President Donald Trump has approved legislation backing Hong Kong’s ‘pro-democracy’ protest movement, disregarding Beijing’s repeated warnings for Washington to mind its own business and stop meddling in China's internal affairs.
Dubbed the 'Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act,' the bill blazed through both houses of Congress earlier this month with virtually unanimous consent from lawmakers. In addition to threatening sanctions over human rights violations, the law requires the State Department to “certify” once a year whether Hong Kong enjoys sufficient “autonomy,” though exactly how officials will quantify that remains unclear.
Despite harsh condemnations from Beijing, the president said he passed the bills with his Chinese counterpart in mind.
Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and PROTECT Hong Kong Act, legislation supporting the Hong Kong protestors, were both signed into law by President Trump today per the White House. pic.twitter.com/bBqLJ9Ii0j
“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong,” Trump said in a statement on Wednesday, adding they are being enacted in the hope that leaders and representatives of China and Hong Kong “will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all.”
Trump did note that certain provisions of both acts interfered with the presidential power to conduct foreign policy under the US Constitution, and will be implemented with that in mind, but did not specify which ones.
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