Trump Signs Legislation to Protect Human Rights in Hong Kong Amid Ongoing Protests
President Donald Trump has signed a bill aimed at protecting human rights in Hong Kong following its swift passage through Congress last week—a move likely to further complicate trade negotiations with Beijing, which has already warned of retribution.
In a White House statement released Wednesday, Trump said he approved the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act “out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong,” and hoped it would allow leaders in mainland China and Hong Kong to “amicably settle their differences.” Anti-government protests demanding greater autonomy from Beijing have roiled the city for close to six months.
The law, proposed when the protests broke out in June, will require the State Department to annually assess whether Hong Kong retains sufficient political autonomy to continue to qualify for favorable trading terms with Washington. If not, it could lose its special trade status and thus find its exports subject to the same tariffs that the U…