[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 422 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 422

    Urging adherence to the ``one country, two systems'' policy as 
   prescribed in the Joint Declaration between the Government of the 
  United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Government of the People's 
          Republic of China on the Question of the Hong Kong.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2017

  Mr. Engel (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Yoho, and Mr. 
  Smith of New Jersey) submitted the following resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Urging adherence to the ``one country, two systems'' policy as 
   prescribed in the Joint Declaration between the Government of the 
  United Kingdom of Great Britain and the Government of the People's 
          Republic of China on the Question of the Hong Kong.

Whereas the People's Republic of China assumed the exercise of sovereignty over 
        the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 20 years ago, on July 1, 
        1997;
Whereas the Joint Declaration between the Government of the United Kingdom of 
        Great Britain and the Government of the People's Republic of China on 
        the Question of the Hong Kong (in this resolution referred to as the 
        ``Joint Declaration'') required China's National People's Congress (NPC) 
        to pass the ``Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 
        of the People's Republic of China'' (in this resolution referred to as 
        the ``Basic Law'') consistent with the obligations contained in the 
        Joint Declaration, which was approved by the NPC on April 4, 1990;
Whereas relations between the United States and Hong Kong are fundamentally 
        based upon the continued maintenance of the ``one country, two systems'' 
        policy stipulated in the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 
        (Public Law 102-383; 22 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.) and established by the 
        Joint Declaration;
Whereas under the ``one country, two systems'' policy established by the Joint 
        Declaration, Hong Kong ``will enjoy a high degree of autonomy except in 
        foreign and defense affairs'' and ``will be vested with executive, 
        legislative and independent judicial power including that of final 
        adjudication'';
Whereas Hong Kong's autonomy under the ``one country, two systems'' policy, as 
        demonstrated by its highly developed rule of law, independent judiciary, 
        and respect for the rights of individuals, has continued to make Hong 
        Kong the preferred residence for over 85,000 United States citizens, and 
        at least 1,400 United States businesses operate in Hong Kong;
Whereas the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law declare that the lifestyle and 
        social and economic systems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged for 50 
        years after the 1997 reversion;
Whereas the Basic Law guarantees Hong Kong residents the freedoms of speech, 
        press, publication, association, assembly, demonstration, religious 
        belief and activity, academic research, and the rights to form unions 
        and to strike, among others;
Whereas the Basic Law also guarantees Hong Kong residents the right to vote and 
        to stand for election;
Whereas although the Basic Law states that ``the ultimate aim is the selection 
        of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a 
        broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with 
        democratic procedures'', the actual process for nominating eligible 
        Chief Executive candidates remains heavily influenced by the Government 
        of China;
Whereas widespread frustration with the lack of progress toward a democratic 
        selection of candidates for Chief Executive provoked large-scale public 
        demonstrations in late 2014, popularly known as the ``Umbrella 
        Movement'', that involved hundreds of thousands of demonstrators and the 
        occupation of certain public spaces for as long as 79 days;
Whereas, although Hong Kong continues to enjoy high levels of economic freedom 
        and judicial independence, certain recent actions by the Government of 
        China are inconsistent with its stated commitments to Hong Kong's high 
        degree of autonomy and the preservation of the rule of law;
Whereas international press reported that from October through December 2015, 
        four employees of Might Current publishing house and its affiliated 
        bookstore, Causeway Bay Books, a Hong Kong seller of publications 
        critical of Chinese leadership, disappeared under suspicious 
        circumstances from Hong Kong, Thailand, and mainland China, in 
        potentially the most serious breach of the ``one country, two systems'' 
        policy since 1997, which has had a chilling effect on the freedoms of 
        speech and publication in Hong Kong;
Whereas international press reported that--

    (1) Gui Minhai, a Swedish citizen and the co-owner of Mighty Current, 
was last seen in Thailand in October 2015;

    (2) the general manager of Mighty Current, Lui Bo, and the business 
manager, Cheung Jiping, disappeared while on a visit to mainland China 
around October 2015; and

    (3) Lee Bo, who holds British and Chinese citizenship and is a 
permanent resident of Hong Kong, disappeared from Hong Kong on December 30, 
2015;

Whereas Mr. Lui, Mr. Cheung, and Mr. Lee each briefly returned to Hong Kong in 
        March 2016 to ask Hong Kong police to drop their missing persons' cases 
        before immediately returning to mainland China;
Whereas Lam Wing Kee, another Causeway Bay Books bookseller, testified before 
        the Congressional-Executive Commission on China that he was detained by 
        officials in Shenzhen, China on October 24, 2015, moved to a detention 
        facility more than 1,300 miles away, and held incommunicado and 
        subjected to ``endless interrogation'' for seven and one-half months, 
        during which he was forced to produce multiple, coerced confessions of 
        ``selling books illegally'';
Whereas, on November 7, 2016, while the Hong Kong High Court was considering its 
        final ruling to determine if the oaths sworn by certain Legislative 
        Council candidates were in accordance with Article 104 of the Basic Law, 
        the Standing Committee of the NPC issued its own interpretation of 
        Article 104 of the Basic Law in an attempt to foreclose the opportunity 
        for the legislators-elect to retake their oaths and assume office;
Whereas that interpretation of Article 104 by the Standing Committee of the NPC 
        represented the first time it had issued such an interpretation while a 
        Hong Kong judge was deliberating on the case in question and only the 
        second time it had done so in the absence of a request from Hong Kong 
        authorities;
Whereas, according to the Hong Kong Bar Association, that preemptive 
        interpretation was ``unnecessary and inappropriate'' and ``created the 
        impression that the [Standing Committee] is effectively legislating for 
        Hong Kong, thereby casting doubts on the commitment of the Central 
        People's Government to abide by the principles of `one country, two 
        systems'''; and
Whereas Hong Kong's highly developed rule of law, independent judiciary, and 
        respect for individual rights are fundamental to its way of life and 
        economic prosperity: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes, consistent with the United States-Hong Kong 
        Policy Act of 1992, that--
                    (A) Hong Kong continues to play an important role 
                in today's regional and world economy, with strong 
                economic, cultural, and other ties to the United 
                States;
                    (B) respect for civil liberties, open markets, rule 
                of law, and judicial independence are all integral 
                aspects of Hong Kong's lifestyle and social and 
                economic systems; and
                    (C) the authority of the United States Government 
                to treat Hong Kong as a non-sovereign entity distinct 
                from China, for the purposes of United States laws 
                relating to trade, finance, transportation, economic 
                and cultural exchange, travel, law enforcement 
                cooperation, export controls, and other matters, 
                depends on Hong Kong remaining sufficiently autonomous; 
                and
            (2) urges adherence to the ``one country, two systems'' 
        policy established by the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law 
        with respect to--
                    (A) Hong Kong's exercise of a high degree of 
                autonomy;
                    (B) its enjoyment of executive, legislative, and 
                independent judicial power; and
                    (C) the robust protection of the fundamental rights 
                of Hong Kong residents guaranteed by Chapter III of the 
                Basic Law.
                                 <all>