[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5068-H5071]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICE (HKETO) CERTIFICATION ACT

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1103) to require the President to remove the extension of certain 
privileges, exemptions, and immunities to the Hong Kong Economic and 
Trade Offices if Hong Kong no longer enjoys a high degree of autonomy 
from the People's Republic of China, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1103

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Hong Kong Economic and Trade 
     Office (HKETO) Certification Act''.

     SEC. 2. DETERMINATION ON WHETHER TO EXTEND CERTAIN 
                   PRIVILEGES, EXEMPTIONS, AND IMMUNITIES TO THE 
                   HONG KONG ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICES IN THE 
                   UNITED STATES.

       (a) Determination Required.--Not later than 30 days after 
     the date of the enactment of this Act, and thereafter as part 
     of each certification required by the Secretary of State 
     under section 205(a)(1)(A) of the United States-Hong Kong 
     Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5725(a)(1)(A)), the Secretary 
     of State shall, as part of such certification, include a 
     separate determination that--
       (1) the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices--
       (A) merit extension and application of the privileges, 
     exemptions, and immunities specified in subsection (b); or
       (B) no longer merit extension and application of the 
     privileges, exemptions, and immunities specified in 
     subsection (b); and
       (2) a detailed report justifying that determination, which 
     may include considerations related to United States national 
     security interests.
       (b) Privileges, Exemptions, and Immunities Specified.--The 
     privileges, exemptions, and immunities specified in this 
     subsection are the privileges, exemptions, and immunities 
     extended and applied to the Hong Kong Economic and Trade 
     Offices under section 1 of the Act entitled ``An Act to 
     extend certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities to Hong 
     Kong Economic and Trade Offices'', approved June 27, 1997 (22 
     U.S.C. 288k).
       (c) Effect of Determination.--
       (1) Termination.--If the Secretary of State determines 
     under subsection (a)(1)(B) that the Hong Kong Economic and 
     Trade Offices no longer merit extension and application of 
     the privileges, exemptions, and immunities specified in 
     subsection (b), the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices 
     shall terminate operations not later than 180 days after the 
     date on which that determination is delivered to the 
     appropriate congressional committees, as part of the 
     certification required under section 205(a)(1)(A) of the 
     United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 
     5725(a)(1)(A)).
       (2) Continued operations.--If the Secretary of State 
     determines under subsection (a)(1)(A) that the Hong Kong 
     Economic and Trade Offices merit extension and application of 
     the privileges, exemptions, and immunities specified in 
     subsection (b), the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices may 
     continue operations for the one-year period following the 
     date of the certification that includes that determination or 
     until the next certification required under section 
     205(a)(1)(A) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 
     1992 (22 U.S.C. 5725(a)(1)(A)) is submitted, whichever occurs 
     first, unless a disapproval resolution is enacted under 
     subsection (d).
       (d) Congressional Review.--
       (1) Disapproval resolution.--In this subsection, the term 
     ``disapproval resolution'' means only a joint resolution of 
     either House of Congress--
       (A) the title of which is the following: ``A joint 
     resolution disapproving the certification by the President 
     that the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices continue to 
     merit extension and application of certain privileges, 
     exemptions, and immunities.''; and
       (B) the sole matter after the resolving clause of which is 
     the following: ``Congress disapproves of the certification by 
     the President under section 2(a)(1)(A) of the Hong Kong 
     Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act that the 
     Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices merit extension and 
     application of certain privileges, exemptions, and 
     immunities, on ___.'', with the blank space being filled with 
     the appropriate date.
       (2) Introduction.--A disapproval resolution may be 
     introduced--
       (A) in the House of Representatives, by the majority leader 
     or the minority leader; and
       (B) in the Senate, by the majority leader (or the majority 
     leader's designee) or the minority leader (or the minority 
     leader's designee).
       (3) Floor consideration in house of representatives.--If a 
     committee of the House of Representatives to which a 
     disapproval resolution has been referred has not reported the 
     resolution within 10 legislative days after the date of 
     referral, that committee shall be discharged from further 
     consideration of the resolution.
       (4) Consideration in senate.--
       (A) Committee referral.--A disapproval resolution 
     introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations.
       (B) Reporting and discharge.--If the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations of the Senate has not reported the resolution 
     within 10 legislative days after the date of referral of the 
     resolution, that committee shall be discharged from further 
     consideration of the resolution and the resolution shall be 
     placed on the appropriate calendar.

