[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 153 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 153

 Expressing concern over the detainment of Sandy Phan-Gillis, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 2017

Mr. Al Green of Texas (for himself and Mr. Poe of Texas) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
     Affairs, and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on 
    Intelligence, 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing concern over the detainment of Sandy Phan-Gillis, and for 
                            other purposes.

Whereas Sandy Phan-Gillis, a naturalized United States citizen of Chinese 
        ancestry and Texas businesswoman, has been detained by the Chinese State 
        Security since March 2015;
Whereas Sandy traveled to China to promote business opportunities in her 
        hometown of Houston, Texas;
Whereas Sandy was detained by Chinese security agents as she was passing through 
        an immigration control connecting mainland China with Macau;
Whereas Chinese authorities held Sandy for six months in solitary confinement;
Whereas Sandy was denied access to a lawyer for over a year;
Whereas Sandy was hospitalized twice while in detention, and suffers from 
        several serious medical conditions;
Whereas in June 2016, a United Nations panel ruled that China had violated 
        international human rights by denying Sandy access to legal assistance 
        and holding her without bringing her before judicial authorities, the 
        first time in its history that the U.N. has ruled that an American 
        citizen had been arbitrarily detained by China;
Whereas Sandy is accused of spying on China from 1996 to 1998;
Whereas Sandy's passport for 1996 had no Chinese visa, no Chinese entry stamps, 
        and no Chinese exit stamps;
Whereas Sandy's pay stubs from the Houston Police Department, where she worked 
        from 1993 to 1998, showed that during the time in question she took a 
        total of 11 hours of vacation;
Whereas Sandy has denied any wrongdoing and said her detention was political and 
        not criminal, according to a letter transcribed by a United States 
        consular official in China;
Whereas China has provided little information about its allegations, saying only 
        that she is suspected of stealing and spying on its national secrets and 
        that over a year after her initial detention a new crime of espionage 
        was uncovered;
Whereas the Department of State has said consular officials meet every month 
        with Phan-Gillis and are monitoring the case closely; and
Whereas the father of Sandy Phan-Gillis is currently hospitalized in intensive 
        care, and would benefit from his daughter's presence: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses its ongoing concern about the detaining of 
        Sandy Phan-Gillis in Guangxi Province, People's Republic of 
        China, since March 2015;
            (2) encourages the Department of State and the intelligence 
        community to jointly continue investigations and to consider 
        all plausible explanations for Sandy's detainment;
            (3) urges the Department of State and the intelligence 
        community to coordinate investigations with the Government of 
        the People's Republic of China and solicit information from 
        appropriate regional affairs and law enforcement experts on 
        plausible explanations for Sandy's detainment;
            (4) requests that the Department of State and the 
        intelligence community continue to work with and inform 
        Congress and the family of Sandy Phan-Gillis on efforts to 
        recover Sandy and to resolve her detainment; and
            (5) requests the immediate release of Sandy Phan-Gillis by 
        the Government of the People's Republic of China.
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