Senate sends China sanctions over Hong Kong crackdown to Trump's desk
The Senate has passed by unanimous consent a punitive sanctions bill against Chinese officials after the government there passed a national security law that experts say erodes Hong Kong's independence.
The sanctions bill, which passed with unanimous approval in the House on Wednesday, now heads to Donald Trump's desk.
Specifically, the bill would impose sanctions on Chinese officials and any Hong Kong police units clashing with protesters by penalizing banks that do business with them.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a rare appearance at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on this week urging members to vote for the sanctions and condemn the communist Chinese government's latest action in Hong Kong.
The sanctions are an "urgently needed response to the cowardly Chinese government’s passage of its so-called ‘national security’ law, which threatens the end of the ‘one country, two systems’ promised exactly 23 years ago today," Ms Pelosi later said in a statement.
"All freedom-loving people must condemn this horrific law, which is purpose-built to dismantle democratic freedoms in Hong Kong," she said.
China’s foreign ministry has warned of “strong countermeasures” against the US if the bill becomes law.
More follows…
