U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) cosponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019.

“What began as the people of Hong Kong standing up to peacefully protest an unjust proposal that would have given the Communist Party in Beijing unprecedented overreach into their judicial system has become a brave stand for democracy and the future of Hong Kong in the face of tyrannical communist rule and religious persecution. The leadership in Beijing, fearful of empowered citizenry and democratic values, has begun a brutal campaign to arrest, detain and repress the peaceful protests. This is unacceptable.

“The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 will show the Chinese Communist Party that we are serious about standing up for our shared democratic values, and will hold them accountable for human rights abuses and disregard for Hong Kong’s rule of law.”

Building on the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 authored by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), this amended bipartisan bill would require the Secretary of State to evaluate, no less than annually, Hong Kong’s autonomy in various areas, including government decision-making, law enforcement and extradition requests, universal suffrage, judicial independence, police and security functions, export controls, and sanctions enforcement, and also to certify whether Hong Kong continues to warrant special status treatment under U.S. laws.

The legislation would also mandate the President to impose sanctions against foreign persons determined to be responsible for extrajudicial rendition, arbitrary detention, torture, or forced confession of people in Hong Kong, or other gross violations of human rights in Hong Kong.  In addition, the bill would task the Executive Branch to develop a strategy to protect American citizens and others in Hong Kong from rendition or abduction to China, and to report annually to Congress on violations of U.S. export controls laws and United Nations sanctions occurring in Hong Kong.