Tibet human rights bill

US House Passes Bill on Sanctions Against Chinese Officials for Meddling in Dalai Lama's Succession.

The bill will also prohibit China from opening any new consulate in the US until Beijing allows Washington to open its diplomatic station in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

PTI

Washington/Beijing -- The US House of Representatives has passed a bill that authorises financial and travel sanctions against Chinese officials who interfere in the process of selecting the successor to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader based in India.
Introduced by Congressman James P McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the bill was passed by a overwhelming vote of 392 to 22 on Tuesday.
The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed into law by the president, will also prohibit China from opening any new consulate in the US until Beijing allows Washington to open its diplomatic station in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.
According to the bill, the succession or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is an exclusively religious matter that should be decided solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community.
Under the draft legislation, Washington would freeze any American asset and ban US travel of Chinese officials if they are found to be involved in "identifying or installing" a Dalai Lama approved by Beijing.
The Dalai Lama fled to India in early 1959 after a failed uprising against the Chinese rule.
While Beijing views the Dalai Lama as a separatist who seeks to split Tibet from China, the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate says he only seeks greater rights for Tibetans, including religious freedom and autonomy.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the bill sends Beijing a clear signal that it will be held accountable for interfering in Tibet's religious and cultural affairs.
The proposed legislation, she said, makes it clear that "Chinese officials who meddle in the process of recognising a new Dalai Lama will be subject to targeted sanctions, including those in the Global Magnitsky Act".
The Global Magnitsky Act allows the US to sanction foreign government officials implicated in human rights abuses anywhere in the world.
Pelosi said the bill deploys America's diplomatic weight to encourage a genuine dialogue between Tibetan leaders and Beijing.
"It is unacceptable that the Chinese government still refuses to enter into a dialogue with Tibetan leaders... We are supporting the Tibetan people's right to religious freedom and genuine autonomy by formally establishing as US policy that the Tibetan Buddhist community has the exclusive right to choose its religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama," she said.
Though introduced as a stand-alone piece of legislation, the bill serves as an amendment to the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which codified the US position of support for the Tibetan people.
"Our bill updates and strengthens the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to address the challenges facing the Tibetan people. But perhaps as importantly, it reaffirms America's commitment to the idea that human rights matter. That we care about those who are oppressed, and we stand with those who are struggling for freedom," Congressman McGovern said on the House floor.
"It should be clear that we support a positive and productive US-China relationship, but it is essential that the human rights of all the people of China are respected by their government," he asserted.
Last year, the US Congress passed the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, demanding that American journalists, diplomats and tourists be given the same freedom to travel to Tibet that Chinese officials have to travel freely in the US.
"The Dalai Lama should be commended for his decision to devolve political authority to elected leaders. The Tibetan exile community is also to be commended for adopting a system of self-governance with democratic institutions to choose their own leaders, including holding multiple 'free and fair' elections to select its Parliament and chief executive," McGovern said.
The bill also mandates the US State Department to begin collaborative and multinational efforts to protect the environment and water resources of the Tibetan Plateau.
"We are protecting Tibet's environmental and cultural rights: working with international governments and the business community to ensure the self-sufficiency of the Tibetan people and protect the environment and water resources on the Tibetan Plateau. It is really important to sustainability of our planet," Pelosi, a longtime advocate for Tibet, said.

U.S. House Approves Uighur Bill Demanding Sanctions On Senior Chinese Officials

The bill requires the U.S. president to condemn abuses against Muslims and call for the closure of concentration camps in the northwestern colony of East Turkestan.

Reuters


WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would require the Trump administration to toughen its response to China’s crackdown on its Muslim minority, demanding sanctions on senior Chinese officials and export bans.
The Uighur Act of 2019 is a stronger version of a bill that angered Beijing when it passed the Senate in September.

It calls on President Donald Trump to impose sanctions for the first time on a member of China’s powerful politburo, even as he seeks a trade deal with Beijing.

The bill, passed 407 to 1 in the House, requires the U.S. president to condemn abuses against Muslims and call for the closure of concentration camps in the northwestern colony of East Turkestan.
It calls for sanctions against senior Chinese officials who are responsible and specifically names East Turkestan Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo, who, as a politburo member, is in the upper echelons of China’s leadership.

The revised bill still has to be approved by the Senate before being sent to President Trump. 

The White House has yet to say whether Trump would sign or veto the bill, which contains a provision allowing the president to waive sanctions if he determines this to be in the national interest.
The White House and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The bill comes days after President Trump signed into law congressional legislation supporting anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
China responded to that on Monday by saying U.S. military ships and aircraft would not be allowed to visit Hong Kong, and announced sanctions against several U.S. non-government organizations.
Analysts say China’s reaction to passage of the Uighur bill could be stronger, though some doubted it would go so far as imposing visa bans on the likes of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has called China’s treatment of Uighurs “the stain of the century”.

“MODERN-DAY CONCENTRATION CAMPS”
Republican Congressman Chris Smith called China’s actions in “modern-day concentration camps” in East Turkestan “audaciously repressive,” involving “mass internment of millions on a scale not seen since the Holocaust.”

“We cannot be silent. We must demand an end to these barbaric practices,” Smith said, adding that Chinese officials must be held accountable for “crimes against humanity.”

Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi called China’s treatment of the Uighurs “an outrage to the collective conscience of the world.”
“America is watching,” she said.
Chris Johnson, a China expert at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, said passage of the bill could lead to a further blurring of lines between the trade issue and the broader deteriorating Sino-U.S. relationship, which China in the past has tended to keep separate.
“I think there’s a sort of piling on factor here that the Chinese are concerned about,” he said.
President Trump said on Monday the Hong Kong legislation did not make trade negotiations with China easier, but he still believed Beijing wanted a deal.
However, on Tuesday, he said an agreement might have to wait until after the U.S. presidential election in November 2020.
The House bill requires the president to submit to Congress within 120 days a list of officials responsible for the abuses and to impose sanctions on them under the Global Magnitsky Act, which provides for visa bans and asset freezes.
Democratic lawmaker Brad Sherman said it was “long past the point when this should have been done,” adding: “It should not be linked to ongoing negotiations on trade or any other issues.”
The bill also requires the secretary of state to submit a report on abuses in East Turkestan, to include assessments of the numbers held in re-education and forced labor camps. 

United Nations experts and activists say at least 1 million Uighurs and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in the camps.
It also effectively bans the export to China of items that can be used for surveillance of individuals, including facial and voice-recognition technology.

Duty of Interference to Support Democracy and Human Rights

President Trump signs bill supporting Hong Kong protesters 
By Andrew O'Reilly

President Trump signs Hong Kong bill.

President Trump on Wednesday signed two bills meant to support human rights and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, drawing a furious response from Beijing's foreign ministry.

