China Threatens To Retaliate If U.S. Enacts Hong Kong Bill

(Yahoo! News) Iain Marlow Daniel Flatley and Dandan Li October 16 2019 China threatened unspecified strong countermeasures" if the U.S. Congress enacts legislation supporting Hong Kong protesters in a sign of the deepening strain between the worlds two largest economies as they attempt to seal a trade deal. Chinas foreign ministry issued the warning Wednesday after the U.S. House passed a package of measures backing a pro-democracy movement that has rocked the former British colony for more than four months. Among them was the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act which subjects the citys special U.S. trading status to annual reviews and provides for sanctions against officials deemed responsible for undermining its fundamental freedoms and autonomy." While the legislation must also pass the U.S. Senate and be signed by President Donald Trump to become law it already has strong bipartisan support in the Republican-run upper chamber. The Hong Kong measures were passed by the Democrat-controlled House by unanimous voice votes Tuesday. Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang warned American lawmakers to stop meddling in Chinas internal affairs before falling off the edge of the cliff" without specifying how it would retaliate. The House action fully exposes the shocking hypocrisy of some in the U.S. on human rights and democracy and their malicious intention to undermine Hong Kongs prosperity and stability to contain Chinas development" Geng said.