By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers will introduce a bill on Friday requiring the Trump administration to review whether Hong Kong officials should be sanctioned for human rights violations, according to a bill text seen by Reuters.
Republican Representative Young Kim, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific subcommittee, is leading the bill with Democratic Representative Jim McGovern, the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee.
Its introduction comes days after the inauguration for a second term of Republican President Donald Trump, who has vowed to step up U.S. efforts to push back on Chinese economic and military power.
The "Hong Kong Sanctions Act" requires the U.S. president to determine whether dozens of Hong Kong officials violated human rights and whether sanctions should be imposed under legislation including the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 or Hong Kong Autonomy Act.
U.S. lawmakers have long sought sanctions against Hong Kong officials responsible for the political persecution of pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.
Among the dozens of officials named in the bill are Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Paul Lam, Police Chief Raymond (NSE:RYMD) Siu and Judges Andrew Cheung, Andrew Chan, Johnny Chan, Alex Lee, Esther Toh and Amanda Woodcock.
Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 after months of at times violent pro-democracy protests.
The law, which Hong Kong and Beijing said was necessary to restore order and preserve the city's prosperity, punishes subversion, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with up to life in prison.
"Beijing’s ‘national security law’ is a facade used by CCP officials to promote authoritarianism and exert control over Hong Kongers," Kim said in a statement.
"Congress has given the executive branch many, many tools to counter the PRC’s crushing of democracy and human rights in Hong Kong. It’s time for these authorities to be fully implemented," McGovern said.
Since the national security law was imposed, hundreds of people have been arrested including opposition politicians, activists, lawyers and journalists.