II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 429 To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons that knowingly spread malign disinformation as part of or on behalf of a foreign government or political party for purposes of political warfare and to require a determination regarding the United Front Work Department of the Chi- nese Communist Party. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 24, 2021 Mr. COTTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons that knowingly spread malign disinformation as part of or on behalf of a foreign government or political party for purposes of political warfare and to require a determina- tion regarding the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Chinese 4 Propaganda Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 429 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Re- 3 view Commission has noted that ‘‘China uses what 4 it calls United Front [Work Department] of the Chi- 5 nese Communist Party to co-opt and neutralize 6 sources of potential opposition to the policies and 7 authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party 8 (CCP)’’. 9 (2) In 1939, Chinese leader Mao Zedong hailed 10 the United Front Work Department as a ‘‘magic 11 weapon’’ in the victory of the communist revolution 12 along with ‘‘armed struggle’’. 13 (3) Chinese President Xi Jinping has also re- 14 ferred to the United Front Work Department with 15 those words and given it a key role in what he calls 16 achieving the People’s Republic of China’s national 17 rejuvenation. 18 (4) According to a report by Alex Joske for- 19 merly of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 20 the United Front Work Department has doubled in 21 size since 2015. 22 (5) The United Front Work Department is in- 23 volved in espionage campaigns, political warfare ef- 24 forts, malign disinformation, utilizing the Chinese 25 diaspora abroad, and infiltration of educational insti- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 429 IS tutions all with the goal of softening opposition to 1 the Chinese Communist Party and its policies 2 throughout the world. 3 (6) The United Front Work Department played 4 a seminal role in coordinating multifaceted 5 disinformation campaigns to blame the United 6 States for the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 7 2019 (commonly referred to as ‘‘COVID–19’’) pan- 8 demic and coverup the People’s Republic of China’s 9 negligent response to the pandemic. 10 (7) An investigation by ProPublica released on 11 March 26, 2020, found that the United Front Work 12 Department was connected to a network of fake and 13 hijacked Twitter accounts that were covertly spread- 14 ing Chinese Government propaganda about COVID– 15 19 to global audiences. 16 (8) The United Front Work Department uti- 17 lized Chinese diaspora community associations under 18 its control to purchase personal protective equipment 19 as the COVID–19 outbreak troubled China from 20 mid-January 2020 on. 21 (9) In February 2020, The Global Times, a site 22 run by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s 23 Daily newspaper, alleged that COVID–19 was 24 brought to the People’s Republic of China from a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 429 IS United States military base during the World 1 Games. 2 (10) As Sheridan Prasso of Bloomberg has re- 3 ported, the United Front Work Department has ac- 4 tively worked to undermine democracy in Hong 5 Kong under the umbrella of the People’s Republic of 6 China’s State Council’s Liaison Office by spreading 7 disinformation and activating a network of media 8 outlets, and diaspora organizations and pressuring 9 businesses in the city to support the People’s Repub- 10 lic of China’s national security laws. 11 (11) The United Front Work Department has 12 played an integral role in the People’s Republic of 13 China’s war on religion by leading efforts to publish 14 a new edition of the Bible with Chinese Communist 15 characteristics, actively running internment camps 16 and carrying out anti-religion campaigns against 17 Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and severe religious re- 18 pression of Buddhists in Tibet. 19 (12) Recognizing the threat of the United 20 Front Work Department, on December 4, 2020, 21 former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed 22 visa restrictions on individuals activated in United 23 Front Work Department activities under section 24 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 429 IS Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(C)). Furthermore, on Jan- 1 uary 15, 2021, the Department of the Treasury im- 2 posed sanctions on You Quan, the head of the 3 United Front Work Department of the Central Com- 4 mittee of the Chinese Communist Party, placing him 5 on the list of specially designated nationals and 6 blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign 7 Assets Control for his role in the crackdown on pro- 8 democracy protesters in Hong Kong. 9 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR- 10 EIGN PERSONS THAT KNOWINGLY SPREAD 11 MALIGN DISINFORMATION AS PART OF OR 12 ON BEHALF OF A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR 13 POLITICAL PARTY FOR PURPOSES OF POLIT- 14 ICAL WARFARE. 15 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 16 impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with re- 17 spect to any foreign person that the President determines 18 knowingly commits a significant act of malign 19 disinformation on behalf of the government of a foreign 20 country or foreign political party that has the direct pur- 21 pose or effect of influencing political, diplomatic, or edu- 22 cational activities in the United States for the purpose of 23 harming— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 429 IS (1) the national security or defense of the 1 United States; or 2 (2) the safety and security of any United States 3 citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi- 4 dence. 5 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 7 this subsection with respect to a foreign person de- 8 termined by the President to be subject to sub- 9 section (a) are the following: 10 (A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President 11 shall exercise of all powers granted to the Presi- 12 dent by the International Emergency Economic 13 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the ex- 14 tent necessary to block and prohibit all trans- 15 actions in property and interests in property of 16 the foreign person if such property and inter- 17 ests in property are in the United States, come 18 within the United States, or are or come within 19 the possession or control of a United States 20 person. 21 (B) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDI- 22 VIDUALS.— 23 (i) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMIS- 24 SION, OR PAROLE.