{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mcgovern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400393", "McGovern, Khanna, and Meeks Lead Colleagues in Demanding the Trump Administration Explain Decision to Lift Sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong Officials", "2026-08-18", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "James P. McGovern", "M000312", "mcgovern.house.gov", "mcgovern", "https://mcgovern.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014Today, Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee and Raking Member of the Congressional-Commission on China, Ro Khanna, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and six other House Members sent a letter to President Trump expressing serious concern about his decision to allow an Executive Order to lapse. The decision resulted in sanctions relief for Chinese and Hong Kong officials complicit in Beijing\u2019s dismantling of Hong Kong\u2019s autonomy.\n\n\u201cThe lapse of the national emergency has already resulted in significant changes to the sanctions status of dozens of Hong Kong and Beijing officials, and it raises serious questions about the durability of U.S. policy toward Hong Kong that we believe warrant a direct response from the Administration,\u201d wrote the Members of Congress. \u201cIn effect, this amounts to a downgrade in sanctions exposure for 39 individuals, including the sitting Chief Executive and Chief Secretary of Hong Kong.\u201d\n\nIn his first term, President Trump issued Executive Order 13936 to employ emergency authorities to strip Hong Kong of its preferential trade and export-control treatment it had previously enjoyed as a distinct customs territory and authorize sanctions against individuals. In July 2026, President Trump declined to renew the Executive Order, thereby lifting sanctions on key individuals and sending a signal that the loss of Hong Kong\u2019s autonomy is no longer a major concern for the U.S. government.\n\n\u201cWe are also concerned about the circumstances surrounding this decision. The PRC\u2019s Ministry of Commerce has publicly stated that the non-renewal implements understandings reached during the U.S.-PRC economic and trade consultations in Madrid, and that the United States made commitments concerning Hong Kong and investment-related issues during those talks,\u201d wrote the Members of Congress. \u201cIf accurate, this would mean that sanctions relief for officials responsible for prosecuting pro-democracy activists was used as a bargaining chip in unrelated trade negotiations.\u201d\n\nThe Members requested answers from the President about the decision, including justification for easing sanctions on complicit individuals, whether the decision was part of any quid-pro-quo with PRC officials, and whether the Administration is committed to securing the release of publisher and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai.", 1, "2026-08-19T05:29:02Z", "2026-08-19T05:30:24Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mcgovern.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400393"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5175766311585903, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}