China condemns US' HK 'rights bill'

Foreign Ministry says Senate bill 'confuses right and wrong', 'openly interferes' in affairs 

China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday condemned and "resolutely opposes" legislation passed by the US Senate in support of the violent protesters in Hong Kong.

The bill, unanimously passed Tuesday in Washington, would require annual US certification of human rights in Hong Kong. The US House of Representatives approved a similar measure last month.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the act "disregards the facts, confuses right and wrong, violates the axioms, plays with double standards, openly intervenes in Hong Kong affairs, interferes in China's internal affairs, and seriously violates the basic norms of international law and international relations".

Geng said that in the past five months, the persistent, violent criminal acts in Hong Kong "have seriously jeopardized the safety of the public's life and property; seriously trampled on the rule of law and social order; seriously undermined Hong Kong's prosperity and stability; and seriously challenged the bottom line of the 'one country, two systems' principle".

Some figures behind the Hong Kong rioting reportedly met with diplomats from the US Consulate General in Hong Kong in August and then traveled to Washington to meet with members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appealing directly to US lawmakers for support.

The Senate's Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, approved through a unanimous consent vote, would require the US secretary of state to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy to qualify for special US trading consideration that bolsters its status as a world financial center. It also would provide for sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in Hong Kong.

The Senate also unanimously passed another measure banning the US export of certain munitions to Hong Kong police, including tear gas and pepper spray, rubber bullets and stun guns.

On Oct 15, the House passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which calls for annual reviews of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's autonomy and threatens to punish those who "undermine" such autonomy. The bill was unanimously approved by voice vote.

The two pieces of legislation aren't identical, for example, the Senate version, enforces sanctions in fewer circumstances. The two chambers will have to work out their differences before any legislation can be sent to the US President Donald Trump for his consideration.

Geng asked the US to recognize the situation and take measures to prevent the bills from becoming law immediately and also to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and in China's internal affairs.

"If the US side is willing to go its own way, China will surely take effective countermeasures, to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests," he said.

The passage of the House legislation last month was criticized by the Hong Kong government, which called it interference in the internal affairs of Hong Kong, and said that the city would safeguard its autonomy.

The Foreign Ministry responded last month that the House bill "fully reveals the ill intentions of some people in the United States to mess up Hong Kong and contain China's development".

After the Senate legislation passed, British political analyst Tom Fowdy tweeted that he believes the act "aims not really to protect Hong Kong rights, but transform into a Trojan horse for American geopolitics".

"Nothing the US can do can change Beijing's stance that Hong Kong is a part of China," Fowdy wrote.

"In turn, those who pay the biggest price of American actions are the Hong Kongers themselves, who will find their city stripped of the market advantages which once made it great," he added.

Fowdy noted that one section of the Senate's Hong Kong measure specifies that the territory has to obligate itself to anything the United States deems a "national security threat" — "given how broad, unspecified and easily used that definition tends to be, that truly demonstrates how opportunistic the act really is", he wrote.

The violence in Hong Kong has escalated in recent weeks, with intense clashes between protesters and the police. Schools in Hong Kong have remained closed since Thursday over safety concerns.

Reuters contributed to this story.