The bills were signed as Hong Kong continues to be gripped by turmoil amid widespread discontent over Chinese rule in the special administrative region. 

Chinese officials had hoped President Trump would veto the bill and the president had expressed some concerns about complicating the effort to work out a trade deal with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping.
"Look, we have to stand with Hong Kong," Trump said in an interview on "Fox & Friends" last week, later adding: "But I'm also standing with President Xi. He's a friend of mine. He's an incredible guy."
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act mandates sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials who carry out human rights abuses and requires an annual review of the favorable trade status that Washington grants Hong Kong. 

The second bill prohibits export to Hong Kong police of certain nonlethal munitions, including tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, water cannons, stun guns and tasers.
"The act reaffirms and amends the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, specifies United States policy towards Hong Kong, and directs assessment of the political developments in Hong Kong,” Trump said in a statement.
He added: “Certain provisions of the Act would interfere with the exercise of the President's constitutional authority to state the foreign policy of the United States. My administration will treat each of the provisions of the Act consistently with the president's constitutional authorities with respect to foreign relations.”
The munitions bill was passed unanimously, while Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the sole House member to oppose the human rights bill. 

Before Wednesday's signing announcement, Trump would only commit to giving the measures a "hard look."

Hong Kong kept its advantageous trading status with the U.S. upon its 1997 handover to China by the U.K., in recognition of Beijing’s pledge to allow it to retain its own laws, independent judiciary and civil and economic freedoms.
That independent status has come into question amid moves by Beijing to gradually strengthen its political control over the territory, helping spark months of increasingly violent protests.
Earlier in November, China’s legislature argued it had the sole right to interpret the validity of Hong Kong’s laws after the territory’s court struck down an order banning the wearing of masks at protests. 

Legal scholars described that as a power grab violating the governing framework known as “one country, two systems.”
With Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government refusing to enter into dialogue or make concessions, the territory’s police force has been given broad powers to quell the protests. 

That has brought excessive use of force and the abuse of detainees, along with a complete lack of accountability for officers.
In a September report, Amnesty International documented numerous cases where protesters had to be hospitalized for treatment of injuries inflicted while being arrested.
The signing of the act was widely praised by both Democrat and Republican lawmakers.
"If America does not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out elsewhere," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement. 

“This bicameral, bipartisan law reaffirms our nation’s commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in the face of Beijing’s crackdown. America is proud to stand with the people of Hong Kong on the side of freedom and justice.
“I am pleased that the President signed this legislation and look forward to its prompt enforcement.”
“The signing of this legislation into law ensures the United States finally sends a clear and unequivocal message to the people of Hong Kong: We are with you,” Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. 

“With the world standing witness to history as the people of Hong Kong risk it all in pursuit of their legitimate aspirations for autonomy and against the erosion of democracy, I am incredibly proud to support the people of Hong Kong with the tools in this powerful new law.”
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., added: I applaud President Trump for signing this critical legislation into law. The U.S. now has new and meaningful tools to deter further influence and interference from Beijing into Hong Kong’s internal affairs.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho said the bills are "an important step forward in holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy and its repression of fundamental human rights." 

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., warned Xi: "Americans despise tyrants and stand in solidarity with Hong Kong. The whole world has seen both the courage of Hong Kongers and the brutality of your Chinese Communist Party. As long as freedom-seekers fill the streets of Hong Kong, the American people will take their side."
President Trump’s signing of the act comes just days after pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong won 388 out of 452 seats in 18 district council races, while pro-Beijing forces, who previously held 73 percent of the seats, won only 62. 

Voters came out in droves with a 71 percent turnout -- up from 47 percent four years ago in the same elections, according to the Electoral Affairs Commission.

We are Hongkongers 我們係香港人

An historic moment: Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act one step from becoming US law
By Kris Cheng

US legislation aimed at protecting civil rights in Hong Kong and punishing those deemed responsible for suppressing freedoms has reached its final stage ahead of being enacted.

After the US Senate passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act unanimously on Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Senate’s version on Thursday.

It was passed by 417 to 1, with Republican representative Thomas Massie being the only one voting in opposition.
The act will now be sent to US President Donald Trump for him to sign. 

Trump is expected to sign the legislation rather than veto it, according to Bloomberg citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter.


Nancy Pelosi
✔@SpeakerPelosi
The U.S. Senate has now joined the House of Representatives in passing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. The people of #HongKong have woken up to the news that both branches of the U.S. Congress stand with you in your fight for democracy and the rule of law.
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The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act will sanction officials considered to be harming human rights and freedom in Hong Kong. 

It will also require the US Secretary of State to certify whether Hong Kong continues to warrant special treatment after considering how well the city can make autonomous decisions relating to human rights, law enforcement and other areas.
Large-scale protests in Hong Kong, initially over a now-withdrawn extradition agreement proposal with mainland China, have entered their 25th week. 

The demonstrations have morphed into wider calls for democratic reform and accountability for alleged police brutality.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the strongest advocate for the act, said during the debate: “Today, the Congress is sending an unmistakable message to the world that the United States stands in solidarity with freedom-loving people of Hong Kong, and they – we fully support their fight for freedom.”
Senator Marco Rubio, who first proposed the act, said it is now one signature away from becoming law.
“A powerful moment in which a united, bipartisan coalition made it clear that we #StandWithHongKong,” he tweeted.
The House also passed another Senate bill, the Protect Hong Kong Act, which bans the export of crowd-control weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets to the Hong Kong police.
China has expressed its opposition to the US Congress passing the act through multiple channels, including through statements from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, among others.

International Duty of Interference to Save Hong Kong

Trump expected to sign Hong Kong bill after it clears House, Senate

By Danielle Wallace

President Trump is expected to sign a bill aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong amid an escalating pro-democracy movement in the semiautonomous city after the legislation cleared both chambers of Congress this week, with overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle.
The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act passed in the House Wednesday by a 417-1 vote. 

The proposed legislation was unanimously approved in the Senate on Tuesday. 

The bill gained support in recent days as police tightened their siege of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where hundreds of young protesters remained holed up trying to evade arrest.
“Today, the Congress is sending an unmistakable message to the world that the United States stands in solidarity with freedom-loving people of Hong Kong, and we fully support their fight for freedom,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during the bill’s consideration, according to Politico.
Florida’s GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who first introduced the Senate’s version of the bill in June, asked President Trump on Wednesday to sign the proposed legislation after the House vote.
“The U.S. House has just passed our #HongKongHumanRightsandDemocracyAct. It’s now headed just an @Potus signature away from becoming law. A powerful moment in which a united, bipartisan coalition made it clear that we #StandWithHongKong,” Rubio said on Twitter.


