II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3973 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons that knowingly engage 

in political warfare on behalf of a foreign government or political party 

and to require a determination regarding the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 19, 2024 

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 engage in political warfare on behalf of a 

foreign government or political party and to require a 

determination regarding the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering China’s 

5 Political Warfare Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Re4 view Commission has noted that ‘‘China uses what 

5 it calls United Front Work Department of the Chi6 nese Communist Party to co-opt and neutralize 

7 sources of potential opposition to the policies and 

8 authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party 

9 (CCP)’’. 

10 (2) In 1939, Chinese leader Mao Zedong hailed 

11 the United Front Work Department as a ‘‘magic 

12 weapon’’ in the victory of the communist revolution 

13 along with ‘‘armed struggle’’. 

14 (3) Chinese President Xi Jinping has also re15 ferred to the United Front Work Department with 

16 those words and given it a key role in what he calls 

17 achieving the People’s Republic of China’s national 

18 rejuvenation. 

19 (4) According to a report by Alex Joske for20 merly of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, 

21 the United Front Work Department has doubled in 

22 size since 2015. 

23 (5) The United Front Work Department is in24 volved in espionage campaigns, political warfare ef25 forts, utilizing the Chinese diaspora abroad, and in26 filtration of educational institutions all with the goal 


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1 of softening opposition to the Chinese Communist 

2 Party and its policies throughout the world. 

3 (6) The United Front Work Department played 

4 a seminal role in coordinating multifaceted political 

5 warfare campaigns to blame the United States for 

6 the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (com7 monly referred to as ‘‘COVID–19’’) pandemic and 

8 coverup the People’s Republic of China’s negligent 

9 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 spread14 ing Chinese Government propaganda about COVID– 

15 19 to global audiences. 

16 (8) The United Front Work Department uti17 lized Chinese diaspora community associations under 

18 its control to purchase personal protective equipment 

19 as the COVID–19 outbreak troubled the People’s 

20 Republic of China from 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 


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1 United States military base during the World 

2 Games. 

3 (10) As Sheridan Prasso of Bloomberg has re4 ported, the United Front Work Department has ac5 tively worked to undermine democracy in Hong 

6 Kong under the umbrella of the People’s Republic of 

7 China’s State Council’s Liaison Office by engaging 

8 in political warfare and activating a network of 

9 media outlets, and diaspora organizations and pres10 suring businesses in the city to support the People’s 

11 Republic of China’s national security laws. 

12 (11) The United Front Work Department has 

13 played an integral role in the People’s Republic of 

14 China’s war on religion by leading efforts to publish 

15 a new edition of the Bible with Chinese Communist 

16 characteristics, actively running internment camps 

17 and carrying out anti-religion campaigns against 

18 Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and severe religious re19 pression of Buddhists in Tibet. 

20 (12) Recognizing the threat of the United 

21 Front Work Department, on December 4, 2020, 

22 former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo imposed 

23 visa restrictions on individuals active in United 

24 Front Work Department activities under section 

25 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality 


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1 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(C)). Furthermore, on Jan2 uary 15, 2021, the Department of the Treasury im3 posed sanctions on You Quan, the head of the 

4 United Front Work Department of the Central Com5 mittee of the Chinese Communist Party, placing him 

6 on the list of specially designated nationals and 

7 blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign 

8 Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury 

9 for his role in the crackdown on pro-democracy pro10 testers in Hong Kong. 

11 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR12 EIGN PERSONS THAT KNOWINGLY ENGAGE IN 

13 POLITICAL WARFARE ON BEHALF OF A FOR14 EIGN GOVERNMENT OR POLITICAL PARTY. 

15 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—The President shall 

16 impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with re17 spect to any foreign person that the President determines 

18 knowingly commits a significant act of political warfare. 

19 (b) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The sanctions described in 

21 this subsection with respect to a foreign person de22 termined by the President to be subject to sub23 section (a) are the following: 

24 (A) ASSET BLOCKING.—The President 

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1 dent by the International Emergency Economic 

2 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the ex3 tent necessary to block and prohibit all trans4 actions in property and interests in property of 

5 the foreign person if such property and inter6 ests in property are in the United States, come 

7 within the United States, or are or come within 

8 the possession or control of a United States 

9 person. 

10 (B) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDI11 VIDUALS.— 

12 (i) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMIS13 SION, OR PAROLE.—In the case of a for14 eign person who is an individual, the for15 eign person is— 

16 (I) inadmissible to the United 

17 States; 

18 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 

19 other documentation to enter the 

20 United States; and 

21 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 

22 admitted or paroled into the United 

23 States or to receive any other benefit 

24 under the Immigration and Nation25 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 


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1 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

2 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 

3 a foreign person who is an individual, 

4 the visa or other documentation 

5 issued to the person shall be revoked, 

6 regardless of when such visa or other 

7 documentation is or was issued. 

