Login With Google
U.S. House passes Hong Kong Rights Act
Why in news?
- The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Bill sought by pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong that aims to defend civil rights in the semi-autonomous territory, prompting an angry response from China.
More in news
- The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, will now move to the Senate before it can become law.
- Law would end the Hong Kong-U.S. special trading status, unless the State Department certifies annually that city authorities are respecting human rights and the rule of law.
- China expressed “strong indignation” over the passing of the Act, which also requires the U.S. President to identify and sanction people who are responsible for the erosion of autonomy and serious abuses of rights in the city.
- External forces: China has frequently accused “external forces” of fuelling weeks of unrest in the global financial hub.
- Freedoms eroded by Beijing in Hong Kong: Millions have taken to the streets of Hong Kong, initially against a now-dropped bid by its leaders to allow extraditions to the authoritarian Chinese mainland. The movement has expanded into a broader pro-democracy push in the territory where activists say freedoms are being eroded by Beijing, despite being written into a deal the deal that governed Hong Kong’s 1997 transfer to China from British colonial rule.
Sources
The Hindu