Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Aug. 30 called for a vote on legislation on Hong Kong when Congress re-convenes.
“When the Senate returns, Majority Leader [Mitch] McConnell should quickly bring up for debate and a vote the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. This is bipartisan legislation that will send a clear message to President Xi,” Schumer said in a Twitter statement, speaking about the Chinese regime’s leader.
The bill was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and it would require the U.S. Secretary of State of issue an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy every year.
“China’s tightening grip around Hong Kong to strangle democracy and dissent is a desperate act of a brutal authoritarian regime,“ Schumer tweeted on Friday. ”For months now, the people of Hong Kong have taken to the streets to stand up for their democratic rights. The American people must continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong.”
On Aug. 30, Reuters reported that the Chinese Communist Party rejected a plan that assessed protesters’ five key demands, despite a finding that withdrawing the contentious extradition bill could help defuse the mounting political crisis in the territory.