IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 636 

Condemning Beijing’s destruction of Hong Kong’s democracy and rule of 

law. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Mrs. KIM of California (for herself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, 

Mr. BERA, and Mr. MEEKS) submitted the following resolution; which 

was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning Beijing’s destruction of Hong Kong’s democracy 

and rule of law. 

Whereas, in 1997, Great Britain handed Hong Kong over to 

Chinese rule under guarantees that Hong Kong would become a Special Administrative Region under the ‘‘one 

country, two systems’’ principle, pursuant to which Hong 

Kong’s Basic Law would apply and would enshrine ‘‘fundamental rights’’ of Hong Kong residents and a political 

structure, including an independent judiciary, the right to 

vote, and freedoms of assembly and speech, among others; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

(PRC) has repeatedly undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy since the 1997 handover, including actions which reVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jul 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR636.IH HR636

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•HRES 636 IH 

sulted in political protests in Hong Kong, including the 

Umbrella Movement in 2014, a protest against Beijing’s 

attempt to reform Hong Kong’s electoral system, and the 

2019–2020 protests, which opposed the Hong Kong Government’s attempt to implement an extradition law that 

would have subjected Hong Kongers to prosecution in 

mainland China; 

Whereas the Hong Kong Police Force used excessive force to 

try to quell the 2019–2020 protestors, many of whom 

were under the age of 30; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

responded to these protests by passing and implementing 

the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special 

Administrative Region (commonly referred to as the 

‘‘Hong Kong national security law’’) a vaguely defined 

criminal statute that includes overly broad charges and 

extraterritorial reach to punish people for exercising their 

fundamental rights and freedoms; 

Whereas, since its enactment in June 2020, this law has been 

used by the Government of the People’s Republic of 

China as a pretext to crack down on legitimate and 

peaceful expression, including the exercise of freedoms of 

assembly, speech, and religious belief provided for under 

the Basic Law, to replace the Hong Kong legislature with 

individuals loyal to the Chinese Communist Party, and to 

pass new immigration laws that subject Hong Kong citizens and residents, as well as PRC nationals and foreign 

nationals, to exit bans in Hong Kong similar to those implemented in mainland China; 


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•HRES 636 IH 

Whereas more than 200 people have been arrested under the 

Hong Kong national security law since its enactment in 

June 2020; 

Whereas, at least 47 individuals known collectively as the 

Hong Kong 47, including Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Joshua 

Wong Chi-fung, are facing national security charges for 

organizing or participating in a peaceful unofficial primary election, many of whom have been held in lengthy 

pretrial detention; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

is using the Hong Kong national security law to harass, 

target, and threaten non-Hong Kong citizens and those 

outside of Hong Kong, based upon unsubstantiated and 

vague allegations of ‘‘endangering national security’’; 

Whereas, Jimmy Lai, a 75-year-old Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate and media entrepreneur, has been targeted 

and persecuted for decades, most recently through multiple prosecutions, including related to exercising his 

rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of 

expression, his sentencing to over five years in prison 

under politically motivated fraud charges and the seizure 

of his multimillion dollar independent media organization 

Apple Daily by the Hong Kong authorities; 

Whereas Mr. Lai is now one of the highest profile cases facing trial under vaguely defined charges under the socalled ‘‘national security law’’; 

Whereas Cardinal Zen, a 90-year-old Roman Catholic cardinal, and five other colleagues were found guilty of politically motivated charges related to failing to register a 

humanitarian fund that helped anti-government protesters; 


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•HRES 636 IH 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China’s 

undermining of democracy in Hong Kong has ramifications for the international order, including with regard to 

the future of Taiwan; 

Whereas the Hong Kong Government has conducted a public 

relations campaign to convince global business leaders 

that Hong Kong remains a critical and attractive international financial center, while simultaneously undermining the independence of institutions that encouraged 

its growth over the past several decades; 

Whereas Hong Kong still maintains a separate voting share 

from the People’s Republic of China at many multilateral 

organizations—including the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the Financial Action Task Force, the 

International Olympic Committee, and the World Trade 

Organization—effectively doubling the People’s Republic 

of China’s voting power at these critical institutions; and 

Whereas the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act 

(Public Law 116–76; 22 U.S.C. 5701 note), signed into 

law in November 2019, requires the President to use 

sanctions to promote accountability for those responsible 

for certain conduct that undermines fundamental freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the Government of the People’s 

3 Republic of China’s ‘‘Hong Kong national security 

4 law’’ and related human rights abuses; 

5 (2) urges all governments that value democracy 

6 or autonomy to hold the Chinese Communist Party 


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•HRES 636 IH 

1 accountable for its destruction of Hong Kong’s au2 tonomy, rule of law, and freedoms; 

3 (3) supports the people of Hong Kong as they 

4 fight to exercise fundamental rights and freedoms, 

5 as enumerated by— 

6 (A) the Joint Declaration of the Govern7 ment of the United Kingdom of Great Britain 

8 and Northern Ireland and the Government of 

9 the People’s Republic of China on the Question 

10 of Hong Kong, done at Beijing December 19, 

11 1984; 

12 (B) the International Covenant on Civil 

13 and Political Rights, done at New York Decem14 ber 19, 1966; and 

15 (C) the Universal Declaration of Human 

16 Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948; 

17 (4) condemns the Government of the People’s 

18 Republic of China’s practice of bringing false and 

19 politically motivated charges, such as fraud, against 

20 Hong Kongers in order to tarnish their reputations 

21 in advance of their national security law trials; 

22 (5) calls upon the Hong Kong Government to 

23 immediately drop all sedition and national security 

24 law-related charges, including those against the 


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•HRES 636 IH 

1 Hong Kong 47, Jimmy Lai, and Cardinal Zen, and 

2 free all defendants immediately; 

3 (6) expresses extreme concern about the Gov4 ernment of the People’s Republic of China’s State5 directed theft of Apple Daily, and holds that Hong 

6 Kong no longer has credibility as an international 

7 business center due to the erosion of the regulatory 

8 and legal environments that have promoted its eco9 nomic growth for decades; 

10 (7) encourages the United States Government 

11 and other governments to take steps at multilateral 

12 institutions to ensure that voting procedures recog13 nize that there is no longer a meaningful distinction 

14 between Hong Kong and mainland China; and 

15 (8) urges the United States Government to use 

16 all available tools, including those authorized by the 

17 Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, in 

18 response to the Government of the People’s Republic 

19 of China’s actions in Hong Kong. 

Æ 


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