Senior US lawmakers have introduced legislation aimed at pressuring Hong Kong to shelve an extradition bill that critics say would further erode the autonomy that the former British colony was guaranteed on its handover to mainland China.
The move comes after nearly 100 people were injured in Hong Kong on Wednesday in clashes between riot police and protesters trying to stop the city’s de facto parliament, the Legislative Council, from debating the bill.
Members of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China — led by Democratic congressman Jim McGovern and Republican senator Marco Rubio — introduced a measure that would require the US secretary of state to certify every year that Hong Kong remained autonomous from mainland China. Failure to certify would mean that Hong Kong would lose certain trade-related privileges with the US that are not enjoyed by mainland China.