Marco Rubio
✔@marcorubio
The U.S. House has just passed our #HongKongHumanRightsandDemocracyAct.
It’s now headed just an @Potus signature away from becoming law. A powerful moment in which a united, bipartisan coalition made it clear that we #StandWithHongKong13.8K
11:18 PM - Nov 20, 2019

The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would require the secretary of state to certify at least once a year that Hong Kong retains enough autonomy in order to retain special trade status under U.S. law, something which allows the city to thrive as a world financial hub. 

Under the proposed legislation, President Trump would be responsible for imposing sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials who commit human rights violations against protesters in the city.
The White House has not commented on the bill. 

Its passage comes as Trump tries to negotiate a trade deal with China amid his bid for reelection in 2020. 

Trump told reporters on Wednesday he would be content continuing to accept the tariffs on $350 billion worth of Chinese goods if a deal couldn’t be reached, according to Politico.
“We continue to talk to China. China wants to make a deal. The question is: Do I want to make a deal? Because I like what’s happening right now. We’re taking in billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang slammed the U.S. for challenging its sovereignty over Hong Kong after the bill first cleared the Senate on Tuesday.

The legislation passed in the House despite China’s warning. 

China assumed control of the former British colony in 1997 but promised to let Hong Kong retain a high-level of autonomy.

“Today, it is beyond question that China has utterly broken that promise,” Pelosi said. 

“America has been watching for years as the people of Hong Kong have been increasingly denied their full autonomy and faced with a cruel crackdown on their freedoms and an escalation of violence.”
She added that recent escalations in violence in Hong Kong – which saw protesters use gasoline bombs and bows and arrows to fend off police backed by armored cars and water cannons -- “have shocked the world as unconscionable and unacceptable.”
The House and Senate this week both unanimously passed a second bill that aims to ban American companies from exporting crowd control munitions to Hong Kong police, Politico reported

Hong Kong Protesters Call for U.S. Help.

The United States, viewed as a champion of democracy, occupies a symbolic role in the protests. Activists now want President Trump to take a tougher stand against Beijing.
By Edward Wong

Protesters rallying last month in Hong Kong.

HONG KONG — The Hong Kong protests at times seem like love fests with the United States. Depending on the day, demonstrators wave American flags or Uncle Sam recruitment posters, and even dress as Captain America, complete with shield.
The United States represents democracy, and the activists hope that maybe, just maybe, it will save Hong Kong. 

Five months in, they are trying harder than ever to draw the United States into their movement.
The protesters are pressing Hong Kong officials and their overseers, the authoritarian Communist Party leaders of China, for greater democratic rights and rule-of-law in the autonomous territory. 

As they see it, the Trump administration might be able to make demands of Chinese leaders or Hong Kong officials, especially because members of elite political circles want to maintain access to the United States.
Also, they note, the trade war with China, started by President Trump, is adding pressure over all on Xi Jinping.
For the American government, the protests are more complicated — a potential policy dilemma but also a potential point of leverage with Beijing and a way to channel American values to the rest of the world.
“The United States should continue to deter Beijing from use of force, maintain an unblinking eye on Hong Kong, and make Beijing pay a heavy reputational cost for curtailing the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong citizens,” said Ryan Hass, a former State Department and National Security Council official now at the Brookings Institution.
Yet, he added, “I worry that the protesters in Hong Kong risk misinterpreting American sympathy and support of their cause for expectation that the United States will shield them from Beijing’s heavy hand.”
Hong Kong protesters see the United States as a potential savior in their quest for greater democratic rights.

If the protesters are sending out a siren song, some American officials and lawmakers are answering it, eager to show their commitment to the cause.
Members of Congress have appeared in Hong Kong in public displays of solidarity. 

Last month, Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, donned an all-black outfit, while Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, posted photographs from a protest.
In Washington, Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, has met with activists, pro-democracy politicians and Jimmy Lai, a publisher considered radioactive by Beijing. 

Vice President Mike Pence singled out Hong Kong as a beacon of liberty in a speech, saying, “We stand with you; we are inspired by you.”
And versions of a bill that would give support to the protesters are moving though Congress with bipartisan backing. 

The legislation, among other things, would allow the United States to impose economic sanctions and a travel ban on Hong Kong officials deemed responsible for human rights abuses.
“We hope this bill will pass,” said Selina Po, a 27-year-old protester wearing a mouth mask in the Admiralty neighborhood as she held up a sign with the bill’s name, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. 

“It’s our hope for winning this war. We’re trying all we can.”

Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, with Hong Kong activists at a news conference in September.

Greater involvement by Americans could give Beijing more ammunition in its propaganda effort to portray the pro-democracy movement as one stoked by foreign forces.
The Chinese government and state-run news organizations talk about “black hands” behind the unrest and spread conspiracy theories, including one centered on an American diplomat in Hong Kong who was photographed with activists in the lobby of the JW Marriott Hotel.
As the protests persist, American officials are watching for surges in violence and tracking the movement of People’s Liberation Army soldiers into Hong Kong. 

Some are beseeching demonstrators to stick to nonviolent tactics, even in the face of police crackdowns and attacks by people sympathetic to Beijing.
On Sunday, at least six people were injured when a man with a knife who is believed to be against the democracy movement attacked a family at a shopping mall. 

In the melee, the attacker bit off part of the ear of a pro-democracy district council member, Andrew Chiu.

Two Democratic Congressmen, Tom Suozzi of New York and John Lewis of Georgia, the icon of the American civil rights movement, posted a video last month praising the activists for their “great work” and urging them to stick to nonviolence.
Whether the United States takes greater action on Hong Kong hinges on the unpredictable Trump. 

Administration officials and American lawmakers talk openly about checking the authoritarian impulses of the Chinese Communist Party. 

But Trump rarely, if ever, mentions human rights and democracy, and he has not made strong statements on Hong Kong.

In June, he told Xi Jinping on a call that he would stay quiet on Hong Kong as long as Washington and Beijing were making progress on trade talks, according to an American official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
In October, the Trump administration imposed some restrictions on Chinese companies and organizations for their roles in the mass repression of Muslims in mainland China, but Trump has held back from harsher actions for fear of upsetting the trade negotiations.
If a Hong Kong bill reaches Trump’s desk, analysts say, he might see it as merely a tool to wring concessions from China and could forego support if a trade agreement were close.
“Strong American bipartisan support for the peaceful protesters is not enough to override Trump’s transactional instincts,” Mr. Hass said. 

“He does not look at Hong Kong through a values-based lens. And as long as he remains president, this outlook will limit America’s responses to developments in Hong Kong.”
Administration officials argue that Trump’s approach gives the United States a stronger hand in constraining Beijing on Hong Kong — even if it appears that Trump just wants to use the Chinese territory to his advantage.
“America expects Beijing to honor its commitments,” Mr. Pence said, “and President Trump has repeatedly made it clear it would be much harder for us to make a trade deal if the authorities resort to the use of violence against protesters in Hong Kong.”
In the eyes of Beijing, there has been no shortage of "provocations" by American politicians. 

