Some much-needed hopeful news from the future: as of 11th October, the Majority Speaker of the House of Representatives indicated that the HRDA, the Protect Hong Kong Act, and 2 other resolutions, one that condemns China and supports Hong Kong's right to protest, and one that commends the Canadian Government in upholding the rule of law against China's actions, will be considered under suspension of the rules, a procedure that is used to quickly pass bills that are non-controversial and have bipartisan support. Voting on the HRDA has finally been scheduled on the House agenda and confirmed to be this coming Tuesday, which is the day the Congress reconvenes. Hong Hongers should be encouraged to see this sign of the US recognising their bilateral relationship with us, and that they consider our fight as their fight against totalitarianism too. However, the HRDA and the Protect Hong Kong Act are yet to be scheduled on the Senate agenda, and the 2 Houses do now hold different versions of these bills as they have undergone amendments separately. Bills need to be passed at both Houses of the Congress in order to be enacted. We will still need to anticipate the Senate to vote on and hopefully pass their version of the HRDA in the near future, and that the Congress eventually agrees upon and adopts a strongest, 'spiciest' version of the bill. Until then, Hong Kongers shall fight on with grace and sapience, and continue to reciprocate their support and progress in the right direction together with them.

#fightforfreedom #standwithHK #UScongress #HKHRDA #international #HK

The HRDA may well have been scheduled for voting this week at the House of Representatives, but the Senate is moving on much more slowly. One reason could be that their version of the bill is still undergoing amendments for stronger terms, and it is indeed the 'spicier' version as of now than the House one, but the other reason might possibly be their Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell. McConnell has shown support for Hong Kong before, but his stance has not been as firm as that of Speaker Pelosi of the House. The bill must first be put onto the Senate agenda by McConnell, or else it cannot be acted upon. US analysts relate his inaction to his wife, Elaine Chao, and her dubious connections with China. She has been under investigation for ethics violations, and her family have been involved in tranfers of private moneys in the past for McConnell's reelection efforts. This puts McConnell in a particularly shaky position, and adds uncertainties to the successful passage of the bill. It is thus now important for us to pressure McConnell to side with Hong Kong. Hong Kongers can leave messages on his social media platforms to firstly thank him for his work on Hong Kong so far, and reassure him of the support from both Hong Kongers and the Senate on his proceeding with the bill, and then urge him to schedule a vote on the HRDA as soon as possible. The key message to him is that staying 'clean' and liberating Hong Kong will only work in his favour in the 2020 elections and overall. This is again something simple that Hong Kongers can do on the ground to facilitate and safeguard the passage of the HRDA, which still faces nuanced obstacles at this stage.

#international #HKHRDA #UScongress #standwithHK #fightforfreedom