WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Martin Lee on Thursday, the State Department said, as Hong Kong activists seek to derail a proposed extradition law pushed by Beijing.
Lee founded the first pro-democracy party in Hong Kong in 1990 and has been a prominent voice calling for civil liberties for the city's residents. Democracy activists fear the legislation would erode rights and legal protections in the former British colony that were guaranteed under the Basic Law when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Pompeo"also expressed support for Hong Kong's longstanding protections of human rights, fundamental freedoms, and democratic values, which are guaranteed under the Basic Law," the State Department said.