IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1033 

Condemning acts by the People’s Republic of China and the Government 

of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that violate fundamental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents as well as acts 

that undermine Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 30, 2020 

Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BERA, Mr. 

YOHO, and Mr. MALINOWSKI) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning acts by the People’s Republic of China and 

the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that violate fundamental rights and freedoms 

of Hong Kong residents as well as acts that undermine 

Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

is legally bound to guarantee the civil liberties of the people of Hong Kong through 2047 under the Basic Law 

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 comVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:37 Jul 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1033.IH HR1033

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•HRES 1033 IH 

mitted that for 50 years, the ‘‘social and economic systems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged, and so will 

the life-style.’’; 

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 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; 

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

(9) freedom of conscience; and 


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•HRES 1033 IH 

(10) the right to institute legal proceedings in the 

courts against the acts of the executive authorities and 

their personnel; 

Whereas the Standing Committee of the National People’s 

Congress of the People’s Republic of China 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 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 Government of the People’s Republic of China 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 Chinese 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, jeopardizing Hong 


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•HRES 1033 IH 

Kong’s future as an open and prosperous international 

city; 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, would constitute a violation of commitments made by the People’s Republic of China under 

international law: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) underscores that democratic societies 

3 around the world stand in solidarity with the people 

4 of Hong Kong, who face grave threats to their invio5 lable rights and freedoms; 

6 (2) condemns the action by the People’s Repub7 lic of China’s National People’s Congress to advance 

8 national security legislation for Hong Kong through 

9 irregular procedures, which would constitute a viola10 tion of the letter and spirit of the Basic Law and 

11 the Joint Declaration; 

12 (3) asserts that such actions by the People’s 

13 Republic of China undermine the credibility of the 

14 People’s Republic of China within the international 

15 community, including the People’s Republic of Chi16 na’s credibility in honoring its commitments to inter17 national agreements and respecting internationally 

18 recognized human rights; 


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•HRES 1033 IH 

1 (4) urges the People’s Republic of China and 

2 the Hong Kong Government to refrain from imple3 mentation of this law or taking any action that 

4 abridges or curtails, in whole or in part, the rights 

5 of Hong Kong residents as established by the Joint 

6 Declaration and Basic Law; and 

7 (5) advises the President, the Secretary of 

8 State, and the Secretary of the Treasury to coordi9 nate with allies and partners to respond to develop10 ments in Hong Kong, including by— 

11 (A) appointing a United Nations Special 

12 Envoy for Hong Kong; 

13 (B) expanding the mandate of the United 

14 Nations Special Rapporteur to improve moni15 toring and reporting on People’s Republic of 

16 China’s policies in Hong Kong; 

17 (C) providing Hong Kong residents who 

18 face well-founded fears of persecution an oppor19 tunity to emigrate from, or not be compelled to 

20 return to, Hong Kong; 

21 (D) introducing other measures to urge the 

22 People’s Republic of China to refrain from pro23 mulgating national security legislation in Hong 

24 Kong which contravenes the Joint Declaration 

25 and the Basic Law; and 


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•HRES 1033 IH 

1 (E) establishing other measures, including 

2 economic sanctions, to hold the People’s Repub3 lic of China accountable for contravention of 

4 international law and human rights norms with 

5 respect to Hong Kong. 

Æ 


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