On Oct. 22, Ms. Pelosi posted on Twitter a photograph of herself on Capitol Hill with three pro-democracy figures — Mr. Lai, Martin Lee and Janet Pang.
“My full support and admiration goes to those who have taken to the streets week after week in nonviolent protest to fight for democracy and the rule of law in #HongKong,” she wrote.


Nancy Pelosi
✔@SpeakerPelosi
So pleased to welcome Jimmy Lai, Martin Lee and Janet Pang to the U.S. Capitol. My full support and admiration goes to those who have taken to the streets week after week in non-violent protest to fight for democracy and the rule of law in #HongKong.

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12:04 AM - Oct 23, 2019

On Wednesday, Ms Pelosi slammed the decision by Hong Kong officials to bar the activist Joshua Wong from running in local elections. 

She said it was “another blow against rule of law in Hong Kong and the principle of ‘one country, two systems,’” referring to the foundation for the policy of autonomy that Britain and China agreed would be used to govern the territory.
Ms. Pelosi met Mr. Wong in Washington in September.

Many demonstrators want American intervention and are focusing their attention on the legislation. The mere threat of American sanctions, they say, would give the movement greater voice with Beijing.
On Oct. 14, the night before a vote on the bill in the House of Representatives, protesters held a rally in the Central district to call for its passage. 

Tens of thousands attended, many of them carrying American flags.

American flags have become commonplace at the protests. 

“The power of Hong Kong people alone is limited, and we need other countries, such as the U.S., to help us counter China and keep ‘one country, two systems,’” said Eric Kwan, 32. 

“I doubt the act can be an ultimate game-changer, but I think it is enough to give pressure to China.”
Along with allowing for sanctions, the legislation requires the State Department to review each year whether Hong Kong is still autonomous enough to qualify for the benefits of the 1992 Hong Kong Policy Act, which grants the city a trade and economic status different from that of mainland China.
Some American officials say the bill could harm Hong Kong residents if the United States determines that the territory no longer qualifies as an autonomous entity. 

But the bill’s proponents defend its practical and symbolic value.
“Standing in support of Hong Kongers and preserving Hong Kong’s autonomy should be a priority of the United States and democracies worldwide,” said one of the bill’s sponsors, Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida.
The bill passed the House by unanimous vote last month. 

Though the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, has not scheduled a vote yet, the measure is expected to pass that chamber easily, with a veto-proof majority. 

Then Trump would have to decide whether to sign it into law.

What’s Happening With the Hong Kong Protests?

The demonstrations created the city’s worst political crisis in years, ensnaring Beijing, Washington and foreign businesses. Here’s a guide to what’s happening.
By Daniel Victor and Mike Ives

Hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong, a city of about seven million, protested a contentious extradition law on June 9.

At first, the hundreds of thousands of peaceful Hong Kong demonstrators who took to the streets this June were focused on contentious, local legislation that would have allowed extraditions to the Chinese mainland.
But as the list of demands grew in the semiautonomous territory, and as clashes between the police and the protesters increased, the movement took on greater global importance.
China has viewed the protests as a challenge to its power, while democracy supporters worldwide have cheered what they see as a poke in the eye of the autocratic Chinese government. 

It all comes amid a rancorous trade war between China and the United States, and some international businesses have found themselves stuck in a political mess they wanted no part of.
How did we get here?
Here’s a primer on what’s happening in Hong Kong, and how the protests have unfolded over several months.

What is Hong Kong’s relationship with China?
Hong Kong, an international finance hub on China’s southern coast, was a British colony until 1997, when it was handed back to China under a policy known as “one country, two systems.”
The policy made Hong Kong part of China but let it keep many liberties denied to citizens on the mainland, including free speech, unrestricted internet access and the right to free assembly. 

The territory has its own laws, system of government and police force under a mini-constitution known as the Basic Law. 

China promised that this system would remain in place until at least 2047.
But Beijing is chipping away at Hong Kong's autonomy, and the local government does its bidding. 

The territory’s top leader, the chief executive — currently Carrie Lam — is appointed by a pro-Beijing committee. 

And she recently used her emergency powers to single-handedly enact a ban on face masks at protests, bypassing the partially elected legislature.

What’s driving the protests?

Protesters threw back tear gas canisters fired by police outside the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong on June 12.

In February, the local government introduced a bill, since scrapped, that would have allowed people accused of crimes to be sent to places with which Hong Kong had no extradition treaty — including mainland China, where the courts are controlled by the Communist Party. 

Lam argued that the bill was needed to guarantee justice in cases like a man who was accused of killing his girlfriend in Taiwan, then evaded prosecution by fleeing to Hong Kong. 

Critics said the bill would allow Beijing to target dissidents in Hong Kong with phony charges, exposing activists to China’s opaque legal system.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including elderly residents and families with children, joined a peaceful march to oppose the bill on June 9. 

But on June 12, the discussion and demands changed when the police used pepper spray, batons and more than 150 canisters of tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters, a small number of whom had thrown projectiles at the police.
Irate at the police response, protesters demanded an independent investigation of the police force — a demand leaders have refused. 

Anger toward the police has grown precipitously since then, as has violence on both sides.

Why have the demonstrations turned violent?

Protesters throw bricks and molotov cocktails at riot police.

Fueled by anger toward the police, as well as the slow erosion of civil liberties, the largely leaderless protests morphed into a broader, more complicated movement about protecting freedoms, democracy and Hong Kong’s autonomy. 

The list of protesters’ demands has grown to include amnesty for arrested participants and direct elections for all lawmakers and the chief executive.
Only one of their demands has been met: the withdrawal of the extradition bill. 

So protesters have continued to take over streets, and have adapted their tactics in hopes of forcing the government’s hand.
While the vast majority of participants have been nonviolent, clashes between the police and young protesters in hard hats, masks and black T-shirts have escalated sharply. 

The police have used water cannons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets while dispersing crowds, and their tactics have been criticized by protesters and international watchdogs. 

Videos of particularly brutal arrests have infuriated protesters, especially a scene from October in which a police officer shot a protester in the chest with a live round.
Having felt their peaceful rallies were ineffective, a minority of protesters has become increasingly aggressive.

They have thrown bricks and Molotov cocktails, and in one case stabbed a police officer. 

The police say that one homemade bomb has been detonated during a protest. 

And there has been property damage to the train system, which support the police, and pro-China businesses.
Still, nonviolent protests have continued. 

The demonstrators have staged strikes, surrounded police stations, shut down the airport and formed huge marches, while the city’s creative class has turned protest into art and song.

What are the implications for China?

The N.B.A. flagship retail store in Beijing last week.

