President Trump has just signed two bills supporting the protesters in Hong Kong who are fighting for democracy:
CNBC – President Donald Trump has signed two bills supporting the Hong Kong protesters into law on Wednesday, according to a White House statement.
“I signed these bills out of respect for President Xi, China, and the people of Hong Kong. They are being enacted in the hope that Leaders and Representatives of China and Hong Kong will be able to amicably settle their differences leading to long term peace and prosperity for all,” Trump said in a statement.
Congress sent the bills to the president’s desk last week, after both chambers passed the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support.
The first bill would require the State Department to certify once a year that Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous to retain its special U.S. trading consideration — a status that helps its economy. Under that designation, the city is not subject to the tariffs that have been levied on China. The bill also sets up the potential for sanctions on people responsible for human rights abuse in Hong Kong.
The second measure would bar the sale of munitions such as tear gas and rubber bullets to Hong Kong police.
Trump signed the bills into law as he tries to reach a “phase one” trade deal with Beijing, which has repeatedly condemned the legislation as meddling in its domestic affairs.
China had warned Trump that if he signed the bill they would retaliate. If you thought one general manager for an NBA team pissed off the Chinese with one tweet, just imagine how angry they are right now.
It will be interesting to see what happens with the trade talks.
I’m so glad Trump did the right thing, which is not what we can say about the NBA who completely caved over the almighty dollar.