I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1214 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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 23, 2021 Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. MANN, Mr. TURNER, and Mr. WALTZ) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1214 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Chinese 2 Propaganda Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Re- 6 view Commission has noted that ‘‘China uses what 7 it calls United Front Work Department of the Chi- 8 nese Communist Party to co-opt and neutralize 9 sources of potential opposition to the policies and 10 authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party 11 (CCP)’’. 12 (2) In 1939, Chinese leader Mao Zedong hailed 13 the United Front Work Department as a ‘‘magic 14 weapon’’ in the victory of the communist revolution 15 along with ‘‘armed struggle’’. 16 (3) Chinese President Xi Jinping has also re- 17 ferred to the United Front Work Department with 18 those words and given it a key role in what he calls 19 achieving the People’s Republic of China’s national 20 rejuvenation. 21 (4) According to a report by Alex Joske for- 22 merly of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 23 the United Front Work Department has doubled in 24 size since 2015. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1214 IH (5) The United Front Work Department is in- 1 volved in espionage campaigns, political warfare ef- 2 forts, malign disinformation, utilizing the Chinese 3 diaspora abroad, and infiltration of educational insti- 4 tutions all with the goal of softening opposition to 5 the Chinese Communist Party and its policies 6 throughout the world. 7 (6) The United Front Work Department played 8 a seminal role in coordinating multifaceted disinfor- 9 mation campaigns to blame the United States for 10 the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (com- 11 monly referred to as ‘‘COVID-19’’) pandemic and 12 coverup China’s negligent response to the pandemic. 13 (7) An investigation by ProPublica released on 14 March 26, 2020, found that the United Front Work 15 Department was connected to a network of fake and 16 hijacked Twitter accounts that were covertly spread- 17 ing Chinese government propaganda about COVID- 18 19 to global audiences. 19 (8) The United Front Work Department uti- 20 lized Chinese diaspora community associations under 21 its control to purchase personal protective equipment 22 as the COVID-19 outbreak troubled China from 23 mid-January 2020 on. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1214 IH (9) In February 2020, The Global Times, a site 1 run by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s 2 Daily newspaper, alleged that COVID-19 was 3 brought to China from a United States military base 4 during the World Games. 5 (10) As Sheridan Prasso of Bloomberg has re- 6 ported, the United Front Work Department has ac- 7 tively worked to undermine democracy in Hong 8 Kong under the umbrella of China’s State Council’s 9 Liaison Office by spreading disinformation and acti- 10 vating a network of media outlets, and diaspora or- 11 ganizations and pressuring businesses in the city to 12 support China’s national security laws. 13 (11) The United Front Work Department has 14 played an integral role in China’s war on religion by 15 leading efforts to publish a new edition of the Bible 16 with Chinese Communist characteristics, actively 17 running internment camps and carrying out anti-re- 18 ligion campaigns against Uyghur Muslims in 19 Xinjiang and severe religious repression of Bud- 20 dhists in Tibet. 21 (12) Recognizing the threat of the United 22 Front Work Department, on December 4, 2020, 23 former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed 24 visa restrictions on individuals active in United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1214 IH Front Work Department activities under section 1 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(C)). Furthermore, on Jan- 3 uary 15, 2021, the Department of the Treasury im- 4 posed sanctions on You Quan, the head of the 5 United Front Work Department of the Central Com- 6 mittee of the Chinese Communist Party, placing him 7 on the list of specially designated nationals and 8 blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign 9 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury 10 for his role in the crackdown on pro-democracy pro- 11 testers in Hong Kong. 12 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR- 13 EIGN PERSONS THAT KNOWINGLY SPREAD 14 MALIGN DISINFORMATION AS PART OF OR 15 ON BEHALF OF A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR 16 POLITICAL PARTY FOR PURPOSES OF POLIT- 17 ICAL WARFARE. 18 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 19 impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with re- 20 spect to any foreign person that the President determines 21 knowingly commits a significant act of malign disinforma- 22 tion on behalf of the government of a foreign country or 23 foreign political party that has the direct purpose or effect 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1214 IH of influencing political, diplomatic, or educational activi- 1 ties in the United States for the purpose of harming— 2 (1) the national security or defense of the 3 United States; or 4 (2) the safety and security of any United States 5 citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi- 6 dence. 7 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 9 this subsection with respect to a foreign person de- 10 termined by the President to be subject to sub- 11 section (a) are the following: 12 (A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President 13 shall exercise of all powers granted to the Presi- 14 dent by the International Emergency Economic 15 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the ex- 16 tent necessary to block and prohibit all trans- 17 actions in property and interests in property of 18 the foreign person if such property and inter- 19 ests in property are in the United States, come 20 within the United States, or are or come within 21 the possession or control of a United States 22 person. 23 (B) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDI- 24 VIDUALS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1214 IH (i) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMIS- 1 SION, OR PAROLE.