[[Page H5069]]

       (C) Proceeding to consideration.--Notwithstanding Rule XXII 
     of the Standing Rules of the Senate, it is in order at any 
     time after the Committee on Foreign Relations reports a 
     disapproval resolution to the Senate or has been discharged 
     from consideration of such a resolution (even though a 
     previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to 
     move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution, and 
     all points of order against the resolution (and against 
     consideration of the resolution) are waived. The motion to 
     proceed is not debatable. The motion is not subject to a 
     motion to postpone. A motion to reconsider the vote by which 
     the motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in 
     order.
       (D) Rulings of the chair on procedure.--Appeals from the 
     decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the 
     rules of the Senate, as the case may be, to the procedure 
     relating to a disapproval resolution shall be decided without 
     debate.
       (E) Consideration of veto messages.--Debate in the Senate 
     of any veto message with respect to a disapproval resolution, 
     including all debatable motions and appeals in connection 
     with the resolution, shall be limited to 10 hours, to be 
     equally divided between, and controlled by, the majority 
     leader and the minority leader or their designees.
       (5) Rules relating to senate and house of 
     representatives.--
       (A) Treatment of senate resolution in house.--In the House 
     of Representatives, the following procedures shall apply to a 
     disapproval resolution received from the Senate (unless the 
     House has already passed a resolution relating to the same 
     proposed action):
       (i) The resolution shall be referred to the appropriate 
     committees.
       (ii) If a committee to which a resolution has been referred 
     has not reported the resolution within 10 legislative days 
     after the date of referral, that committee shall be 
     discharged from further consideration of the resolution.
       (iii) Beginning on the third legislative day after each 
     committee to which a resolution has been referred reports the 
     resolution to the House or has been discharged from further 
     consideration thereof, it shall be in order to move to 
     proceed to consider the resolution in the House. All points 
     of order against the motion are waived. Such a motion shall 
     not be in order after the House has disposed of a motion to 
     proceed on the resolution. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without 
     intervening motion. The motion shall not be debatable. A 
     motion to reconsider the vote by which the motion is disposed 
     of shall not be in order.
       (iv) The resolution shall be considered as read. All points 
     of order against the resolution and against its consideration 
     are waived. The previous question shall be considered as 
     ordered on the resolution to final passage without 
     intervening motion except 2 hours of debate equally divided 
     and controlled by the offeror of the motion to proceed (or a 
     designee) and an opponent. A motion to reconsider the vote on 
     passage of the resolution shall not be in order.
       (B) Treatment of house resolution in senate.--
       (i) Received before passage of senate resolution.--If, 
     before the passage by the Senate of a disapproval resolution, 
     the Senate receives an identical resolution from the House of 
     Representatives, the following procedures shall apply:

       (I) That resolution shall not be referred to a committee.
       (II) With respect to that resolution--

