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

<DOC>
H. Res. 422

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                      November 1, 2017.
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 Mighty 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 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''';
Whereas on November 15, 2016, the High Court ruled that the oaths taken by Yau 
        Wai-ching and Baggio Leung Chung-hang were invalid, and barred the two 
        from serving as members of the Legislative Council;
Whereas on December 16, 2016, then Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary 
        of Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung filed for judicial review of the oaths 
        taken by Lau Sui-lai, Nathan Law, Leung Kwok-hung, and Edward Yiu Chung-
        yim;
Whereas on July 14, 2017, the High Court ruled that the oaths taken by Lau Sui-
        lai, Nathan Law, Leung Kwok-hung, and Edward Yiu Chung-yim were invalid 
        and barred the four of them from serving as members of the Legislative 
        Council;
Whereas in August 2017, the Hong Kong Government appealed the original sentences 
        of three ``Umbrella Movement'' leaders, Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and 
        Alex Chow and asked for prison time after they had already completed 
        their previous community service sentences;
Whereas the Hong Kong Court of Appeal subsequently imposed prison sentences on 
        Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, and Alex Chow of 6, 7, and 8 months 
        respectively, which effectively bars them from running for political 
        office for 5 years; and
Whereas these developments have called into question Hong Kong's highly 
        developed rule of law, independent judiciary, and respect for individual 
        rights, which 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.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
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