—In the case of a for- 2 eign person who is an individual, the for- 3 eign person is— 4 (I) inadmissible to the United 5 States; 6 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 7 other documentation to enter the 8 United States; and 9 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 10 admitted or paroled into the United 11 States or to receive any other benefit 12 under the Immigration and Nation- 13 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 14 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 15 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 16 a foreign person who is an individual, 17 the visa or other documentation 18 issued to the person shall be revoked, 19 regardless of when such visa or other 20 documentation is or was issued. 21 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 22 A revocation under subclause (I) 23 shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1214 IH (aa) take effect immediately; 1 and 2 (bb) automatically cancel 3 any other valid visa or entry doc- 4 umentation that is in the per- 5 son’s possession. 6 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at- 7 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 8 violation of any regulation, license, or order issued 9 to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the 10 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of sec- 11 tion 206 of the International Emergency Economic 12 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as 13 a person that commits an unlawful act described in 14 subsection (a) of that section. 15 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA- 16 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 17 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to a foreign 18 person who is an individual if admitting the person 19 into the United States is necessary to permit the 20 United States to comply with the Agreement regard- 21 ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 22 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 23 force November 21, 1947, between the United Na- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1214 IH tions and the United States, or other applicable 1 international obligations. 2 (c) WAIVER.—The President may, on a case-by-case 3 basis and for periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the 4 application of sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign 5 person under this section if the President certifies to the 6 appropriate congressional committees not later than 15 7 days before such waiver is to take effect that the waiver 8 is vital to the national security interests of the United 9 States. 10 (d) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The President 11 may exercise all authorities provided to the President 12 under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer- 13 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) 14 for purposes of carrying out this section. 15 (e) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 17 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 18 shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 19 for the implementation of this section. 20 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not less 21 than 10 days before the promulgation of regulations 22 under paragraph (1), the President shall notify and 23 provide to the appropriate congressional committees 24 the proposed regulations and an identification of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1214 IH provisions of this section that the regulations are im- 1 plementing. 2 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 3 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 4 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 5 section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 7 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 11 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 12 Ways and Means, and the Committee on Finan- 13 cial Services of the House of Representatives; 14 and 15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 16 the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 17 on Finance, and the Committee on Banking, 18 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 19 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per- 20 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 21 person. 22 (4) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 23 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 24 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1214 IH have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 1 result. 2 (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in- 3 dividual or entity. 4 (6) PROPERTY; INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The 5 terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘interest in property’’ have 6 the meanings given the terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘prop- 7 erty interest’’, respectively, in section 576.312 of 8 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 9 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. 10 (7) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 11 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 12 (A) an individual who is a United States 13 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma- 14 nent residence to the United States; 15 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 16 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 17 United States, including a foreign branch of 18 such an entity; or 19 (C) any person in the United States. 20 (g) SUNSET.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall cease to 22 be effective beginning on January 1, 2025. 23 (2) INAPPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not 24 apply with respect to sanctions imposed with respect 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Mar 30, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1214.IH H1214 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1214 IH to a foreign person under this section before Janu- 1 ary 1, 2025. 2 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSI- 3 TION OF SANCTIONS ON THE UNITED FRONT 4 WORK DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE COM- 5 MUNIST PARTY. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 8 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 9 a determination, including a detailed justification, on 10 whether the United Front Work Department of the Chi- 11 nese Communist Party, or any component or official there- 12 of, meets the criteria for the application of sanctions pur- 13 suant to— 14 (1) section 3 of this Act; 15 (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 16 Human Rights Accountability Act (su [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]