US lawmakers on Thursday responded to a crisis in Hong Kong over a proposed extradition law with China by introducing legislation that would require the US government to justify the continuation of special treatment for the territory.
The bipartisan legislation in the US Senate, sponsored by several senior senators, would require the US secretary of state to issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment under the US-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992.
The proposed law, introduced by Republican US Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, would also require the US president to identify those responsible for the abduction of booksellers and other individuals from Hong Kong and subject them to US sanctions.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed “extreme dissatisfaction” with the proposed US legislation, calling it “irresponsible carping and crude interference.”
China called on the US “to give up its delusions of creating chaos in Hong Kong, stop pushing the proposed bill and to stop interfering in China’s domestic affairs,” ministry spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) told a regular media briefing.
The bill would also require the president to issue a strategy to protect US citizens and businesses from the effects of a revised extradition law and the US Department of Commerce to issue an annual report assessing whether Hong Kong was adequately enforcing US and UN sanctions, particularly those on Iran and North Korea.
In addition, the legislation would make clear that Hong Kong citizens should not be denied visas to the US if they were arrested or detained in connection with protest activity in the territory.
The legislation was also expected to be introduced to the US House of Representatives.
Scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police in Hong Kong on Thursday as hundreds of people persevered with a protest against the extradition law one day after police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to break up big crowds.
Wednesday’s protests around the Hong Kong Legislative Council forced the postponement of debate on the bill, which many in Hong Kong fear would undermine freedoms and confidence in the commercial hub.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
A Chinese ship ran aground in stormy weather in shallow waters off a Philippines-controlled island in the disputed South China Sea, prompting Filipino forces to go on alert, Philippine military officials said yesterday. When Philippine forces assessed that the Chinese fishing vessel appeared to have run aground in the shallows east of Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) on Saturday due to bad weather, Philippine military and coast guard personnel deployed to provide help, but later saw that the ship had been extricated, Philippine navy regional spokesperson Ellaine Rose Collado said. No other details were immediately available, including if there were injuries among
RSS