What is the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and what does it mean for U.S.-China relations?

In the quiet hours just after the U.S. markets closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on November 27, President Trump ended widespread speculation to the contrary and signed two bills into law that directly addressed the ongoing crisis in Hong Kong: the much-lauded Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (HKHRDA) and the lesser-known, but still noteworthy, bill to prohibit the commercial export of covered munitions items to the Hong Kong Police Force.

In this week’s The China Project Signal, we take a close look at the letter of the new law, and consider what impact it is likely to actually have, and what it suggests about future legislative positioning vis-à-vis China.

—Siodhbhra Parkin