[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 138 (Friday, July 17, 2020)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 43413-43417]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15646]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 138 / Friday, July 17, 2020 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
Title 3--
The President
[[Page 43413]]
Executive Order 13936 of July 14, 2020
The President's Executive Order on Hong Kong
Normalization
By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, including the United States-Hong Kong Policy
Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-393), the Hong Kong Human
Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-76),
the Hong Kong Autonomy Act of 2020, signed into law
July 14, 2020, the International Emergency Economic
Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the
National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)
(NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section
301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, determine, pursuant to section 202 of the
United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, that the
Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
is no longer sufficiently autonomous to justify
differential treatment in relation to the People's
Republic of China (PRC or China) under the particular
United States laws and provisions thereof set out in
this order. In late May 2020, the National People's
Congress of China announced its intention to
unilaterally and arbitrarily impose national security
legislation on Hong Kong. This announcement was merely
China's latest salvo in a series of actions that have
increasingly denied autonomy and freedoms that China
promised to the people of Hong Kong under the 1984
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 (Joint Declaration). As a result,
on May 27, 2020, the Secretary of State announced that
the PRC had fundamentally undermined Hong Kong's
autonomy and certified and reported to the Congress,
pursuant to sections 205 and 301 of the United States-
Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, as amended, respectively,
that Hong Kong no longer warrants treatment under
United States law in the same manner as United States
laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997. On
May 29, 2020, I directed the heads of executive
departments and agencies (agencies) to begin the
process of eliminating policy exemptions under United
States law that give Hong Kong differential treatment
in relation to China.
China has since followed through on its threat to
impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.
Under this law, the people of Hong Kong may face life
in prison for what China considers to be acts of
secession or subversion of state power--which may
include acts like last year's widespread anti-
government protests. The right to trial by jury may be
suspended. Proceedings may be conducted in secret.
China has given itself broad power to initiate and
control the prosecutions of the people of Hong Kong
through the new Office for Safeguarding National
Security. At the same time, the law allows foreigners
to be expelled if China merely suspects them of
violating the law, potentially making it harder for
journalists, human rights organizations, and other
outside groups to hold the PRC accountable for its
treatment of the people of Hong Kong.
I therefore determine that the situation with respect
to Hong Kong, including recent actions taken by the PRC
to fundamentally undermine Hong Kong's autonomy,
constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat, which
has its source in substantial part outside the United
States, to the national security,
[[Page 43414]]
foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I
hereby declare a national emergency with respect to
that threat.
In light of the foregoing, I hereby determine and
order:
Section 1. It shall be the policy of the United States
to suspend or eliminate different and preferential
treatment for Hong Kong to the extent permitted by law
and in the national security, foreign policy, and
economic interest of the United States.
Sec. 2. Pursuant to section 202 of the United States-
Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5722), I hereby
suspend the application of section 201(a) of the United
States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, as amended (22
U.S.C. 5721(a)), to the following statutes:
(a) section 103 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (8
U.S.C. 1152 note);
(b) sections 203(c), 212(l), and 221(c) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as amended (8
U.S.C. 1153(c), 1182(l), and 1201(c), respectively);
(c) the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et
seq.);
(d) section 721(m) of the Defense Production Act of
1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. 4565(m));
(e) the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 (50
U.S.C. 4801 et seq.); and
(f) section 1304 of title 19, United States Code.
Sec. 3. Within 15 days of the date of this order, the
heads of agencies shall commence all appropriate
actions to further the purposes of this order,
consistent with applicable law, including, to:
(a) amend any regulations implementing those
provisions specified in section 2 of this order, and,
consistent with applicable law and executive orders,
under IEEPA, which provide different treatment for Hong
Kong as compared to China;
(b) amend the regulation at 8 CFR 212.4(i) to
eliminate the preference for Hong Kong passport holders
as compared to PRC passport holders;
(c) revoke license exceptions for exports to Hong
Kong, reexports to Hong Kong, and transfers (in-
country) within Hong Kong of items subject to the
Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Parts 730-
774, that provide differential treatment compared to
those license exceptions applicable to exports to
China, reexports to China, and transfers (in-country)
within China;
(d) consistent with section 902(b)(2) of the
Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990
and 1991 (Public Law 101-246), terminate the export
licensing suspensions under section 902(a)(3) of such
Act insofar as such suspensions apply to exports of
defense articles to Hong Kong persons who are
physically located outside of Hong Kong and the PRC and
who were authorized to receive defense articles prior
to the date of this order;
(e) give notice of intent to suspend the Agreement
Between the Government of the United States of America
and the Government of Hong Kong for the Surrender of
Fugitive Offenders (TIAS 98-121);
(f) give notice of intent to terminate the
Agreement Between the Government of the United States
of America and the Government of Hong Kong for the
Transfer of Sentenced Persons (TIAS 99-418);
(g) take steps to end the provision of training to
members of the Hong Kong Police Force or other Hong
Kong security services at the Department of State's
International Law Enforcement Academies;
(h) suspend continued cooperation undertaken
consistent with the now-expired Protocol Between the
U.S. Geological Survey of the Department of the
Interior of the United States of America and Institute
of Space and Earth Information Science of the Chinese
University of Hong Kong Concerning Scientific and
Technical Cooperation in Earth Sciences (TIAS 09-1109);
[[Page 43415]]
(i) take steps to terminate the Fulbright exchange
program with regard to China and Hong Kong with respect
to future exchanges for participants traveling both
from and to China or Hong Kong;
(j) give notice of intent to terminate the
agreement for the reciprocal exemption with respect to
taxes on income from the international operation of
ships effected by the Exchange of Notes Between the
Government of the United States of America and the
Government of Hong Kong (TIAS 11892);
(k) reallocate admissions within the refugee
ceiling set by the annual Presidential Determination to
residents of Hong Kong based on humanitarian concerns,
to the extent feasible and consistent with applicable
law; and
(l) propose for my consideration any further
actions deemed necessary and prudent to end special
conditions and preferential treatment for Hong Kong.
