The House on Wednesday quickly passed a bill meant to protect human rights in Hong Kong as protests continued to rage in the semiautonomous Chinese city.
The House move follows similar action taken by the Senate on Tuesday, which unanimously passed its own version of a Hong Kong human rights bill.
The Senate legislation, called the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, would essentially require the State Department to ensure that the city’s “one county, two systems” agreement with China be upheld each year for the government to continue to afford Hong Kong with special trade status.
The Senate bill would also consider sanctions against people involved in human rights abuses against Hong Kong citizens and would ensure visa protections for protesters in the US.
The Senate version of the legislation was introduced in May by Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has been a vocal critic of Chinese policy and human-rights abuses, while the House version of the bill was introduced by Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey.
Both pieces of legislation will now be sent to President Donald Trump for approval.[…]
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