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Senate Passes Sanctions Over Hong Kong Crackdown
Chinese officials could soon face consequences for their involvement in the crackdown in Hong Kong.
On Thursday, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that clears the way for sanctions against individuals and organizations that are involved in Beijing’s recent efforts to eliminate dissent in the city. Sponsored by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), the bipartisan bill passed the Senate unanimously after clearing the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Now, the legislation heads to President Trump’s desk for a final decision. However, the White House hasn’t commented on whether or not the president supports the legislation.
Lawmakers said they felt alarmed at Beijing’s increasingly aggressive oppression of Hong Kong’s population. New national security laws give law enforcement increased legal authority, allowing Beijing to suppress dissent in the region more effectively. The Hong Kong police force wasted no time in exercising their newly-expanded powers.
Hong Kong Authorities on the Move
On Wednesday, Hong Kong authorities made over 300 arrests as they smashed an unauthorized protest in the city. The protest was organized to coincide with the anniversary of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover from British Colonial, but local authorities refused to issue permits for the demonstration, citing violence at past protests. When protestors took to the streets anyway, local police were ready to rumble. Officers in full riot gear swooped down on the demonstration and used tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons to disperse protestors. Local authorities also arrested around 10 people for violating the new national security law.
The events at Wednesday’s Hong Kong protest prompted legislators to move the law through Congress faster. “The intensity of the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression appears to be growing by the day,” said Mr. Toomey, the bill’s Republican sponsor.
The United States' Response
China CCP is fighting for it's life.
Senate Passes Sanctions Bill Against Chinese Officials Over Hong Kong – The Wall Street Journal https://t.co/hVe8lKoTe7— Beat China (@BeatChina1) July 2, 2020
The bill’s other sponsor, Mr. Van Hollen, hopes the president will sign the bill into law quickly. “I hope that President Trump will sign this immediately,” Mr. Van Hollen said. “As a country, Republicans and Democrats need to send a strong signal that we will not stand for the actions of Beijing undermining their own agreements, agreements under international law which they are bound to.”
Last year, Congress passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which President Trump signed into law. The bill requires the State Department to annually certify Hong Kong’s independence. However, the State Department certified to Congress that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from Beijing in May. This also clears the way for legislative retribution. Lawmakers could then ultimately impose a range of retaliatory sanctions for its imposition on Hong Kong’s autonomy,
So far, D.C’s response to the Hong Kong crackdown has been pretty timid, but the bill could ultimately lead to major consequences for Beijing. The Chinese regime has been increasingly aggressive over the past few months, but the international pushback has been weak. With the coronavirus pandemic causing chaos in most countries, the governments mostly shifted their focus on internal problems.
At the very least, the legislation sends a message to Beijing that America’s highly-divided Congress can willingly come together to impose sanctions against China. It’s unclear whether the president will sign the legislation at this point but, if he does, China may think twice before making another move against Western interests.
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