US Senate committee passes Hong Kong Human Rights Act

美國眾議院委員通過《香港人權法》

Bill moves closer to floor vote after unanimous approval in Committee on Foreign Relations


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — On Sept. 25, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations unanimously passed an amended version of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (S. 1838).

The bill will now be placed on the Senate’s legislative calendar for a vote in the coming months. A press release from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida praised the committee for approving the legislation at “a time when Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms are under assault by interference from the Chinese government and Communist Party.”

The bill calls for the U.S. State Department to regularly evaluate Hong Kong’s autonomy in different areas to determine whether or not the territory still deserves its special status as recognized under current U.S. law, which is dependent upon Beijing honoring its agreement with Hong Kong to preserve its democratic institutions and autonomy until 2047. If Beijing fails to do so, the proposed legislation would mandate the executive branch of the U.S. government to take certain actions to penalize the Chinese government.

The Senate bill was introduced by Senator Rubio on June 13 with seven original co-sponsors, however, it now boasts the co-sponsorship of 22 senators. Similar legislation was also introduced into the U.S. House on the same day as Rubio's bill, which is another indication that the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act is likely to become law with wide support from both Republicans and Democrats.

According to Rubio's press release, China “must be held fully accountable for its ongoing efforts to undermine Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy.” Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch said that “after more than two decades of broken promises, it is time that we hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.”

On the same day that the Hong Kong bill was approved, the Senate committee unanimously passed the TAIPEI Act, which is designed to counter China’s campaign to isolate Taiwan’s diplomatic space, most recently by poaching its allies the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.