       (aa) the procedure in the Senate shall be the same as if no 
     resolution had been received from the House of 
     Representatives; but
       (bb) the vote on passage shall be on the resolution from 
     the House of Representatives.
       (ii) Received after passage of senate resolution.--If, 
     following passage of a disapproval resolution in the Senate, 
     the Senate receives an identical resolution from the House of 
     Representatives, that resolution shall be placed on the 
     appropriate Senate calendar.
       (iii) No senate companion.--If a disapproval resolution is 
     received from the House of Representatives, and no companion 
     resolution has been introduced in the Senate, the Senate 
     procedures under this subsection shall apply to the 
     resolution from the House of Representatives.
       (C) Application to revenue measures.--The provisions of 
     this subparagraph shall not apply in the House of 
     Representatives to a disapproval resolution that is a revenue 
     measure.
       (6) Rules of house of representatives and senate.--This 
     paragraph is enacted by Congress--
       (A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate 
     and the House of Representatives, respectively, and as such 
     is deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, 
     and supersedes other rules only to the extent that it is 
     inconsistent with such rules; and
       (B) with full recognition of the constitutional right of 
     either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the 
     procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and 
     to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that 
     House.
       (e) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
     ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Hong kong economic and trade offices.--The term ``Hong 
     Kong Economic and Trade Offices'' has the meaning given that 
     term in section 1(c) of the Act entitled ``An Act to extend 
     certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities to Hong Kong 
     Economic and Trade Offices'', approved June 27, 1997 (22 
     U.S.C. 288k).

     SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON CONTRACTING RELATING TO HONG KONG 
                   ECONOMIC AND TRADE OFFICES.

       (a) In General.--On and after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, an entity of the United States Government may enter 
     into an agreement or partnership with the Hong Kong Economic 
     and Trade Offices to promote tourism, culture, business, or 
     other matters relating to Hong Kong only if--
       (1) the Secretary of State has submitted to the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
     determination under section 2(a)(1)(A) that the Hong Kong 
     Economic and Trade Offices merit extension and application of 
     certain privileges, exemptions, and immunities;
       (2) a disapproval resolution under section 2(d) is not 
     enacted during the 90-day period following the submission of 
     that determination; and
       (3) the agreement or partnership does not promote efforts 
     by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 
     Region and the Government of the People's Republic of China--
       (A) to justify the dismantling of the autonomy of Hong Kong 
     and the freedoms and rule of law guaranteed by the Sino-
     British Joint Declaration of 1984; and
       (B) to portray within the United States the Government of 
     the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China as protecting the rule of 
     law or the human rights and civil liberties of the people of 
     Hong Kong.
       (b) Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices Defined.--In this 
     section, the term ``Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices'' 
     has the meaning given that term in section 1(c) of the Act 
     entitled ``An Act to extend certain privileges, exemptions, 
     and immunities to Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices'', 
     approved June 27, 1997 (22 U.S.C. 288k).

     SEC. 4. POLICY OF UNITED STATES ON PROMOTION OF AUTONOMY OF 
                   GOVERNMENT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL 
                   ADMINISTRATIVE REGION.

       It is the policy of the United States--
       (1) to ensure that entities of the United States Government 
     do not knowingly assist in the promotion of Hong Kong as a 
     free and autonomous city or the Government of the Hong Kong 
     Special Administrative Region as committed to protecting the 
     human rights of the people of Hong Kong or fully maintaining 
     the rule of law required for human rights and economic 
     prosperity as long as the Secretary of State continues to 
     determine under section 205(a)(1) of the United States-Hong 
     Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5725(a)(1)) that Hong Kong 
     does not enjoy a high degree of autonomy from the People's 
     Republic of China and does not warrant treatment under the 
     laws of the United States in the same manner as those laws 
     were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997;
       (2) to recognize that promotion of Hong Kong as described 
     in paragraph (1) should be considered propaganda for the 
     efforts of the People's Republic of China to dismantle rights 
     and freedom guaranteed to the residents of Hong Kong by the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 
     Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984;
       (3) to ensure that entities of the United States Government 
     do not engage in or assist with propaganda of the People's 
     Republic of China regarding Hong Kong; and
       (4) to engage with the Government of the Hong Kong Special 
     Administrative Region, through all relevant entities of the 
     United States Government, seeking the release of political 
     prisoners, the end of arbitrary detentions, the resumption of 
     a free press and fair and free elections open to all 
     candidates, and the restoration of an independent judiciary.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Barr) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.


