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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1033 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 1033

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                     November 18, 2020.
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China (``PRC'') is legally 
        bound to guarantee the civil liberties of the people of Hong Kong 
        through 2047 and 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'' (hereafter the 
        ``Joint Declaration''), in which the People's Republic of China 
        committed that for 50 years, the basic policies would remain unchanged, 
        including keeping the ``social and economic systems in Hong Kong'' 
        unchanged;
Whereas Article 39 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong mandates that: ``The provisions 
        of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the 
        International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and 
        international labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in 
        force and shall be implemented through the laws of the Hong Kong Special 
        Administrative Region.'';
Whereas the Joint Declaration states that ``Rights and freedoms, including those 
        of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of 
        travel, of movement, of correspondence, of strike, of choice of 
        occupation, of academic research and of religious belief will be ensured 
        by law in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region'' and that those 
        rights are reiterated in Chapter III of the Basic Law;
Whereas Chapter III of the Basic Law of Hong Kong guarantees Hong Kong residents 
        other specific rights and freedoms, including--

    (1) freedom of speech, of the press, and of publication;

    (2) freedom of association, of assembly, of procession, and of 
demonstration;

    (3) the right and freedom to form and join trade unions and to strike;

    (4) freedom from arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention, or 
imprisonment;

    (5) freedom from arbitrary or unlawful search of, or intrusion into, a 
Hong Kong resident's home or other premises;

    (6) freedom and privacy of communication;

    (7) freedom of movement within the Hong Kong Special Administrative 
Region (``HKSAR'');

    (8) freedom of emigration to other countries and regions;

    (9) freedom of conscience; and

    (10) the right to institute legal proceedings in the courts against the 
acts of the executive authorities and their personnel;

Whereas the PRC National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) has 
        inserted a national security law directly into Annex III of the Basic 
        Law of Hong Kong, and said national security law is purportedly intended 
        to prevent and punish acts of ``separating the country, subverting state 
        power, and organizing terroristic activities'';
Whereas said action is a flagrant violation of Hong Kong's autonomy and rule of 
        law in that Article 18 of the Basic Law provides that laws included in 
        Annex III are ``confined to those relating to defense and foreign 
        affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of 
        the Region as specified by this Law'';
Whereas Article 11 of the Joint Declaration states that ``The maintenance of 
        public order in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be the 
        responsibility of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 
        Region'';
Whereas the national security law promulgated by the NPCSC violates Article 11 
        of the Joint Declaration by establishing PRC entities in Hong Kong with 
        powers over public order;
Whereas Article 23 further specifies that ``[Hong Kong] shall enact laws on its 
        own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion 
        against the Central People's Government'';
Whereas through a similar abuse of Annex III of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, the 
        PRC Government caused the adoption of the National Anthem Law in Hong 
        Kong, which curtails the freedom of speech and carries a maximum 
        sentence of 3 years, mirroring the extent of sentence under the People's 
        Republic of China Criminal Law;
Whereas the PRC Government's repeated and heavy-handed actions to undermine the 
        rule of law in Hong Kong and Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy will 
        only further escalate the ongoing protests and increase public 
        disapproval of the PRC and the HKSAR Government, jeopardizing Hong 
        Kong's future as an open and prosperous international city;
Whereas the full Chinese-language text of the national security legislation was 
        not revealed until the Hong Kong Chief Executive promulgated the law in 
        Hong Kong at 11 p.m. on June 30, 2020, making it only the second law 
        since 2008 that the NPCSC has passed without releasing a draft for 
        public comment; and
Whereas the imposition of this national security legislation, which undermines 
        the established rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents provided in 
        the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, constitutes a violation of 
        commitments made by the PRC under international law: Now, therefore, be 
        it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) underscores that democratic societies around the world stand in 
        solidarity with the people of Hong Kong, who face grave threats to their 
        inviolable rights and freedoms;
            (2) condemns the action by the People's Republic of China's National 
        People's Congress to advance national security legislation for Hong Kong 
        through irregular procedures, which constitutes a violation of the 
        letter and spirit of the Joint Declaration, and the Basic Law which is 
        the implementing document of the Joint Declaration;
            (3) asserts that such actions by the People's Republic of China 
        undermine its credibility within the international community, including 
        the People's Republic of China's credibility in honoring its commitments 
        to international agreements and respecting internationally recognized 
        human rights;
            (4) calls on the People's Republic of China to immediately rectify 
        provisions of the national security law inconsistent with the Joint 
        Declaration and other provisions of the Basic Law including--
                    (A) the judicial processes for national security cases; and
                    (B) the law's asserted extraterritorial jurisdiction; and
            (5) advises the President, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary 
        of Treasury to coordinate with allies and partners to respond to 
        developments in Hong Kong, including by--
                    (A) appointing a United Nations Special Envoy for Hong Kong;
                    (B) encouraging all relevant United Nations special 
                rapporteurs to closely monitor and report on People's Republic 
                of China's policies in Hong Kong, including the Special 
                Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, the Special 
                Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, 
                the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, the Special 
                Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the 
                Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human 
                rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, the 
                Special Rapporteur on torture, and the Working Group on 
                arbitrary detention;
                    (C) providing Hong Kong residents who face well-founded 
                fears of persecution an opportunity to emigrate from, or not be 
                compelled to return to, Hong Kong;
                    (D) condemning the People's Republic of China for 
                promulgating national security legislation in Hong Kong which 
                contravenes the Joint Declaration and the Basic Law; and
                    (E) establishing other measures, including economic 
                sanctions, to hold the People's Republic of China accountable 
                for contravention of international law and human rights norms 
                with respect to Hong Kong.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.
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