Countering Chinese Propaganda Act
Bill: H.R.1214 | Sponsor: Rep. Banks, Jim (R-IN)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Countering Chinese Propaganda Act
This bill directs the President to impose asset- and visa-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals and entities engaged in certain acts of malign disinformation.
Specifically, the President shall impose sanctions on an individual or entity that knowingly commits a significant act of malign disinformation on behalf of a foreign government or political party to influence certain activities in the United States for the purpose of harming (1) U.S. national security, or (2) the safety and security of a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
The Department of State shall report to Congress a determination of whether the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department, which engages in disinformation campaigns and other activities, or any of its officials, falls within the sanctions provided under this 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Chinese Propaganda Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission 
        has noted that ``China uses what it calls United Front Work 
        Department of the Chinese Communist Party to co-opt and 
        neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and 
        authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)''.
            (2) In 1939, Chinese leader Mao Zedong hailed the United 
        Front Work Department as a ``magic weapon'' in the victory of 
        the communist revolution along with ``armed struggle''.
            (3) Chinese President Xi Jinping has also referred to the 
        United Front Work Department with those words and given it a 
        key role in what he calls achieving the People's Republic of 
        China's national rejuvenation.
            (4) According to a report by Alex Joske formerly of the 
        Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the United Front Work 
        Department has doubled in size since 2015.
            (5) The United Front Work Department is involved in 
        espionage campaigns, political warfare efforts, malign 
        disinformation, utilizing the Chinese diaspora abroad, and 
        infiltration of educational institutions all with the goal of 
        softening opposition to the Chinese Communist Party and its 
        policies throughout the world.
            (6) The United Front Work Department played a seminal role 
        in coordinating multifaceted disinformation campaigns to blame 
        the United States for the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 
        2019 (commonly referred to as ``COVID-19'') pandemic and 
        coverup China's negligent response to the pandemic.
            (7) An investigation by ProPublica released on March 26, 
        2020, found that the United Front Work Department was connected 
        to a network of fake and hijacked Twitter accounts that were 
        covertly spreading Chinese government propaganda about COVID-19 
        to global audiences.
            (8) The United Front Work Department utilized Chinese 
        diaspora community associations under its control to purchase 
        personal protective equipment as the COVID-19 outbreak troubled 
        China from mid-January 2020 on.
            (9) In February 2020, The Global Times, a site run by the 
        Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper, alleged 
        that COVID-19 was brought to China from a United States 
        military base during the World Games.
            (10) As Sheridan Prasso of Bloomberg has reported, the 
        United Front Work Department has actively worked to undermine 
        democracy in Hong Kong under the umbrella of China's State 
        Council's Liaison Office by spreading disinformation and 
        activating a network of media outlets, and diaspora 
        organizations and pressuring businesses in the city to support 
        China's national security laws.
            (11) The United Front Work Department has played an 
        integral role in China's war on religion by leading efforts to 
        publish a new edition of the Bible with Chinese Communist 
        characteristics, actively running internment camps and carrying 
        out anti-religion campaigns against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang 
        and severe religious repression of Buddhists in Tibet.
            (12) Recognizing the threat of the United Front Work 
        Department, on December 4, 2020, former Secretary of State Mike 
        Pompeo imposed visa restrictions on individuals active in 
        United Front Work Department activities under section 
        212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
        1182(a)(3)(C)). Furthermore, on January 15, 2021, the 
        Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on You Quan, the 
        head of the United Front Work Department of the Central 
        Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, placing him on the 
        list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons 
        maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the 
        Department of the Treasury for his role in the crackdown on 
        pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

SEC. 3. IMPOSITION OF 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.