Much of the international intrigue is based on closely examining how China responds to the protests, and how much democracy its leaders can stomach in its efforts to prove its model works.
Thus far, fears of a Tiananmen-style crackdown have not borne out. 

The Chinese military has a garrison in Hong Kong, but its deployment is widely seen as a worst-case scenario that all sides want to avoid. 

The international business community would likely see a military intervention as the end of “one country, two systems,” and an exodus of businesses could soon follow.
Instead, China has tried to turn public opinion against the protesters. 

The state media has depicted them as violent separatists.

The state media fanned the flames of a backlash against the N.B.A. after a team executive expressed support of the protests on Twitter.
The issue has added another layer of intrigue to the ongoing trade discussions between the United States and China. 

Democratic and Republican politicians have been largely united in support of the protests, but Trump has been more muted.

Why is there bipartisan agreement in the United States on supporting the protesters?

A rally in Hong Kong on Monday evening calling for the US Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

It’s a rare source of across-the-aisle unity. 

There aren’t many issues that would bring together Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democrat from New York, but they were among a bipartisan coalition to sign the same letter in support of the protesters. 

Other politicians, including leaders Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, have been in virtually unanimous agreement.
It stems from a shared distrust of the Chinese government, a much broader issue that often creates agreement between Republicans and Democrats. 

China’s authoritarian model is considered a wide-ranging threat to the United States, and the pro-democracy, anti-China sentiment of the protests aligns with popular American attitudes.
The protesters’ supporters in the United States, and elsewhere in the world, see them as being on the right side of a battle between democracy and authoritarianism. 

They view supporting the protesters as supporting the concept of democracy.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomes Hong Kong pro-democracy activists to Capitol

By LISA MASCARO

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday welcomed Hong Kong pro-democracy activists to the U.S. Capitol, sending a message to Beijing that Congress supports the protesters in their months-long campaign for human rights.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is given a lapel pin by a Hong Kong activist following a news conference on human rights in Hong Kong on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. Behind Pelosi is Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong. 

Pelosi thanked the activists for "challenging the conscience," not only of the Chinese government, but the worldwide community with their mass protests over the territory's autonomous status. 

She sided with the protesters' demand for universal suffrage and "a political system accountable to the people." 

And Pelosi warned others in the U.S. government not to allow "commercial interests" to drive foreign policy in the region.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, left, with Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong and other members of Congress during a news conference on human right in Hong Kong on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019. 

"If we do not speak up because of commercial interests in support of human rights in China, we lose all moral authority to speak up for them any other place in the world," Pelosi said.
Republicans joined the Democratic leader, alongside several Hong Kong activists who have become prominent figures in the mass protests since June, in a stately room off the House floor beneath a portrait of George Washington.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said Americans see the young people waving American flags on the Hong Kong streets. 

"America stands with you," he said.
Several of the activists appeared before Congress this week, appealing to lawmakers to support the mass protests that began with a now shelved proposal to extradite people arrested in Hong Kong to China.
Against the backdrop of the 30-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising, with its brutal and bloody crackdown on young democracy protesters a generation ago, the U.S. lawmakers are prominently backing today's young activists. 

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong called it "a remarkable day" to share the support of the U.S. leaders.
"We will continue our uphill battle until the day we enjoy freedom and democracy," Wong said.
Denise Ho, a singer and pro-democracy activist based in Hong Kong, thanked Pelosi for the "warm welcome" during their visit to the Capitol amid what she called a "very difficult but also very empowering" time in Hong Kong.
"This is a message to the Hong Kong people that we are not isolated in this fight," Ho said. 

"We are in the forefront of this great noble fight for universal values."
During a hearing Tuesday before a U.S. government commission set up by Congress to monitor human rights in China, several activists asked lawmakers to support their efforts by banning the export of American police equipment that is used against demonstrators. 

They also want lawmakers to more closely monitor Chinese efforts to undermine civil liberties in the city.
Republicans and Democrats on the panel, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, expressed their support. 

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said Wednesday the hearing was beamed around the world and "no doubt" watched closely by the Chinese government.
The House is expected to advance legislation that would require the secretary of State to annually review Hong Kong's special economic and trade status, providing a check on the Chinese government's influence and the territory's autonomy.
Pelosi welcomed the Hong Kong government's decision to drop the extradition bill that sparked the protests over summer, but she said Wednesday, "We all know it's not enough. Much more must be done."

The speaker, who has become something of an alternative ambassador on the global stage during her tenure, has a long history of monitoring China from her early years in Congress when she appeared with other lawmakers in Tiananmen Square to pay tribute to the protesters.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, has been allowed certain autonomy and freedoms since it was returned to China in 1997 as a territory, with a "one country, two systems" policy that was supposed to ensure a smooth political transition.
Under U.S. law, the territory of Hong Kong receives special treatment in matters of trade, customs, sanctions enforcement, law enforcement cooperation and more. 

China has benefited from this and used it to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions.
The legislation to be considered by the House from Rep. Christopher Smith, R-N.J., places Beijing on "annual notice" that it will lose Hong Kong's special economic and trade status if its autonomy continues to erode.

Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act

Congress needs to show the Hong Kong protesters it’s on their side

Washington Post

Hong Kong protesters wave U.S flags outside the U.S. Consulate on Sunday. 

IT’S NOT often that Congress is lobbied by tens of thousands of marchers in a foreign city who wave American flags and sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” while demanding action on a specific piece of legislation. 

But that’s pretty much what happened last weekend in Hong Kong, where a mass pro-democracy movement, after 13 consecutive weeks of demonstrations, has grown savvy about the challenge it faces in seeking concessions from the Communist regime in Beijing.
Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lam, has belatedly withdrawn the extradition legislation that prompted the initial protests. 

But her boss, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, has taken a hard line against conceding to the protesters’ more substantive demands, including free elections for the territory’s government — something that Beijing promised when it took over the former British colony in 1997. 

Instead, the regime is accusing the mostly peaceful demonstrators of employing “terrorism” and has threatened a massive crackdown, either by Hong Kong’s police or by mainland troops.
The pro-democracy forces know they couldn’t fight martial law or an invasion, but they aren’t willing to give up their demands. 

Hence, their appearance Sunday outside the U.S. Consulate. 

They are hoping that the United States will employ its considerable leverage over Xi and Lam to deter the threatened repression.
Though it hasn’t been able to force Xi to make concessions on trade or stop fortifying islets in the South China Sea, the Trump administration has far-reaching influence over Hong Kong. 

More than 1,200 U.S. companies do business there, and 60 percent of foreign investment in China flows through the city, thanks to a U.S. law that designates it as a separate economic entity with the privileges of an open economy.
Unfortunately, Trump has responded weakly to the protests and China’s threats. 

