From an undisclosed location in the great state of Michigan. I'm Tim Desher and this is Heritage

Explains.

Our air conditioning went out this week.

Not a cool circumstance when smack dab in the dead heat of summer.

Anyone who's been in this situation knows the drill.

Move to the basement, turn the fans on, and sweat the night away until the heating and cooling company turns the AC back on.

Well, just as things were heating up in Casa de Desher, I began to get news alerts that

things were also heating up in our relations with China.

Except in this case, hiding in the basement is not the strategy to employ.

To bring us up to speed, here's a short montage of what's happened since the beginning of July.

On today, the Trump administration sanctioned three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party for alleged human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson says it will ban several U.S. lawmakers from entering the country, including Senators

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Representative Chris Smith and Ambassador for Religious Freedom,

Sam Brownback. This comes after their open criticism of the ruling Communist Party's policies

toward minority groups and people of faith.

President Donald Trump announced his administration's latest move to pressure China.

Today I signed legislation and an executive order to hold China accountable for its oppressive actions against the people of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Autonomy Act imposes sanctions on people or entities that conduct business with

Chinese officials responsible for implementing Beijing's new national security law in Hong Kong.

I do have some breaking news right now because moments ago, the U.S. State Department is accusing

China of a massive illegal spying operation and ordering Beijing

to close this consulate that you see in Houston.

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