The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) learned today through media reports that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has threatened to sanction NED and other organizations, falsely accusing NED of instigating the ongoing protests in Hong Kong. NED has no information about what these sanctions would entail.
“Hong Kong’s democratic institutions, civil society, and rule of law have long served as vibrant models of public participation in Asia, as demonstrated in its November 24 district council elections,” said NED president Carl Gershman. “Repeated assertions by the Chinese government and state media outlets that NED is in any way orchestrating or financing the ongoing protests in Hong Kong are categorically false and are a sad attempt to distract from the reality of a genuine grassroots movement among the people of Hong Kong, who expect Beijing to uphold their end of the 1984 joint declaration that guarantees respect for the fundamental freedoms of the Hong Kong people under the ‘one country, two systems’ formula.”
The National Endowment for Democracy provides funding to Hong Kong organizations that are working to strengthen and protect civil society and democratic rights, such as access to justice and freedom of expression. NED does not fund or organize protests and no NED staff are involved in any way in the events in Hong Kong.
