[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1277 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1277

 Responding to the promulgation of the Safeguarding National Security 
Ordinance, under Article 23 of the Basic Law, by the Hong Kong Special 
          Administrative Region Government on March 19, 2024.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 4, 2024

 Mr. Schiff submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                    the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Responding to the promulgation of the Safeguarding National Security 
Ordinance, under Article 23 of the Basic Law, by the Hong Kong Special 
          Administrative Region Government on March 19, 2024.

Whereas the People's Republic of China (PRC) agreed in the Sino-British Joint 
        Declaration of 1984 that the PRC would resume the exercise of 
        sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, with the condition that the 
        territory's capitalist system and way of life would remain unchanged for 
        a period of 50 years, enjoying a high degree of autonomy, except in 
        foreign and defense affairs, that the Basic Law of Hong Kong articulates 
        a principle of ``managing Hong Kong by Hong Kong people'', and that the 
        city will ultimately move toward ``universal suffrage'';
Whereas Hong Kong continued to thrive as a Special Administrative Region, under 
        the ``one country, two systems'' framework, with its semidemocratic 
        governance and its freedoms of speech and assembly, until the PRC began 
        to exercise greater political control over the territory from 2004 to 
        make democracy increasingly unlikely, in contravention to its previous 
        agreements;
Whereas the PRC, in 2014, began limiting voting choice for Hong Kongers to a 
        list of Beijing-approved candidates, which led to the popular protests 
        known as the Umbrella Movement;
Whereas the PRC, without the consent of Hong Kongers, imposed a new National 
        Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020, which significantly curtailed the 
        ability of Hong Kongers to openly express dissent and communicate with 
        journalists without fear of political persecution;
Whereas the Hong Kong authorities, within 2 months of the passage of the new 
        national security law, arrested and convicted Jimmy Lai, a British 
        citizen and the founder of Apple Daily, one of the most popular 
        prodemocracy publications in Hong Kong at the time, claiming that he had 
        allegedly colluded with foreign forces;
Whereas the PRC dismantled Hong Kong's democratic institutions in 2016 and 2020 
        by disqualifying opposition legislators, and then, in 2021, overhauling 
        the electoral system by sharply reducing the number of directly elected 
        seats to Hong Kong's Legislative Council, effectively ensuring that only 
        pro-Beijing politicians could win a seat on the Council and further 
        disenfranchising Hong Kongers from their ability to seek free and fair 
        representation;
Whereas the Hong Kong Legislative Council, now dominated by the influence of the 
        PRC through its pro-Beijing members, further undermined democratic 
        values by passing the Safeguarding National Security Ordnance, referred 
        to as the ``Article 23 legislation'', on March 19, 2024, doing so with 
        extraordinary speed, which will give the Government broader authorities 
        to seek out and punish political activists and severely curtail freedoms 
        of speech, including that of journalists and foreigners, with the threat 
        of heavy prison sentences;
Whereas the restrictions on basic freedoms have diminished the status of Hong 
        Kong as a leading global financial hub, which has consequently 
        experienced a massive outflow of foreign capital, weak performance of 
        initial public offerings and low trade volume on the Hong Kong Stock 
        Exchange, and continued decline of the Hang Seng Index;
Whereas the people of Hong Kong should have the ability to exercise basic human 
        rights, such as the freedom of expression, without the fear of political 
        persecution, under the laws of a government that represents their 
        collective and democratic will through at least 2047, if not further; 
        and
Whereas the international community has responded to the passage of the Article 
        23 legislation with strong condemnation, represented by a letter signed 
        by 90 cross-party international parliamentarians and public figures, 
        including 14 Members of Congress: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) stands with Hong Kongers in their demand to protect 
        their basic human and civil rights and the dignity to freely 
        express themselves without fear of political persecution;
            (2) condemns the passage of the Article 23 legislation and 
        the further erosion of democratic values and institutions in 
        Hong Kong;
            (3) reiterates that Hong Kong laws, including the Article 
        23 legislation, do not have jurisdiction in the United States 
        nor in other countries outside of the People's Republic of 
        China;
            (4) urges the Hong Kong authorities to--
                    (A) refrain from an abusive implementation of 
                national security laws to silence critics and political 
                opposition;
                    (B) show deference to the freedoms that Hong 
                Kongers continue to seek and are guaranteed under the 
                Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance;
                    (C) revise and amend the new Article 23 legislation 
                to ensure it is consistent with international human 
                rights standards; and
                    (D) vacate the convictions of those previously 
                charged with the national security law and 
                expeditiously release all political prisoners;
            (5) calls on the President of the United States to--
                    (A) exercise the authorities under the Hong Kong 
                Human Rights and Democracy Act (Public Law 116-76) to 
                employ targeted sanctions against those officials that 
                are complicit in using the provisions of the Article 23 
                legislation, or other legal authorities, to undermine 
                basic rights and freedoms in Hong Kong; and
                    (B) provide moral and diplomatic support to Hong 
                Kongers who face political threats, intimidation, or 
                imprisonment; and
            (6) encourages other members of the international community 
        to condemn the process of undermining the freedoms in Hong 
        Kong, in contravention to the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 
        1984, to impose targeted sanctions and to provide their full 
        support to Hong Kongers.
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