Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) robbed fellow Democrats in a Senate speech Friday, denouncing their support for a bill to give Hong Kong refugees temporary protection status as a cynical maneuver to undermine U.S. law on immigration.
On December 7, 2020, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the “Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act”, a bill designating Hong Kong as the country designated by the GST for 18 months; increases the number of immigrant visas that the US will allow from Hong Kong; and allows individuals who have played a “significant role in an organization that has supported the 2019 or 2020 protests related to China’s invasion of Hong Kong autonomy or the Hong Kong National Security Act passed in 2020” or “have been arrested, charged , detained or convicted of participating in the non-violent exercise of certain rights “to establish that they have a” well-founded fear of persecution “that can be used to seek refugee status in the United States.
On Friday, Democrat Richard Blumenthal (Conn.) And Dick Durbin (Ill.) Called for unanimous agreement to pass the bill in the Senate, but Cruz opposed it, blocking the bill.
In his Senate speech, Cruz accused Democrats of exploiting the Hong Kong crisis to make changes to US immigration law.
“This is not a Hong Kong bill. It is instead a bill for democratic messages, because the House Democrats have taken, I think, a cynical decision to try to exploit the Hong Kong crisis to advance its long-term goals. [of] changing our immigration laws, “Cruz noted.
He accused the bill of posing a risk to national security, giving the Chinese Communist Party an opportunity to send spies to the United States.
“This bill […] it would dramatically lower the standards for both refugee and asylum status to the point where individuals would qualify even if they could not establish an individualized and credible fear of persecution, “Cruz said.” There is a special risk when doing this. [because] we know [it] would be used by Chinese communists to send even more Chinese spies to the United States.
“I checked last time, when the Chinese communist government sends spies to our country, they are quite willing to create a fake portfolio of background materials,” he said.
Citing recent reports that U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) Was romantically involved with an alleged Chinese spy and that Swalwell was one of several U.S. politicians targeted by the spy, Cruz called on Congress to confront the CCP. aggressively.
“We just got news recently about Chinese spies targeting members of Congress, targeting prominent Democrats. This is an espionage threat facing America from our opponents by taking advantage of our laws and targeting our leadership,” Cruz said. “The truth is also that China has confiscated passports and I am told that it has stopped issuing exit visas to people considered problematic. As a result, it is very unlikely that China will allow effective dissidents to leave Hong Kong.
“We urgently need a real bipartisan substantive conversation about fighting the Chinese Communist Party, about defending the United States, about lifting and winning this battle. This bill does not advance this goal,” Cruz proclaimed.
The Texas senator offered two of his own pieces of legislation for the Senate to consider as alternatives to confronting the Chinese Communist Party. His first bill, the SCRIPT Act, would target Hollywood studios that censor films for screenings in China on behalf of the communist government. Cruz accused Hollywood of being “complicit” in China’s censorship and propaganda, citing examples of films that were released to remove material deemed unacceptable by CCP authorities.
Cruz notes here that Hollywood has censored scenes showing Freddie Mercury’s homosexuality, changed Doctor Strange ‘… https://t.co/dztS9IjyAC
– Jerry Christmas, BA (@Jerry Christmas, BA)1608414156.0
“The only reason the SCRIPT Act is not passed is because Senate Democrats oppose it,” Cruz accused. “No one should lose sight of the fact that Hollywood billionaires who are enriched by this Chinese propaganda are among the largest political donors of the Democratic Party today.”
Cruz’s second bill is the SHAME Act, which would penalize CCP officials for atrocities committed against Uighur Muslims, including forced sterilization and abortions.
“The SHAME Act focuses in particular on the atrocities of human rights. It focuses on more than a million Uighurs in concentration camps and other religious minorities. [like] Falun Gong practitioners, who are captured and killed and whose organs are harvested, “Cruz said, describing his legislation.
“My fellow Democrats like to say about abortion, they are pro-choice. Well, the Chinese government is currently engaging in forced sterilization and forced abortions – taking Uighur mothers and forcing them to abort their children against their will. Democrats’ views on abortion in the United States are a matter of choice for a woman, certainly must be united in saying that a government that forces a woman to abort her child, to take the life of her unborn child, is an indescribable atrocity , “He continued.
“The SHAME law does something very simple – it imposes sanctions on the leaders of the Chinese Communist government responsible for implementing this horrible 1984-style policy of forced sterilization and forced abortions.”
My family knows firsthand the hands and oppression of communist governments. That’s why I will ALWAYS talk and stay … https://t.co/lkIwUXCUa2
– Senator Ted Cruz (@ Senator Ted Cruz)1608337296.0
Some lawyers in support of the democratic bill blocked by Cruz were angry with the senator.
“I’m angry,” said Jeffrey Ngo, a doctor at Georgetown University. student and activist, he told the South China Morning Post. “[Cruz’s] Today’s actions have endangered the safety of myself and others like me – Hong Kong protesters now in the US
“I do not agree [with] rejecting the positive impact this bill may have on the lives of real people, “Ngo added.” And not just the lives of real people, but the people he claims to support. “
Others took several diplomatic tones in their criticism.
“We want to tell Senator Cruz that we must not choose between prevention [Chinese Communist Party] on-screen censorship or rescuing brave activists from life in prison, “said Samuel Chu, the founding head of the US-based Hong Kong-based Democracy Council, in a statement.” Refusing to send Hong Kongers back to become political prisoners and shouting atrocities in Xinjiang is not mutually exclusive. Fighting against [Chinese Communist Party] and to stay with Hong Kong requires every tool at our disposal. “