WASHINGTON – The United States’ (US) House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two bills to back protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China about human rights.
The House sent the bills to the White House after voting 417 to 1 for the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,” which the Senate passed unanimously on Tuesday.
The measure would require the State Department to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for the special US trading consideration that helped it become a world financial center. It also would provide for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in the Chinese-ruled city.
Demonstrators have protested for over five months in the streets at what they see as Chinese meddling in the freedoms promised to Hong Kong when Britain handed it back to China in 1997.
US President Donald Trump has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to sign a bill passed by the Congress, unless he opts to use his veto.(Reuters)
