Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong (L), Nathan Law (2nd L) and Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actress and LGBT activist Denise Ho (C, bottom) leave after a hearing before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 17, 2019. – Leaders of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement on Tuesday appealed directly to US lawmakers to exert pressure on Beijing, warning that an erosion of the city’s special status would embolden China’s leaders around the world. (Photo by Alastair Pike / AFP)