After weeks of praising his "friend" Xi for tolerating “riots ” and expressing confidence that the Chinese dictator could quickly orchestrate a “happy and enlightened ending,” he reluctantly conceded late last month that a crackdown might make a trade deal impossible — not because of him, mind you, but because of “political sentiment.”
No wonder the demonstrators are appealing to Congress. 

They delivered a petition to the consulate calling for passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which is pending in both the House and Senate. 

The measure would require an annual review of Hong Kong’s special economic status, and it would mandate sanctions on officials found to be suppressing basic freedoms in the territory. 

The sanctions might slow the recent wave of arrests of opposition leaders, while the reporting requirement signals that, as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a sponsor, says, the “nuclear option” of canceling Hong Kong’s special status will be on the table in the event of a larger crackdown.
The legislation appears to have bipartisan support: Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have spoken favorably about it. 

They should move swiftly to pass the bill, and Trump should sign it. 

Now is the time to send a clear message of deterrence to Beijing — and to show Hong Kong’s democracy movement that the United States is unambiguously on its side.

The Battle of Hong Kong

‘The whole system is rotten. We want to tear it down’: Hong Kong protests blaze on
By ALICE SU, RYAN HO KILPATRICK

Fire set by protesters blocks the entrance to the MTR Central station stop in Hong Kong on Sept. 8, 2019.

HONG KONG — It took Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam 13 weeks to withdraw the extradition bill that sparked the city’s summer of unrest. 

But her announcement failed to stop the protests for even one night.
Demonstrators have continued to rally, march, clash with police and, on Sunday, wave American flags while singing the U.S. national anthem in an appeal for help from Washington.
“Resist Beijing, liberate Hong Kong! Sanction China, now or never! Pray for U.S., pray for us!” chanted tens of thousands of protesters who marched to the U.S. Consulate on Sunday afternoon in a call for Congress to pass legislation that would strengthen U.S. support for democratization and human rights in Hong Kong.
What began as peaceful protests over a bill that would allow people in the semiautonomous territory to be deported to mainland China for trial has become a fight for liberal versus authoritarian values.
Hong Kong is “at the front line of an expansionist China,” said Leung, 25, who, like most other protesters, asked that his full name be withheld to protect his safety. 

He wore a full suit in a sign of respect for what he said the United States represented.
“It’s not just about fighting back against one country but against the spread of communism and authoritarianism,” Leung said. 

“It’s Hong Kong and Xinjiang today, but where will be next?”

Local residents join in and hurl insults at the Hong Kong police officers as protests continue in Hong Kong.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday that the people of Hong Kong deserved “justice, real autonomy and freedom of fear” and that Congress looked forward to “swiftly advancing” legislation.
Trump, on the other hand, has expressed confidence in Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, calling him a “great leader” who can “quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem.”
Trump also — perhaps inadvertently — echoed Chinese rhetoric on Hong Kong protests by calling them “riots” and affirming that Hong Kong is a domestic Chinese problem.

"Hong Kong is a part of China; they’ll have to deal with that themselves,” he said to reporters in August.
The Hong Kong protest movement, pushed forward largely by people in their teens and 20s with no identifiable leader, has adopted more aggressive tactics while reiterating demands for the investigation of police brutality, amnesty for more than 1,000 arrested protesters, and electoral reform.
Xi has responded negatively. 

In a recent speech, he exhorted Communist Party cadres to “struggle” harder against challenges to China’s sovereignty and party interests, singling out Hong Kong as a key area of struggle.
With Beijing doubling down, Hong Kongers have increasingly lost trust in government, the police force and long-standing institutions.
Tens of thousands of students and workers went on strike in recent days as the new school year began. 

At one secondary school’s back-to-school opening ceremony, students sang “Do You Hear the People Sing?” — the revolutionary song from “Les Miserables” — above the Chinese national anthem.

Hong Kong police officers in riot gear push back protesters and journalists as they make arrests near Victoria Park.

At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, students hung a banner over the side of a building: “I’d rather speak up and die than remain silent and live.”
At 10 o’clock each night, residents lean out of their windows in neighborhoods across the city to scream anti-government slogans and their core demands. 

“Reclaim Hong Kong, revolution of our times!” they yell, some in anger at police tactics, others in resistance to Beijing’s background control.
Rumors of police having killed protesters inside a subway station on Aug. 31 have sparked spontaneous protests at the station and nightly clashes with police.
Hong Kong’s government has denied that any protesters died during police clashes at Prince Edward Station. 

But a wall of flowers fills the subway exit.
Protesters knelt inside the subway station for hours last week, begging the transportation authority to release CCTV video of the hours when police were inside.
Later, protests turned into clashes with police, who destroy the memorial each night only to see new white flowers and incense return each day.

Protesters set up road blocks on Nathan Road, a busy main street, outside the Mong Kok police station.

“A debt of blood must be paid in blood,” reads a sign above the subway entrance.
Cassie, 19, a protester wearing jean shorts and a surgical mask, laid fresh flowers at the subway station as police charged at protesters nearby Sunday night.
“I believe people were beaten to death by police on Aug. 31. Because they refuse to release the CCTV footage,” she said. 

“They have something to hide.”
Other protesters vandalized the interior of Hong Kong’s Central subway station, smashing glass windows at its entrances and setting a barricade on fire.
Tony, 30, a resident, said he disagreed with setting fires or attacking police — especially on a day when Hong Kongers were appealing for help from the United States.

A demonstrator chants "five demands, not one less," as he cheers on other demonstrators at a pro-democracy rally near the United States Consulate in Hong Kong.

But he also criticized the police, saying their aggression had shattered residents’ sense of safety.
“There’s just no trust in them left,” he said. 

“They act above the law now, surrounding and beating people even after they’re subdued. They think they are the court and the prison. You’re guilty until proven innocent.”
A series of surveys conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Center for Communication and Public Opinion have found that more and more protesters have become comfortable with radical tactics as the crisis continues.
The percentage of protesters who agreed that radical tactics were understandable if the government refused to listen rose to 90% from 70% between June and August.
The protesters Sunday were urging passage in Washington of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, a bipartisan bill that would freeze assets of Hong Kong officials who harm civic freedoms and deny them entry to the United States.
The bill also would require an annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy from the secretary of State.
Some protesters also appealed directly to Trump, hoisting signs that read, “President Trump, please liberate Hong Kong.”
Whether he or others in Washington listen, Hong Kong’s protests are not ending anytime soon.
“It’s about more than the bill now,” said Eric, 28, a protester who spoke to the Los Angeles Times just after he’d changed from all-black to ordinary clothes, trying to escape police charging at demonstrators during the night. 

“After all the bloodshed by the police, they need to pay for it.
“The whole system in Hong Kong is rotten, from top to bottom. We want to tear it down and start fresh.”

Hong Kong police officers in riot gear march up Nathan Road to catch up to protesters, but did not find many, as most disappear into the night.

