IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 153 

Expressing concern over the detainment of Sandy Phan-Gillis, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2017 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself and Mr. POE of Texas) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing concern over the detainment of Sandy PhanGillis, and for other purposes. 

Whereas Sandy Phan-Gillis, a naturalized United States citizen of Chinese ancestry and Texas businesswoman, has 

been detained by the Chinese State Security since March 

2015; 

Whereas Sandy traveled to China to promote business opportunities in her hometown of Houston, Texas; 

Whereas Sandy was detained by Chinese security agents as 

she was passing through an immigration control connecting mainland China with Macau; 


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•HRES 153 IH 

Whereas Chinese authorities held Sandy for six months in 

solitary confinement; 

Whereas Sandy was denied access to a lawyer for over a year; 

Whereas Sandy was hospitalized twice while in detention, and 

suffers from several serious medical conditions; 

Whereas in June 2016, a United Nations panel ruled that 

China had violated international human rights by denying 

Sandy access to legal assistance and holding her without 

bringing her before judicial authorities, the first time in 

its history that the U.N. has ruled that an American citizen had been arbitrarily detained by China; 

Whereas Sandy is accused of spying on China from 1996 to 

1998; 

Whereas Sandy’s passport for 1996 had no Chinese visa, no 

Chinese entry stamps, and no Chinese exit stamps; 

Whereas Sandy’s pay stubs from the Houston Police Department, where she worked from 1993 to 1998, showed that 

during the time in question she took a total of 11 hours 

of vacation; 

Whereas Sandy has denied any wrongdoing and said her detention was political and not criminal, according to a letter transcribed by a United States consular official in 

China; 

Whereas China has provided little information about its allegations, saying only that she is suspected of stealing and 

spying on its national secrets and that over a year after 

her initial detention a new crime of espionage was uncovered; 


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•HRES 153 IH 

Whereas the Department of State has said consular officials 

meet every month with Phan-Gillis and are monitoring 

the case closely; and 

Whereas the father of Sandy Phan-Gillis is currently hospitalized in intensive care, and would benefit from his 

daughter’s presence: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) expresses its ongoing concern about the de3 taining of Sandy Phan-Gillis in Guangxi Province, 

4 People’s Republic of China, since March 2015; 

5 (2) encourages the Department of State and 

6 the intelligence community to jointly continue inves7 tigations and to consider all plausible explanations 

8 for Sandy’s detainment; 

9 (3) urges the Department of State and the in10 telligence community to coordinate investigations 

11 with the Government of the People’s Republic of 

12 China and solicit information from appropriate re13 gional affairs and law enforcement experts on plau14 sible explanations for Sandy’s detainment; 

15 (4) requests that the Department of State and 

16 the intelligence community continue to work with 

17 and inform Congress and the family of Sandy Phan18 Gillis on efforts to recover Sandy and to resolve her 

19 detainment; and 


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•HRES 153 IH 

1 (5) requests the immediate release of Sandy 

2 Phan-Gillis by the Government of the People’s Re3 public of China. 

Æ 


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