Sec. 4. All property and interests in property that are
in the United States, that hereafter come within the
United States, or that are or hereafter come within the
possession or control of any United States person, of
the following persons are blocked and may not be
transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise
dealt in:
(a) Any foreign person determined by the Secretary
of State, in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, or the Secretary of the Treasury, in
consultation with the Secretary of State:
(i) to be or have been involved, directly or indirectly, in the coercing,
arresting, detaining, or imprisoning of individuals under the authority of,
or to be or have been responsible for or involved in developing, adopting,
or implementing, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding
National Security in the Hong Kong Administrative Region;
(ii) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly
or indirectly, any of the following:
(A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or
institutions in Hong Kong;
(B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or
autonomy of Hong Kong;
(C) censorship or other activities with respect to Hong Kong that
prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or
assembly by citizens of Hong Kong, or that limit access to free and
independent print, online or broadcast media; or
(D) the extrajudicial rendition, arbitrary detention, or torture of any
person in Hong Kong or other gross violations of internationally recognized
human rights or serious human rights abuse in Hong Kong;
(iii) to be or have been a leader or official of:
(A) an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or
whose members have engaged in, any of the activities described in
subsections (a)(i), (a)(ii)(A), (a)(ii)(B), or (a)(ii)(C) of this section;
or
(B) an entity whose property and interests in property are blocked
pursuant to this order.
(iv) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial,
material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in
support of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked
pursuant to this section;
(v) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for
or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and
interests in property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
[[Page 43416]]
(vi) to be a member of the board of directors or a senior executive officer
of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant
to this section.
(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this
section apply except to the extent provided by
statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or
licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and
notwithstanding any contract entered into or any
license or permit granted before the date of this
order.
Sec. 5. I hereby determine that the making of donations
of the types of articles specified in section 203(b)(2)
of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the
benefit of any person whose property and interests in
property are blocked pursuant to section 4 of this
order would seriously impair my ability to deal with
the national emergency declared in this order, and I
hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 4
of this order.
Sec. 6. The prohibitions in section 4(a) of this order
include:
(a) the making of any contribution or provision of
funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of
any person whose property and interests in property are
blocked pursuant to section 4(a) of this order; and
(b) the receipt of any contribution or provision of
funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 7. The unrestricted immigrant and nonimmigrant
entry into the United States of aliens determined to
meet one or more of the criteria in section 4(a) of
this order, as well as immediate family members of such
aliens, or aliens determined by the Secretary of State
to be employed by, or acting as an agent of, such
aliens, would be detrimental to the interest of the
United States, and the entry of such persons into the
United States, as immigrants and nonimmigrants, is
hereby suspended. Such persons shall be treated as
persons covered by section 1 of Proclamation 8693 of
July 24, 2011 (Suspension of Entry of Aliens Subject to
United Nations Security Council Travel Bans and
International Emergency Economic Powers Act Sanctions).
The Secretary of State shall have the responsibility of
implementing this section pursuant to such conditions
and procedures as the Secretary has established or may
establish pursuant to Proclamation 8693.
Sec. 8. (a) Any transaction that evades or avoids, has
the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation
of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set
forth in this order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the
prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 9. Nothing in this order shall prohibit
transactions for the conduct of the official business
of the Federal Government by employees, grantees, or
contractors thereof.
Sec. 10. For the purposes of this order:
(a) the term ``person'' means an individual or
entity;
(b) the term ``entity'' means a government or
instrumentality of such government, partnership,
association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group,
subgroup, or other organization, including an
international organization;
(c) the term ``United States person'' means any
United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity
organized under the laws of the United States or any
jurisdiction within the United States (including
foreign branches), or any person in the United States;
and
(d) The term ``immediate family member'' means
spouses and children of any age.
Sec. 11. For those persons whose property and interests
in property are blocked pursuant to this order who
might have a constitutional presence in the United
States, I find that because of the ability to transfer
funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to
such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to
section 4 of this order would render those measures
[[Page 43417]]
ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these
measures to be effective in addressing the national
emergency declared in this order, there need be no
prior notice of a listing or determination made
pursuant to section 4 of this order.
Sec. 12. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to
take such actions, including adopting rules and
regulations, and to employ all powers granted to me by
IEEPA as may be necessary to implement this order. The
Secretary of the Treasury may, consistent with
applicable law, redelegate any of these functions
within the Department of the Treasury. All departments
and agencies of the United States shall take all
appropriate measures within their authority to
implement this order.
Sec. 13. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation
with the Secretary of State, is hereby authorized to
submit recurring and final reports to the Congress on
the national emergency declared in this order,
consistent with section 401(c) of the NEA (50 U.S.C.
1641(c)) and section 204(c) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C.
1703(c)).
Sec. 14. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed
to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.
Sec. 15. If, based on consideration of the terms,
obligations, and expectations expressed in the Joint
Declaration, I determine that changes in China's
actions ensure that Hong Kong is sufficiently
autonomous to justify differential treatment in
relation to the PRC under United States law, I will
reconsider the determinations made and actions taken
and directed under this order.
(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 14, 2020.
[FR Doc. 2020-15646
Filed 7-16-20; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3295-F0-P