China pulls extradition bill, but too little too late, say Hong Kong protesters

By James Pomfret, Clare Jim

HONG KONG -- Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Wednesday withdrew an extradition bill that triggered months of often violent protests so the Chinese-ruled city can move forward from a “highly vulnerable and dangerous” place and find solutions.

Her televised announcement came after Reuters reports on Friday and Monday revealing Beijing thwarted an earlier proposal from Lam to withdraw the bill and she had said privately that she would resign if she could.
“Lingering violence is damaging the very foundations of our society, especially the rule of law,” a somber Lam said as she sat wearing a navy blue jacket and pink shirt with her hands folded on a desk.
It was not clear when the recording was made. 

The withdrawal needs the approval of the Legislative Council, which is not expected to oppose Lam.
The bill would have allowed extraditions to mainland China where courts are controlled by the Communist Party. 

Its withdrawal is a key demand of protesters but just one of five. 

The move came after pitched battles across the former British colony of 7 million. 

More than 1,000 protesters were arrested.
Many are furious about vicious police brutality and the number of arrests and want an independent inquiry.
“The government will formally withdraw the bill in order to fully allay public concerns,” Lam said.
“I pledge that the government will seriously follow up the recommendations of the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Council) report. From this month, I and my principal officials will reach out to the community to start a direct dialogue ... we must find ways to address the discontent in society and look for solutions.”
The protests began in March but snowballed in June and have evolved into a push for greater democracy for the city which returned to China in 1997. 

It was not clear if killing the bill would help end the unrest. 

The immediate reaction appeared skeptical.

“FIVE DEMANDS, NOT ONE MISSING”

Lawmakers said the move should have come earlier.
“The damage has been done. The scars and wounds are still bleeding,” said pro-democracy legislator Claudia Mo. 

“She thinks she can use a garden hose to put out a hill fire. That’s not going to be acceptable.”
Many people on street corners after nightfall were shouting: “Five demands, not one missing.”
“We still have four other demands. We hope people won’t forget that,” said a woman speaking for the protest movement who declined to identify herself except by the surname Chan. 

“The mobilization power won’t decrease.”
Riot police fired beanbag guns and used pepper spray on Tuesday to clear demonstrators from outside the Mong Kok police station and in Prince Edward metro station, with one man taken out on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face, television footage showed.
The four other demands are: retraction of the word “riot” to describe rallies, release of all demonstrators, an independent inquiry into police brutality and the right for Hong Kong people to choose their own leaders.
“Too little, too late,” Joshua Wong, a leader of pro-democracy protests in 2014 that were the precursor to the current unrest, said on his Facebook page.
In the United States, Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a persistent critic of Beijing’s attempts to undermine Hong Kong’s autonomy, called Lam’s move “welcome but insufficient.”
“The Chinese Communist Party should uphold its commitments to Hong Kong’s autonomy and stop aggravating the situation with threats of violence,” he said in a statement.
U.S. Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi called the move long overdue and demanded an end to the use of force against demonstrators. 

Pelosi said she looked forward to the swift advance of bipartisan legislation to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Rubio has co-sponsored a Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act that would require annual certification of Hong Kong’s autonomy to justify special treatment the territory enjoys under U.S. law.
In an op-ed in the Washington Post on Tuesday, Rubio said the United States and the rest of the world needed to make clear to China that aggression toward Hong Kong risked “swift, severe and lasting consequences.”
He said the U.S. administration should make clear it could respond “flexibly and robustly,” including with sanctions against the police force and individuals responsible for abuses. 

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CHINESE WARNINGS
In a voice recording obtained by Reuters, Lam said at a meeting last week that her room to find a political solution to the crisis was “very limited”, as authorities in Beijing now viewed the situation as a matter of national security.
The protests are the biggest popular challenge to Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s rule since he took power in 2012. 

Beijing denies meddling in Hong Kong’s affairs, yet it warned again on Tuesday that it would act if protests threatened Chinese security and sovereignty.
Pro-Beijing lawmaker Cheung Kwok-kwan said Lam’s announcement was not a compromise to appease those promoting violence but a bid to win over moderates in the protest camp.
“It was likely speaking to the so-called peaceful, rational, non-violent people who were dissatisfied with the government’s response before,” he said.
The chief executive’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bill’s withdrawal.
Hong Kong returned to China under a “one country, two systems” formula that allowed it to keep freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, like the freedom to protest and an independent legal system, hence the anger at the extradition bill and perceived creeping influence by Beijing.
Beijing has regularly warned about the impact on Hong Kong’s economy.
Cathay Pacific Airways has been one of the biggest corporate casualties.
China’s aviation regulator demanded Cathay suspend staff from flying over its airspace if they were involved in, or supported, the demonstrations and the airline has laid off at least 20 personnel, including pilots and cabin crew.
On Wednesday it announced the resignation of chairman John Slosar following the departure of CEO Rupert Hogg last month.

The Chinese Strike Back

Democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Andy Chan are arrested in Hong Kong
By Shibani Mahtani and Gerry Shih

Democracy activist Joshua Wong addresses crowds outside Hong Kong’s legislature during a demonstration against the extradition bill on June 17.

HONG KONG — Authorities widened a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong with the arrests of prominent activists, underscoring Beijing’s growing intolerance of sustained street protests that have convulsed the Chinese territory and revived calls for universal suffrage.
Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who rose to eminence as the student leaders of pro-democracy demonstrations five years ago, were detained early Friday, ahead of what was expected to be another weekend of clashes in the city.
Police said the pair would face charges of participating in an unauthorized assembly and inciting others to participate in an unapproved assembly, while Wong would face an additional charge of organizing an unapproved assembly.
The charges relate to a June 21 protest where demonstrators surrounded police headquarters.
A third activist, Andy Chan, the leader of a banned pro-independence party, was arrested at the city’s airport late Thursday while trying to board a plane.
Police said he was detained on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer.
The arrests come at a tense time in the semiautonomous Chinese territory, where an official proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China triggered months of protests that have descended into street battles with police.
As demonstrations have turned violent, and grown to encompass a broader push for democracy in Hong Kong, authorities have stepped up arrests and the use of force.
The dissent coincides with a politically sensitive moment for the ruling Communist Party, as the clock ticks down to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October.
China’s government has issued increasingly strident threats in an effort to quell the unrest.
A day earlier, it sent a new batch of troops in to Hong Kong to reinforce the People’s Liberation Army garrison in the city.

Agnes Chow, right, and Joshua Wong outside government offices in Hong Kong in June. The pair were arrested Friday in a widening crackdown on the pro-democracy movement.

