Hong Kong Activists Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Hong Kong activists have been nominated for the Nobel prize

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers have nominated several Hong Kong pro-democracy activists for the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize.

They include Cardinal Joseph Zen, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, and Joshua Wong Chi-fung of the now defunct Demosisto.

New Jersey Republican representative Christopher Smith, and Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat from Oregon, nominated the group "because they are ardent champions of Hong Kong's autonomy, human rights and the rule of law", according to the statement by the lawmakers.

Smith and Rubio are part of the CECC

Smith and Merkley lead the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which advises the US Congress on policy towards China. Other members of the group include representative Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican.

They also nominated journalist-turned-politician Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, a lawyer for a disbanded civil society group, and labour activist Lee Cheuk-yan.

"The nominees are representative of millions of Hongkongers 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," said the statement.

"Through the nomination, the members of Congress seek to honour all those in Hong Kong whose bravery and determination in the face of repression has inspired the world."

All the nominees have been charged under the national security law that was imposed on Hong Kong in July 2020.

Wong and Zen are two of the Nobel nominees

This is not the first time Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize -- Rubio and other CECC lawmakers nominated the entire opposition movement in 2021 in response to the national security law.

If anything this announcement brings attention to the plight of these nominees, almost all of them still in jail for around two years with no chance of bail, except for Zen. The 91-year-old was recently allowed to attend former Pope Benedict's funeral in the Vatican; after Zen returned he was in hospital for a few days because of breathing difficulties.