                             General Leave

  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to 
include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1103, the Hong Kong 
Economic and Trade Office Certification Act introduced by the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
  Hong Kong was once a shining beacon in Asia and the gateway into 
China, known for its economic freedom, rule of law, and vibrant civil 
society. Tragically, this ended when the Chinese

[[Page H5070]]

Communist Party crushed democracy and free enterprise in Hong Kong.
  People of all walks of life, and much international capital, have 
fled this authoritarian wave, and the city has never been the same.
  We cannot allow the CCP to use Hong Kong's former legitimacy as a 
continuing gateway into U.S. systems. Both Secretary of State Pompeo 
and Secretary Blinken have certified that because of the Chinese 
Communist Party's control over Hong Kong's legislature, judicial 
system, and police force, Hong Kong can no longer be considered a 
separate entity from the People's Republic of China.
  We must adjust our treatment of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices 
to match the sad current reality.
  This bill would require the President to annually certify whether 
those offices should be covered by the International Organizations 
Immunities Act. If certification is not granted, they must terminate 
their operations in the United States.
  The bipartisan membership of the Foreign Affairs Committee voted 
unanimously in favor of this bill at our markup last year.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of our colleagues to support the Hong Kong 
Economic and Trade Office Certification Act, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1103, the Hong Kong 
Economic and Trade Office Certification Act, as amended.
  This bill recognizes that Beijing has ripped apart any credible 
notion of Hong Kong's autonomy and has undone the ``one country, two 
systems'' framework. In doing so, Beijing betrayed not only the people 
of Hong Kong but the commitments it made to the whole world.
  Hong Kong is no longer a bastion of the rule of law, no longer a 
place of political freedom, and no longer a place where opinions can be 
voiced freely. Today, over 1,800 political prisoners sit behind bars. 
Trials are held in secret, and justice is sent to mainland China. The 
freedoms once cherished in Hong Kong are disappearing rapidly.
  The bill in front of us today calls on the President to determine 
whether the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United States 
should continue to get the privileges, exemptions, and immunities which 
were offered based on Hong Kong's distinct autonomous status. After 
all, why should we treat Hong Kong as different from China now when the 
Chinese Communist Party is tightening its grip over Hong Kong's 
political and governing system?
  This bill is timely and necessary. As we move forward, it is critical 
the State Department has the ability to assist both the hundreds of 
U.S. businesses operating and the over 80,000 American citizens living 
in Hong Kong. We need to make sure that our actions aren't indirectly 
strengthening Beijing's grip on Hong Kong's politics or its governance.
  I had proposed changes to this legislation during our markup to 
address some of these concerns, but, unfortunately, these were not 
accepted by the majority.
  After this bill passes, I hope that the executive branch and Congress 
can consider these issues together in a bipartisan manner so that we 
have one voice and so that with that one voice we may hold Beijing and 
Hong Kong accountable and protect American interests with one voice.
  Finally, I will thank Representatives Chris Smith for all of his hard 
work on the bill as well as Representative  Jim McGovern for 
introducing this important piece of legislation. In that spirit, I 
encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is a tireless champion for human rights. He is 
the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, 
Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, and he is the 
author of this bill.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for 
yielding, and I thank him for his leadership, as well as the leadership 
of Mr. Meeks and, of course, Chairman McCaul.
  As the prime author of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, 
which I first introduced in 2014 when the umbrella revolution was 
occurring, many of us thought that if we did not take definitive 
actions, then Hong Kong would be lost.
  Unfortunately, Congress refused for years to bring up that bill. We 
did get it enacted into law, but it was a day late and a dollar short. 
However, this legislation, H.R. 1103, is a necessary next step in 
tangibly demonstrating our solidarity with the persecuted citizens of 
Hong Kong.
  I want to thank  Jim McGovern, my friend and colleague, for 
cosponsoring it. It is a bipartisan bill, and, again, I appreciate Mr. 
Meeks' statement just a moment ago.
  At one time, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United 
States represented a city whose prosperity was based on its protection 
of fundamental human rights and freedom of the Hong Kong people.
  The U.S. gifted these offices, commonly known as HKETOs for short, 
with diplomatic privileges and immunities on the assumption that Hong 
Kong would remain free from Communist rule. However, 3 years after the 
CCP imposed the national security law on Hong Kong, we must deal with 
this new reality. The Hong Kong all of us knew, loved, and respected is 
gone. The city that was once a bastion of freedom in a sea of 
oppression is now governed by CCP puppets who have become as repressive 
as their masters in Beijing.
  Hong Kong unjustly detains political prisoners at a rate only 
surpassed by a handful of dictatorships such as Belarus and Burma. 
There are over 1,000 political prisoners in Hong Kong today. Renowned 
pro-democracy figures like Jimmy Lai--I actually chaired a hearing 
where we heard from his son, Sebastien, pleading with the world to 
speak up on behalf of his father--is now languishing in prison.
  Joshua Wong, whom we all met with during the great days when it 
looked like democracy was going to be protected, he, too, is 
languishing, as well as Tonyee Chow and so many others who are living 
in these horrible gulags in Hong Kong.

