President expected to sign HK bill
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is expected to sign legislation passed by Congress supporting Hong Kong protesters, setting up a confrontation with China that could imperil a long-awaited trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.
The bill, approved unanimously by the US Senate on Tuesday, passed the House 417-1 on Wednesday and could go to Mr Trump as soon as today. A person familiar with the matter said Mr Trump planned to sign the bill.
The bill, S1838, would require annual reviews of Hong Kong’s special trade status under US law and sanction officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses and undermining the city’s autonomy.
The House also passed another Senate bill, S2710, to ban the export of crowd-control items such as tear gas and rubber bullets to the Hong Kong police.
“The Congress is sending an unmistakable message to the world that the United States stands in solidarity with freedom-loving people of Hong Kong,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said on the House floor.
She added: “We fully support their fight for freedom.
“This has been a very unifying issue for us.”
China’s foreign ministry urged the US to prevent the legislation from becoming law, warning the American side not to underestimate the country’s determination to defend its “sovereignty, security and development interests”.
“If the US insists on going down this wrong path, China will take strong countermeasures,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang announced at a regular briefing yesterday in Beijing.