WASHINGTON, November 14 (Sputnik) – US should strongly support Hong Kong's universal rights and free and fair elections, Senator Sherrod Brown has said.
"Hong Kong's autonomy and freedoms — essential to its relations with the US — are under threat from China. At this critical time, we [the United States] must strongly support the universal rights of the people of Hong Kong, including free and fair elections in 2017 and beyond," said Brown, Congressional-Executive Commission on China chairman senator, announcing the bill also introduced as the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.
"Our bipartisan bill would ensure that the United States can continue to monitor Hong Kong while ensuring that its democracy and freedoms remain a cornerstone of US policy," Brown said.
Under the proposed bill, the US Department of State would be required to reinstate and strengthen an annual report to Congress on the situation in Hong Kong of interest to the United States.
The legislation would also "require the [US] President to certify that Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous before enacting any new laws or agreements affording Hong Kong different treatment from the People's Republic of China." However, the president would be able to waive this certification with a national security justification.
The bill comes as a pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong enters its sixth week. The protest started when authorities in Beijing sought to change the electoral law for the chief executive of Hong Kong. The protesters are against changing the electoral law, which would require candidates for the 2017 election to be approved by a nominating committee close to the mainland government in China.
At a joint press conference in Beijing with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called the protests "illegal" and warned that Hong Kong was China's internal matter and foreign countries should not interfere.
Obama said that the issues with Hong Kong were for Hong Kong and China to settle, noting, however, that the United States would encourage the right of people to express their opinion and the transparency of the elections.
