Bacon-supported bills for Hong Kong advance in the House

On Oct. 15, the U.S. House of Representatives approved two bills and two resolutions cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) regarding Hong Kong.

The bills are the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019, H.R. 3289, and the Placing Restrictions on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology (PROTECT) to Hong Kong Act, H.R. 4270.

H.R. 3289 would address Hong Kong’s status under U.S. law and impose sanctions on those responsible for human rights violations there, while H.R. 4270 would direct the U.S. president to prohibit the issuance of licenses to export certain defense items and services to various forces in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong Police Force, according to the congressional record summaries.

“We all should be standing in support of the people of Hong Kong who want freedom and a government that respects the dignity of the individual and their rights,” said Rep. Bacon. “China, on the other hand, has murdered over 40 million of their own people, restricts free speech, and has gulags open today persecuting people of faith.”

The House-approved resolutions cosponsored by Rep. Bacon are H.Res. 543 and H.Res. 521.

H.Res. 543, the Stand with Hong Kong resolution, would call on the Hong Kong government to begin negotiations with protesters to address their demands, and also condemns the Hong Kong government’s use of force against the demonstrations. H.Res. 521 would commend Canada for complying with its obligations under its extradition treaty with the U.S. regarding Canada’s arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., and expresses the U.S. Senate’s concern over China’s abusive treatment of Canadian nationals in response to Meng’s detention, according to the congressional record summaries. U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) was the lead sponsor of H.Res. 521, while U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) sponsored H.Res. 543.