A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and congressmen nominated the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize amid a power grab and protest crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party in the formerly semi-autonomous city.
The nomination was sent to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee on Sunday, the deadline for submissions, and the lawmakers publicized their letter on Wednesday in a move that is sure to upset Beijing at a time when President Biden is less than a month into his tenure at the White House.
The letter was signed by Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida, Steve Daines of Montana, and Todd Young of Indiana. Democratic Sens. Jeffrey Merkley of Oregon and Gary Peters of Michigan, along with Republican Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri and Democratic Reps. James McGovern of Massachusetts, Thomas Suozzi of New York, and Tom Malinowski of New Jersey, also signed the letter.
Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders were nominated “in recognition of peaceful efforts to protect Hong Kong’s autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law as guaranteed in the Sino-British Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law,” the lawmakers wrote.
The list of nominees for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize also includes Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg, jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, the Black Lives Matter movement, and former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner.
The winners will be announced in October.
“We hope that the Nobel Committee will continue to shine a light on those struggling for peace and human rights in China and we believe the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is deserving of recognition this year,” the U.S. lawmakers wrote in their letter.