—In the case of a for- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 429 IS eign person who is an individual, the for- 1 eign person is— 2 (I) inadmissible to the United 3 States; 4 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 5 other documentation to enter the 6 United States; and 7 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 8 admitted or paroled into the United 9 States or to receive any other benefit 10 under the Immigration and Nation- 11 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 12 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 13 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 14 a foreign person who is an individual, 15 the visa or other documentation 16 issued to the person shall be revoked, 17 regardless of when such visa or other 18 documentation is or was issued. 19 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 20 A revocation under subclause (I) 21 shall— 22 (aa) take effect immediately; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 429 IS (bb) automatically cancel 1 any other valid visa or entry doc- 2 umentation that is in the per- 3 son’s possession. 4 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at- 5 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 6 violation of any regulation, license, or order issued 7 to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the 8 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of sec- 9 tion 206 of the International Emergency Economic 10 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as 11 a person that commits an unlawful act described in 12 subsection (a) of that section. 13 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA- 14 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 15 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to a foreign 16 person who is an individual if admitting the person 17 into the United States is necessary to permit the 18 United States to comply with the Agreement regard- 19 ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 20 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 21 force November 21, 1947, between the United Na- 22 tions and the United States, or other applicable 23 international obligations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 429 IS (c) WAIVER.—The President may, on a case-by-case 1 basis and for periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the 2 application of sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign 3 person under this section if the President certifies to the 4 appropriate congressional committees not later than 15 5 days before such waiver is to take effect that the waiver 6 is vital to the national security interests of the United 7 States. 8 (d) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The President 9 may exercise all authorities provided to the President 10 under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer- 11 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) 12 for purposes of carrying out this section. 13 (e) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 16 shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 17 for the implementation of this section. 18 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not less 19 than 10 days before the promulgation of regulations 20 under paragraph (1), the President shall notify and 21 provide to the appropriate congressional committees 22 the proposed regulations and an identification of the 23 provisions of this section that the regulations are im- 24 plementing. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 429 IS (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 1 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 2 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 3 section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 4 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 5 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 7 mittees’’ means— 8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 9 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 10 Ways and Means, and the Committee on Finan- 11 cial Services of the House of Representatives; 12 and 13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 14 the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 15 on Finance, and the Committee on Banking, 16 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 17 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 18 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 19 person. 20 (4) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 21 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 22 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 23 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 24 result. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 429 IS (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 1 dividual or entity. 2 (6) PROPERTY; INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The 3 terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘interest in property’’ have 4 the meanings given the terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘prop- 5 erty interest’’, respectively, in section 576.312 of 6 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 7 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. 8 (7) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 9 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 10 (A) an individual who is a United States 11 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma- 12 nent residence to the United States; 13 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 14 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 15 United States, including a foreign branch of 16 such an entity; or 17 (C) any person in the United States. 18 (g) SUNSET.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall cease to 20 be effective beginning on January 1, 2025. 21 (2) INAPPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not 22 apply with respect to sanctions imposed with respect 23 to a foreign person under this section before Janu- 24 ary 1, 2025. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:20 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S429.IS S429 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 429 IS SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSI- 1 TION OF SANCTIONS ON THE UNITED FRONT 2 WORK DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE COM- 3 MUNIST PARTY. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 6 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 7 a determination, including a detailed justification, on 8 whether the United Front Work Department of the Chi- 9 nese Communist Party, or any component or official there- 10 of, meets the criteria for the application of sanctions pur- 11 suant to— 12 (1) section 3 of this Act; 13 (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 14 Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title 15 XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 16 (3) section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Pol- 17 icy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 22 U.S.C. 18 6901 note); or 19 (4) Executive Order 13694 (50 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]