I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8286 

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 Chinese Communist Party. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. BANKS (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, and Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 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 determination regarding the United Front Work Department of 

the Chinese Communist Party. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Chinese 

3 Propaganda Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Re7 view Commission has noted that ‘‘China uses what 

8 it calls United Front [Work Department] of the Chi9 nese Communist Party to co-opt and neutralize 

10 sources of potential opposition to the policies and 

11 authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party 

12 (CCP)’’. 

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

14 the United Front Work Department as a ‘‘magic 

15 weapon’’ in the victory of the communist revolution 

16 along with ‘‘armed struggle’’. 

17 (3) Chinese President Xi Jinping has also re18 ferred to the United Front Work Department with 

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

20 achieving China’s national rejuvenation. 

21 (4) According to a report by Alex Joske of the 

22 Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the United 

23 Front Work Department has doubled in size since 

24 2015. 

25 (5) The United Front Work Department is in26 volved in espionage campaigns, political warfare efVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:35 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8286.IH H8286

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1 forts, malign disinformation, utilizing the Chinese 

2 diaspora abroad, and infiltration of educational insti3 tutions all with the goal of softening opposition to 

4 the Chinese Communist Party and its policies 

5 throughout the world. 

6 (6) The United Front Work Department played 

7 a seminal role in coordinating multifaceted 

8 disinformation campaigns to blame the United 

9 States for the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 

10 2019 (‘‘COVID–19’’) pandemic and coverup China’s 

11 negligent response to the pandemic. 

12 (7) An investigation by ProPublica released on 

13 March 26, 2020, found that the United Front Work 

14 Department was connected to a network of fake and 

15 hijacked Twitter accounts that were covertly spread16 ing Chinese government propaganda about COVID– 

17 19 to global audiences. 

18 (8) The United Front Work Department uti19 lized Chinese diaspora community associations under 

20 its control to purchase personal protective equipment 

21 as the COVID–19 outbreak troubled China from 

22 mid-January 2020 on. 

23 (9) In February 2020, The Global Times, a site 

24 run by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s 

25 Daily newspaper, alleged that COVID–19 was 


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1 brought to China from a United States military base 

2 during the World 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 China’s State Council’s 

7 Liaison Office by spreading disinformation and acti8 vating a network of media outlets, and diaspora or9 ganizations and pressuring businesses in the city to 

10 support China’s national security laws. 

11 (11) The United Front Work Department has 

12 played an integral role in China’s war on religion by 

13 leading efforts to publish a new edition of the Bible 

14 with Chinese Communist characteristics, actively 

15 running internment camps and carrying out anti-re16 ligion campaigns against Uyghur Muslims in 

17 Xinjiang and severe religious repression of Bud18 dhists in Tibet. 


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1 SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO FOR2 EIGN PERSONS THAT KNOWINGLY SPREAD 

3 MALIGN DISINFORMATION AS PART OF OR 

4 ON BEHALF OF A FOREIGN GOVERNMENT OR 

5 POLITICAL PARTY FOR PURPOSES OF POLIT6 ICAL WARFARE. 

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

8 impose the sanctions described in subsection (b) with re9 spect to any foreign person that the President determines 

10 knowingly commits a significant act of malign disinforma11 tion on behalf of the government of a foreign country or 

12 foreign political party which has the direct purpose or ef13 fect of influencing political, diplomatic, or educational ac14 tivities in the United States for the purpose of harming— 

15 (1) the national security or defense of the 

16 United States; or 

17 (2) the safety and security of any United States 

18 citizen or legal permanent resident. 

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 

25 shall exercise of all powers granted to the Presi26 dent by the International Emergency Economic 


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1 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) to the ex2 tent necessary to block and prohibit all trans3 actions in property and interests in property of 

4 the foreign person if such property and inter5 ests in property are in the United States, come 

6 within the United States, or are or come within 

7 the possession or control of a United States 

8 person. 

9 (B) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDI10 VIDUALS.— 

11 (i) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS, ADMIS12 SION, OR PAROLE.—In the case of a for13 eign person who is an individual, the for14 eign person is— 

15 (I) inadmissible to the United 

16 States; 

17 (II) ineligible to receive a visa or 

18 other documentation to enter the 

19 United States; and 

20 (III) otherwise ineligible to be 

21 admitted or paroled into the United 

22 States or to receive any other benefit 

23 under the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

25 (ii) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 


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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—In the case of 

2 a foreign person who is an individual, 

3 the visa or other documentation 

4 issued to the person shall be revoked, 

5 regardless of when such visa or other 

6 documentation is or was issued. 

7 (II) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.— 

8 A revocation under subclause (I) 

9 shall— 

10 (aa) take effect immediately; 

11 and 

12 (bb) automatically cancel 

13 any other valid visa or entry doc14 umentation that is in the per15 son’s possession. 

16 (2) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided for in 

17 subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the Inter18 national Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

19 U.S.C. 1705) shall apply to a person that violates, 

20 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

21 violation of regulations promulgated under sub22 section (e) to implement this section to the same ex23 tent that such penalties apply to a person that com24 mits an unlawful act described in section 206(a) of 

25 that Act. 


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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 regulations as necessary for the im4 plementation 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 the provisions of this 

10 section that the regulations are implementing. 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

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

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

14 section 101(3) of the Immigration and Nationality 

15 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(3)). 

16 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT17 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com18 mittees’’ means— 

19 (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

20 Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on 

21 Ways and Means, and the Committee on Finan22 cial Services of the House of Representatives; 

23 and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

3 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

4 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per5 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

6 person. 

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

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

9 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

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

11 result. 

12 (5) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the 

13 meaning given that term in section 576.311 of title 

14 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

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

16 (6) PROPERTY; INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—The 

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

18 the meanings given the terms ‘‘property’’ and ‘‘prop19 erty interest’’, respectively, in section 576.312 of 

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

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

22 (7) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

23 ‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that 

24 term in section 576.317 of title 31, Code of Federal 


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1 Regulations, as in effect on the day before the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (g) SUNSET.— 

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

5 be effective beginning on January 1, 2025. 

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

7 apply with respect to sanctions imposed with respect 

8 to a foreign person under this section before Janu9 ary 1, 2025. 

10 SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSI11 TION OF SANCTIONS ON THE UNITED FRONT 

12 WORK DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE COM13 MUNIST PARTY. 

14 (a) DETERMINATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

16 State shall submit to the appropriate congressional com17 mittees a determination, including a detailed justification, 

18 on whether the United Front Work Department of the 

19 Chinese Communist Party, or any component or official 

20 thereof, meets the criteria for the application of sanctions 

21 pursuant to— 

22 (1) section 3 of this Act; 

23 (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

24 Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title 

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


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1 (3) section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Pol2 icy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145); or 

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

4 note; relating to blocking property of certain persons 

5 engaged in significant malicious cyber-enabled activi6 ties). 

7 (b) FORM.—The determination required by sub8 section (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

9 contain a classified annex. 

10 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres12 sional committees’’ means— 

13 (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

14 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select 

15 Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Finan16 cial Services, and the Committee on the Judiciary of 

17 the House of Representatives; and 

18 (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the 

19 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Select Com20 mittee on Intelligence, the Committee on Banking, 

21 Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on 

22 the Judiciary of the Senate. 

Æ 


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