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 
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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 
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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; 
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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 
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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 Kwokkeung 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 Kwokhung, 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 
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Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

(1) recognizes, consistent with the United StatesHong 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; 
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(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.