Hong Kong activists urge US lawmakers to ban export of police equipment being used against anti-Beijing demonstrators in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory
The former British colony has been rocked by more than three months of sometimes violent clashes, with demonstrators angry over what they see as creeping interference by Beijing in Hong Kong's affairs, despite a promise of autonomy.
Hong Kong returned to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that guarantees freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent legal system. The trigger for the unrest was an extradition bill, now withdrawn, that would have allowed people accused of crimes to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China for trial.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would also make officials in China and Hong Kong, who have undermined the city's autonomy, vulnerable to sanctions. Another bill introduced in the House last week with support from Republicans and Democrats, the "PROTECT Hong Kong Act," would bar commercial exports of some crowd-control items to the Hong Kong police force.
The legislation has not come up for a vote, but the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees are both holding hearings this week expected to address relations with China on issues including Hong Kong.President Donald Trump, who has been waging a tit-for-tat tariff war with China for more than a year, has suggested China should "humanely" settle the problem before a trade deal is reached.
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