U.S. House bill targets banks amid fears over China law for Hong Kong

[July 02, 2020]  By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday that would penalize banks doing business with Chinese officials who implement Beijing's draconian new national security law imposed on the former British colony of Hong Kong.

China responded by saying the United States should stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and warned that it would "resolutely and forcefully resist".

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" formula that protected its freedoms, including an independent legal system, and wide-ranging autonomy. But China on Tuesday introduced sweeping national security legislation for the city, condemned by the United States, Britain and other Western countries.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab reprimanded HSBC <HSBA.L> and other banks on Wednesday for supporting the new law, saying the rights of Hong Kong should not be sacrificed for bankers' bonuses.

Senior British and U.S. politicians criticized HSBC and Standard Chartered <STAN.L> last month after the banks backed the new law.

The law punishes crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison, will see mainland security agencies in Hong Kong for the first time and allows extradition to the mainland for trial.

The House measure passed unanimously, reflecting concern in Washington over the erosion the autonomy that allowed Hong Kong to thrive as China's freest city and an international financial center.

The U.S. Senate passed similar legislation last week, but under congressional rules the bill must return to the Senate and be passed there before being sent to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign into law or veto.

The U.S. Capitol Building is seen before U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to deliver the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 4, 2020. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an unusual appearance at a committee hearing on the situation in Hong Kong to say the security law marked the death of the "one country, two systems" principle.

"The law is a brutal, sweeping crackdown against the people of Hong Kong, intended to destroy the freedoms they were promised," she told the House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said in Beijing on Thursday the United States "must stop advancing the bill, let alone sign it or implement" it.

"Otherwise China will resolutely and forcefully resist," he said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the security law was an affront to all nations and Washington would continue to implement Trump's directive to end the territory's special status.

The United States has already begun eliminating Hong Kong's special status, halting defense exports and restricting the territory's access to high-technology products.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Additional reporting by Huizhong Wu in Beijing; Editing by Sandra Maler, David Gregorio and Nick Macfie)

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