Marco Rubio, sponsor of Hong Kong pro-democracy bill, claims ‘very significant progress’ on the pending legislation
- The Republican senator cites progress on bill after meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell but offers no details
- The pro-democracy bill has the support of more than one-third of the Senate’s 100 members but has not been brought up for a vote
The sponsor of US legislation aimed at supporting democracy in Hong Kong said he made “significant progress” on Wednesday in moving the bill toward passage.
Senator Marco Rubio, sponsor of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, posted the comment on Twitter shortly after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who would make the call on whether to put the bill to a vote, and Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Rubio’s office did not respond to a request for details about what progress was achieved.
Rubio, a Republican representing Florida, has gained bipartisan support for his bill, which has 38 cosponsors including Democratic presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey, representing more than one-third of the Senate.
The legislation, which was passed by the US House of Representatives with no objections last month, would place economic sanctions on individuals deemed to have violated the terms of Hong Kong’s autonomy from mainland China.