Friday’s arrests, combined with the Hong Kong garrison rotation and rumors that Hong Kong may invoke emergency laws, were “extremely alarming,” said Samantha Hoffman, a fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who studies Chinese politics.
“At the very least, it is clear that Beijing is attempting to intimidate the people of Hong Kong. The Chinese Communist Party places political protests very high on its list of threat perceptions,” she said.
“The party will protect itself before it defends the objective interests of China, the Chinese people, and Hong Kong and its people. Therefore, it is hard to imagine a solution where the party backs down in any meaningful way.”
In a report after the roundup of the Hong Kong activists, China’s official Xinhua news agency said more arrests were expected.
Hours later, Xinhua posted a picture on its social media account with a pair of handcuffs and images of the detained trio with the caption “What goes around comes around.”
A local pro-democracy councilor, Rick Hui, was also arrested Friday, his office said.
Charges against him were not immediately known.
With Hong Kong’s leader, Carrie Lam, unwilling to compromise on demonstrators’ demands, the continued unrest is taking a toll on the economy.
Police have arrested more than 800 people in connection with protests that have rocked the city since June, some of them on riot charges that can attract a prison sentence of up to 10 years.
Organizers of a planned march in Hong Kong this weekend called off the rally on Friday after police refused to authorize it.
“Our first principle is always to protect all the participants and make sure that no one could bear legal consequences for participating in the protest,” said Bonnie Leung, a convener of the Civil Human Rights Front.
Wong, 22 years old, became known as the face of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a 79-day street occupation aimed at securing universal suffrage for Hong Kong.
He was charged and sentenced several times in connection with those protests, and served three stints in jail.
Most recently, on May 16, Wong was sentenced to two months in prison after losing an appeal against a prison term for contempt of court.
He was released in June.

Policemen pull out their guns after a confrontation with protesters in Hong Kong on Aug. 25. Police have escalated their use of force in trying to quell demonstrations. 

Along with Chow and another activist, Nathan Law, Wong went on to found political group Demosistō, which advocates self-determination for Hong Kong.
The three were arrested in 2017 ahead of Chinese dictator Xi Jinping’s visit to the city.
This time, the protest movement in Hong Kong has taken a leaderless form — in part to avoid arrests and detentions that plagued its leaders in the past, and to empower a broader base of participants. Unlike in 2014, members of Demosistō have not delivered speeches at rallies, nor have they been prominent faces on the front lines, but have used the group’s social media presence to promote their cause globally.
“We’ll use our influence and connections with the international community to tell the world about what’s happening,” Chow said in an earlier interview with The Washington Post. 
“It’s still very important.”
On Friday, Wong was seized at roughly 7:30 a.m. “when he was suddenly pushed into a private car on the street,” Demosistō, said.
Chow was arrested a short time later at her home, Demosistō added.
Both are being held in the Hong Kong police headquarters in the Wan Chai district.
The group has sought help from its lawyers.
Wong and Chow were due to travel to Washington next month, where they were to meet with lawmakers and participate in a congressional Executive Committee on China hearing on the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act. 
The bill, which has bipartisan support, including from House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), seeks to punish those who suppress freedoms in Hong Kong including through the use of sanctions and visa bans to the U.S.

Anti-extradition bill protesters take cover from tear gas canisters as they clash with riot police on Aug. 25. 

Chan, who founded a party that advocates for Hong Kong independence, was also arrested in August on suspicion of possessing offensive weapons and bombmaking materials.
Hong Kong operates under a “one country, two systems” arrangement within China, under which the city is supposed to enjoy a high degree of autonomy for 50 years following its return to Chinese rule in 1997.
In recent years, concerns have grown that Beijing is tightening control over the territory and working to erode the freedoms and autonomy that distinguish Hong Kong from mainland China.
In a tweet the night before his arrest, Wong wrote that “Being born in uncertain times carries certain responsibilities.” 
He linked to a website outlining protesters’ demands.

Chinazism

US calls China a 'thuggish' regime for harassing Hong Kong-based American diplomat
By James Griffiths

Hong Kong -- The US State Department hit out at China Thursday, accusing Beijing of behaving like a "thuggish regime" after the personal information of an American diplomat in Hong Kong, including the names of her children, was published by a pro-government newspaper.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said earlier that it had summoned "an officer at the US Consulate General in Hong Kong" after they held a meeting with local opposition figures it described as "Hong Kong independence" activists.
The move comes as Hong Kong enters its tenth weekend of increasingly violent, disruptive protests, which Chinese have sought to blame on foreign forces.
In a statement, China's foreign ministry said it had lodged "stern representations" with the consulate over the meeting, "expressing strong disapproval and firm opposition."
Washington should "immediately make a clean break from anti-China forces who stir up trouble in Hong Kong, stop sending out wrong signals to violent offenders, refrain from meddling with Hong Kong affairs, and avoid going further down the wrong path," the statement said.
The diplomat was identified as Julie Eadeh by pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao, which has strong ties to the Chinese government.
The paper published photos of Eadeh meeting with Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and other members of his political party Demosisto, at a luxury hotel in the city.

As well as identifying Eadeh, Ta Kung Pao also published the names of her husband and their young children.
The move was greeted by outrage in Washington, where State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus accused China of behaving irresponsibly and "thuggishly."
"I don't think that leaking an American diplomat's private information, pictures, names of their children -- I don't think that that's a formal protest," she said at a regular briefing Thursday.
"That is what a thuggish regime would do. That's not how a responsible nation would behave. Releasing any of that personal information of an American diplomat is completely unacceptable. That's not a protest. That's what a thuggish regime does, and it's unacceptable."
Ortagus said it was normal for US diplomats to meet with protesters and opposition figures, regardless of where they work.
"This literally happens in every single country in which an American embassy is present. So our diplomat was doing her job and we commend her for her work," she said.
"This is what not only American diplomats do, this is what other countries' diplomats do."


Hong Kong protests continue amid political crisis. Police detain a protester during a demonstration in Hong Kong on Monday, August 5.

Growing hostility
According to a State Department profile of her, Eadeh is a career member of the foreign service who has previously been stationed in China, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Joshua Wong and other members of Demosisto she was photographed meeting have previously met publicly with US officials including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Marco Rubio. 
Wong's party supports greater autonomy for Hong Kong but not full independence from China.
The latest meeting comes as China has ramped up blaming foreign forces, particularly Washington, for allegedly stirring up the protests.
In a statement earlier this week, China's foreign ministry said it was "exactly because of the open connivance and support by the foreign forces that the violent offenders have been further emboldened to defy the law."
Ip Kwok-him, a member of Carrie Lam's executive council, also claimed this week that Hong Kong young people were not clever enough to be masterminding the protests and called on police to track down those "instigating and directing the unrest."
However, a senior Hong Kong government official told CNN they had seen "no evidence" of any so-called "black hand" of foreign forces in the protests, and pointed to domestic concerns about political reform, lack of affordable housing and economic woes as the main drivers behind the ongoing crisis.