                              {time}  1745

  But most of Hong Kong's political prisoners actually are unknown. 
They are university and high school students, medical workers, first 
responders, lawyers, teachers, moms and dads, businesspeople, 
journalists, and municipal policymakers jailed and sometimes tortured 
for peacefully demonstrating and organizing to protect democracy and 
human rights.
  The HKETOs are complicit in persecuting them. These offices serve as 
Beijing's propaganda arm in the United States, defending and 
dismantling the freedom of Hong Kong and obscuring the truth.
  In addition, HKETOs help the Chinese Communist Party track exiled 
Hong Kong activists in our own country. Anna Kwok, the executive 
director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, testified at one of my 
China hearings and made very clear that they are using these so-called 
economic leaders to track individuals and to hold family members and 
the like responsible back in the PRC as well as to put bounties on 
these individuals.
  This must stop, Mr. Speaker. The United States should not be granting 
diplomatic privileges and immunities to a network of Communist spies 
and propagandists.
  I spent a whole day reading each of the three HKETO websites. It was 
filled--overflowing with lies and deception, especially about the 
National Security Act, which is as draconian as any law that has ever 
been enacted.
  I do hope Members will support this. Even during last year's Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, who was 
organizing the counterprotests to the wonderful men and women of Hong 
Kong simply demanding freedom and democracy? Yes. It was HKETO there.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support H.R. 1103.
  Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, over the last year alone, we have seen Beijing and Hong 
Kong authorities crack down further on dissent and free expression at 
home and abroad.
  In March, they enacted national security legislation under article 23 
of

[[Page H5071]]

the Basic Law to once again fundamentally erode the rights and freedoms 
of Hong Kongers.
  I am also especially concerned about Beijing's use of transnational 
repression on our shores, where we have seen democracy advocates, 
including a U.S. citizen, charged under the national security law, with 
rewards offered for their capture.
  This bill is necessary right now because we need to ensure that Hong 
Kong's economic and trade offices in the United States are not being 
used by Beijing to execute its transnational repression here in the 
United States against those simply standing for freedom and democracy.
  I hope all of our colleagues will join all of us here on the floor in 
supporting this timely and important bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the 
purpose of closing.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Smith as well as Mr. McGovern and their 
bipartisan cosponsors for bringing this bill forward.
  The tragedy that has unfolded in Hong Kong and the ripping up of an 
international treaty by the Chinese Communist Party is a stark lesson 
that Beijing cannot be trusted, which we have to learn, especially when 
it comes to deterrence in Taiwan. We cannot allow what happened in Hong 
Kong to happen to the democracy in Taiwan.
  We also cannot allow the Chinese Communist Party to use Hong Kong's 
economic and trade offices as a back door into the United States. They 
must not be able to use the preferential treatment previously afforded 
to the city and society they continue to brutalize and oppress.
  For these and many other reasons, I urge all Members to vote in favor 
of H.R. 1103, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 1103, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

                          ____________________