[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 636 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 636

 Condemning Beijing's destruction of Hong Kong's democracy and rule of 
                                  law.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2023

  Mrs. Kim of California (for herself, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Williams of 
  Texas, Mr. Bera, and Mr. Meeks) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning Beijing's destruction of Hong Kong's democracy and rule of 
                                  law.

Whereas, in 1997, Great Britain handed Hong Kong over to Chinese rule under 
        guarantees that Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region 
        under the ``one country, two systems'' principle, pursuant to which Hong 
        Kong's Basic Law would apply and would enshrine ``fundamental rights'' 
        of Hong Kong residents and a political structure, including an 
        independent judiciary, the right to vote, and freedoms of assembly and 
        speech, among others;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has repeatedly 
        undermined Hong Kong's autonomy since the 1997 handover, including 
        actions which resulted in political protests in Hong Kong, including the 
        Umbrella Movement in 2014, a protest against Beijing's attempt to reform 
        Hong Kong's electoral system, and the 2019-2020 protests, which opposed 
        the Hong Kong Government's attempt to implement an extradition law that 
        would have subjected Hong Kongers to prosecution in mainland China;
Whereas the Hong Kong Police Force used excessive force to try to quell the 
        2019-2020 protestors, many of whom were under the age of 30;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China responded to these 
        protests by passing and implementing the Law of the People's Republic of 
        China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special 
        Administrative Region (commonly referred to as the ``Hong Kong national 
        security law'') a vaguely defined criminal statute that includes overly 
        broad charges and extraterritorial reach to punish people for exercising 
        their fundamental rights and freedoms;
Whereas, since its enactment in June 2020, this law has been used by the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China as a pretext to crack down 
        on legitimate and peaceful expression, including the exercise of 
        freedoms of assembly, speech, and religious belief provided for under 
        the Basic Law, to replace the Hong Kong legislature with individuals 
        loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and to pass new immigration laws 
        that subject Hong Kong citizens and residents, as well as PRC nationals 
        and foreign nationals, to exit bans in Hong Kong similar to those 
        implemented in mainland China;
Whereas more than 200 people have been arrested under the Hong Kong national 
        security law since its enactment in June 2020;
Whereas, at least 47 individuals known collectively as the Hong Kong 47, 
        including Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Joshua Wong Chi-fung, are facing 
        national security charges for organizing or participating in a peaceful 
        unofficial primary election, many of whom have been held in lengthy 
        pretrial detention;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China is using the Hong Kong 
        national security law to harass, target, and threaten non-Hong Kong 
        citizens and those outside of Hong Kong, based upon unsubstantiated and 
        vague allegations of ``endangering national security'';
Whereas, Jimmy Lai, a 75-year-old Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate and media 
        entrepreneur, has been targeted and persecuted for decades, most 
        recently through multiple prosecutions, including related to exercising 
        his rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, 
        his sentencing to over five years in prison under politically motivated 
        fraud charges and the seizure of his multimillion dollar independent 
        media organization Apple Daily by the Hong Kong authorities;
Whereas Mr. Lai is now one of the highest profile cases facing trial under 
        vaguely defined charges under the so-called ``national security law'';
Whereas Cardinal Zen, a 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal, and five other 
        colleagues were found guilty of politically motivated charges related to 
        failing to register a humanitarian fund that helped anti-government 
        protesters;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China's undermining of 
        democracy in Hong Kong has ramifications for the international order, 
        including with regard to the future of Taiwan;
Whereas the Hong Kong Government has conducted a public relations campaign to 
        convince global business leaders that Hong Kong remains a critical and 
        attractive international financial center, while simultaneously 
        undermining the independence of institutions that encouraged its growth 
        over the past several decades;
Whereas Hong Kong still maintains a separate voting share from the People's 
        Republic of China at many multilateral organizations--including the Asia 
        Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the Financial Action Task Force, the 
        International Olympic Committee, and the World Trade Organization--
        effectively doubling the People's Republic of China's voting power at 
        these critical institutions; and
Whereas the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act (Public Law 116-76; 22 
        U.S.C. 5701 note), signed into law in November 2019, requires the 
        President to use sanctions to promote accountability for those 
        responsible for certain conduct that undermines fundamental freedoms and 
        autonomy in Hong Kong: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China's ``Hong Kong national security law'' and related human 
        rights abuses;
            (2) urges all governments that value democracy or autonomy 
        to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its 
        destruction of Hong Kong's autonomy, rule of law, and freedoms;
            (3) supports the people of Hong Kong as they fight to 
        exercise fundamental rights and freedoms, as enumerated by--
                    (A) the Joint Declaration of the Government of the 
                United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 
                and the Government of the People's Republic of China on 
                the Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing December 19, 
                1984;
                    (B) the International Covenant on Civil and 
                Political Rights, done at New York December 19, 1966; 
                and
                    (C) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, done 
                at Paris December 10, 1948;
            (4) condemns the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China's practice of bringing false and politically motivated 
        charges, such as fraud, against Hong Kongers in order to 
        tarnish their reputations in advance of their national security 
        law trials;
            (5) calls upon the Hong Kong Government to immediately drop 
        all sedition and national security law-related charges, 
        including those against the Hong Kong 47, Jimmy Lai, and 
        Cardinal Zen, and free all defendants immediately;
            (6) expresses extreme concern about the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China's State-directed theft of Apple 
        Daily, and holds that Hong Kong no longer has credibility as an 
        international business center due to the erosion of the 
        regulatory and legal environments that have promoted its 
        economic growth for decades;
            (7) encourages the United States Government and other 
        governments to take steps at multilateral institutions to 
        ensure that voting procedures recognize that there is no longer 
        a meaningful distinction between Hong Kong and mainland China; 
        and
            (8) urges the United States Government to use all available 
        tools, including those authorized by the Hong Kong Human Rights 
        and Democracy Act, in response to the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China's actions in Hong Kong.
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