreign intelligence service. Peter Wai, was sentenced to 10 years for the same offense and misconduct in public office after abusing Home Office databases to obtain information on targets.
@Chloe_chc_25 said, “Bill Yuen and Peter Wai have rightly been punished today — but let’s not miss the bigger picture. These two individuals are just the tip of a very long spear being wielded by the Chinese Communist Party.
“Hong Kong police issued cash bounties on Hong Kong activists living here in Britain and then used HKETO staff and offices to hunt us down and frighten us into silence. Their vile tactics won’t succeed, but we need more support from the British government to hold those behind the scenes accountable.
“There have been zero diplomatic consequences for the officials responsible in Hong Kong and China — no sanctions, no expulsions, and — crucially — a greenlight for the HKETO in London, which happens to be in Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s constituency, to carry on with business as usual.
“That’s just not good enough. That’s why we’re building cross-party support to examine the legal basis of the HKETO’s privileges and to repeal the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office Act 1996.”
thecfhk.org/cfhk-foundation-…
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Jonathan Stivers retweeted
🔥Tonight, while @POTUS is in China for talks with Xi Jinping, both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed bipartisan resolutions calling on the president to secure the humanitarian release of political prisoners in China and Hong Kong, including Jimmy Lai. Both resolutions were passed unanimously.
PRESS RELEASE: thecfhk.org/u-s-congress-pas…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
"Goldman Sachs has stopped its bankers in Hong Kong from using #Anthropic’s #AI models, the latest sign of how the tech is brushing up against US-#China tensions...Employees of the Wall St bank in HK were unable to access Claude as of a few wks ago"
ft.com/content/aa3a7a19-ab94…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
1/ Excellent report by @austinramzy @WSJ exposing how #HongKong has become the critical hub for #Iran sanctions evasion.
Hong Kong’s unique system enables Beijing to channel funds, sensitive tech, and components supporting Iran’s drone and missile programs...
wsj.com/world/china/how-hong…
Jonathan Stivers retweeted
Grateful to @ChinaSelect Chairman @RepMoolenaar for sending two strong letters to @POTUS and @SecRubio calling for the release of prisoners of conscience and accountability for Hong Kong officials. Beijing’s repression is staggering: more than 1,900 political prisoners detained in #HongKong since 2019, hundreds of whom are still in prison. Their voices must not be forgotten.
We welcome the call to secure #JimmyLai’s release and to consider sanctions on those responsible for Hong Kong’s crackdown, including HK Police Commissioner Joe Chow and the judges presiding over Lai’s trial.
Standing up for human rights is central to U.S. values and global leadership. We urge sustained action until all prisoners of conscience are free.