8 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 

9 A revocation under subclause (I) 

10 shall— 

11 (aa) take effect immediately; 

12 and 

13 (bb) automatically cancel 

14 any other valid visa or entry doc15 umentation that is in the per16 son’s possession. 

17 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at18 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

19 violation of any regulation, license, or order issued 

20 to carry out paragraph (1)(A) shall be subject to the 

21 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of sec22 tion 206 of the International Emergency Economic 

23 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as 

24 a person that commits an unlawful act described in 

25 subsection (a) of that section. 


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1 (3) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA2 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

3 under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to a foreign 

4 person who is an individual if admitting the person 

5 into the United States is necessary to permit the 

6 United States to comply with the Agreement regard7 ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

8 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 

9 force November 21, 1947, between the United Na10 tions and the United States, or other applicable 

11 international obligations. 

12 (c) WAIVER.—The President may, on a case-by-case 

13 basis and for periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the 

14 application of sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign 

15 person under this section if the President certifies to the 

16 appropriate congressional committees not later than 15 

17 days before such waiver is to take effect that the waiver 

18 is vital to the national security interests of the United 

19 States. 

20 (d) IMPLEMENTATION AUTHORITY.—The President 

21 may exercise all authorities provided to the President 

22 under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer23 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) 

24 for purposes of carrying out this section. 

25 (e) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

3 shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary 

4 for the implementation of this section. 

5 (2) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.—Not less 

6 than 10 days before the promulgation of regulations 

7 under paragraph (1), the President shall notify and 

8 provide to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 the proposed regulations and an identification of the 

10 provisions of this section that the regulations are im11 plementing. 

12 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 

14 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

15 section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

16 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)). 

17 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT18 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com19 mittees’’ means— 

20 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

22 Ways and Means, and the Committee on Finan23 cial Services of the House of Representatives; 

24 and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

2 the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee 

3 on Finance, and the Committee on Banking, 

4 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

5 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per6 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

7 person. 

8 (4) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 

9 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 

10 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

11 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 

12 result. 

13 (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in14 dividual or entity. 

15 (6) POLITICAL WARFARE.—The term ‘‘political 

16 warfare’’ means any act that— 

17 (A) is engaged in by a person that is inten18 tionally acting as an agent of a government of 

19 a foreign country or foreign political party; and 

20 (B) seeks to influence political, diplomatic, 

21 economic, or educational activities in the United 

22 States for the purpose of harming the national 

23 security or defense of the United States or the 

24 safety and security of any United States citizen 


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1 or alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi2 dence, including— 

3 (i) spreading propaganda on behalf of 

4 the government of a foreign country or a 

5 foreign political party; 

6 (ii) attempting to recruit persons to 

7 participate in activities controlled by or co8 ordinated by the United Front Work De9 partment of the Chinese Communist Party; 

10 (iii) disrupting activities in the United 

11 States that a government of a foreign 

12 country or foreign political party may op13 pose and in which participating persons 

14 are exercising their rights protected under 

15 the Constitution of the United States and 

16 other laws of the United States; and 

17 (iv) attempting by means of intimida18 tion, coercion, or threats to prevent per19 sons in the United States from engaging in 

20 actions that a government of a foreign 

21 country or foreign political party may op22 pose. 

23 (7) PROPERTY; INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The 

24 terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘interest in property’’ have 

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1 erty interest’’, respectively, in section 576.312 of 

2 title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on 

3 the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (8) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

5 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

6 (A) an individual who is a United States 

7 citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for perma8 nent residence to the United States; 

9 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

10 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

11 United States, including a foreign branch of 

12 such an entity; or 

13 (C) any person in the United States. 

14 (g) SUNSET.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—This section shall cease to 

16 be effective beginning on January 1, 2025. 

17 (2) INAPPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

18 apply with respect to sanctions imposed with respect 

19 to a foreign person under this section before Janu20 ary 1, 2025. 


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1 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSI2 TION OF SANCTIONS ON THE UNITED FRONT 

3 WORK DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE COM4 MUNIST PARTY. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

7 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

8 a determination, including a detailed justification, on 

9 whether the United Front Work Department of the Chi10 nese Communist Party, or any component or official there11 of, meets the criteria for the application of sanctions pur12 suant to— 

13 (1) section 3 of this Act; 

14 (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

15 Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title 

16 XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 

17 (3) section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Pol18 icy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 22 U.S.C. 

19 6901 note); or 

20 (4) Executive Order 13694 (50 U.S.C. 1701 

21 note; relating to blocking property of certain persons 

22 engaged in significant malicious cyber-enabled activi23 ties). 

24 (b) FORM.—The determination required by sub25 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

26 contain a classified annex. 


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1 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE2 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres3 sional committees’’ means— 

4 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

5 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select 

6 Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Finan7 cial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

8 the House of Representatives; and 

9 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

10 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select Com11 mittee on Intelligence, the Committee on Banking, 

12 Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on 

13 the Judiciary of the Senate. 

Æ 


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