China prepares to pass bill said to erode human rights in Hong Kong

CHINA’S LEGISLATURE has begun reviewing a controversial national security Bill for Hong Kong which will compromise human rights in the semiautonomous territory.

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee took up the Bill at the start of a three-day session, China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported.

China has said it is determined to enact the law and its passage is expected by Tuesday.

The US says it will respond by ending favourable trading terms granted to the former British colony after it passed to Chinese control in 1997.

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a Bill to impose sanctions on businesses and individuals – including the police – that undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy or restrict freedoms promised to the city’s residents.

The Senate Bill targets police units that have cracked down on Hong Kong protesters, as well as Chinese Communist Party officials responsible for imposing the national security law.

The measure also would impose sanctions on banks that do business with entities found to violate the law.

Last week, a former United Nations human rights chief and eight former UN special envoys urged the body’s secretarygeneral to appoint a special envoy on Hong Kong over what they said is a pending “humanitarian tragedy”.

Britain has said it would grant passports to as many as 3m of Hong Kong’s 7.8m people.

Beijing has denounced all such moves as gross interference in its internal affairs.