    (a) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President shall impose the 
sanctions described in subsection (b) with respect to any foreign 
person that the President determines knowingly commits a significant 
act of malign disinformation on behalf of the government of a foreign 
country or foreign political party that has the direct purpose or 
effect of influencing political, diplomatic, or educational activities 
in the United States for the purpose of harming--
            (1) the national security or defense of the United States; 
        or
            (2) the safety and security of any United States citizen or 
        alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
    (b) Sanctions Described.--
            (1) In general.--The sanctions described in this subsection 
        with respect to a foreign person determined by the President to 
        be subject to subsection (a) are the following:
                    (A) Asset blocking.--The President shall exercise 
                of all powers granted to the President by the 
                International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 
                1701 et seq.) to the extent necessary to block and 
                prohibit all transactions in property and interests in 
                property of the foreign person if such property and 
                interests in property are in the United States, come 
                within the United States, or are or come within the 
                possession or control of a United States person.
                    (B) Inadmissibility of certain individuals.--
                            (i) Ineligibility for visas, admission, or 
                        parole.--In the case of a foreign person who is 
                        an individual, the foreign person is--
                                    (I) inadmissible to the United 
                                States;
                                    (II) ineligible to receive a visa 
                                or other documentation to enter the 
                                United States; and
                                    (III) otherwise ineligible to be 
                                admitted or paroled into the United 
                                States or to receive any other benefit 
                                under the Immigration and Nationality 
                                Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.).
                            (ii) Current visas revoked.--
                                    (I) In general.--In the case of a 
                                foreign person who is an individual, 
                                the visa or other documentation issued 
                                to the person shall be revoked, 
                                regardless of when such visa or other 
                                documentation is or was issued.
                                    (II) Effect of revocation.--A 
                                revocation under subclause (I) shall--
                                            (aa) take effect 
                                        immediately; and
                                            (bb) automatically cancel 
                                        any other valid visa or entry 
                                        documentation that is in the 
                                        person's possession.
            (2) Penalties.--A person that violates, attempts to 
        violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of any 
        regulation, license, or order issued to carry out paragraph 
        (1)(A) shall be subject to the penalties set forth in 
        subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International 
        Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 
        extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in 
        subsection (a) of that section.
            (3) Exception to comply with united nations headquarters 
        agreement.--Sanctions under paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to 
        a foreign person who is an individual if admitting the person 
        into the United States is necessary to permit the United States 
        to comply with the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 
        United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
        entered into force November 21, 1947, between the United 
        Nations and the United States, or other applicable 
        international obligations.
    (c) Waiver.--The President may, on a case-by-case basis and for 
periods not to exceed 180 days, waive the application of sanctions 
imposed with respect to a foreign person under this section if the 
President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees not 
later than 15 days before such waiver is to take effect that the waiver 
is vital to the national security interests of the United States.
    (d) Implementation Authority.--The President may exercise all 
authorities provided to the President under sections 203 and 205 of the 
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) 
for purposes of carrying out this section.
    (e) Regulatory Authority.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, the President shall promulgate such 
        regulations as are necessary for the implementation of this 
        section.
            (2) Notification to congress.--Not less than 10 days before 
        the promulgation of regulations under paragraph (1), the 
        President shall notify and provide to the appropriate 
        congressional committees the proposed regulations and an 
        identification of the provisions of this section that the 
        regulations are implementing.
    (f) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Admitted; alien.--The terms ``admitted'' and ``alien'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 101(a) of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)).
            (2) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 
                on the Judiciary, the Committee on Ways and Means, and 
                the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 
                Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Finance, 
                and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs of the Senate.
            (3) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a 
        person that is not a United States person.
            (4) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to 
        conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has 
        actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the 
        circumstance, or the result.
            (5) Person.--The term ``person'' means an individual or 
        entity.
            (6) Property; interest in property.--The terms ``property'' 
        and ``interest in property'' have the meanings given the terms 
        ``property'' and ``property interest'', respectively, in 
        section 576.312 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, as in 
        effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (7) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) an individual who is a United States citizen or 
                an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to 
                the United States;
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.
    (g) Sunset.--
            (1) In general.--This section shall cease to be effective 
        beginning on January 1, 2025.
            (2) Inapplicability.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
        respect to sanctions imposed with respect to a foreign person 
        under this section before January 1, 2025.

SEC. 4. DETERMINATION WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON 
              THE UNITED FRONT WORK DEPARTMENT OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST 
              PARTY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a determination, including a 
detailed justification, on whether the United Front Work Department of 
the Chinese Communist Party, or any component or official thereof, 
meets the criteria for the application of sanctions pursuant to--
            (1) section 3 of this Act;
            (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
        Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-
        328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note);
            (3) section 6 of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 
        (Public Law 116-145; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note); or
            (4) Executive Order 13694 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to 
        blocking property of certain persons engaged in significant 
        malicious cyber-enabled activities).
    (b) Form.--The determination required by subsection (a) shall be 
submitted in unclassified form but may contain a classified annex.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
        Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on 
        Intelligence, the Committee on Financial Services, and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on 
        Foreign Relations, the Select Committee on Intelligence, the 
        Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate.
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