105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 750

AN ACT

To support the autonomous governance of Hong

of China.Kong after its reversion to the People’s Republic
105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 750

AN ACT

To support the autonomous governance of Hong Kong after

its reversion to the People’s Republic of China.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•HR 750 EH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Hong Kong Reversion

3 Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.

5 The purpose of this Act is to support the autonomous

6 governance of Hong Kong and the future well-being of the

7 Hong Kong people by ensuring the continuity of United

8 States laws with respect to Hong Kong after its reversion

9 to the People’s Republic of China on July 1, 1997, and

10 to outline circumstances under which the President of the

11 United States could modify the application of United

12 States laws with respect to Hong Kong if the People’s Re13 public of China fails to honor its commitment to give the

14 Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong a high de15 gree of autonomy.

16 SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

17 The Congress makes the following findings:

18 (1) The Joint Declaration of the Government of

19 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

20 Ireland and the Government of the People’s Repub21 lic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, done at

22 Beijing on December 19, 1984, is a binding inter23 national agreement which sets forth the commit24 ments made by both governments on the reversion of

25 Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China on

26 July 1, 1997.
3

•HR 750 EH

1 (2) The People’s Republic of China in the Joint

2 Declaration pledges, among other things, that ‘‘the

3 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will enjoy

4 a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and

5 defence affairs . . .,’’ that basic human rights and

6 freedoms ‘‘will be ensured by law . . .,’’ and that

7 ‘‘[t]he legislature of the Hong Kong Special Admin8 istrative Region shall be constituted by elections.’’.

9 (3) Senior government officials of the People’s

10 Republic of China have repeatedly assured a smooth

11 transfer of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, a

12 successful implementation of the ‘‘one country, two

13 systems’’ policy, long-term prosperity for Hong

14 Kong, and continued respect for the basic rights of

15 the Hong Kong people.

16 (4) Despite general assertions guaranteeing the

17 autonomous governance of Hong Kong, several offi18 cial acts and statements by senior officials of the

19 Government of the People’s Republic of China re20 flect an attempt to infringe upon the current and fu21 ture levels of autonomy in Hong Kong. These acts

22 or statements include, but are not limited to—

23 (A) initial proposals, which were later

24 withdrawn, by officials of the Government of
4

•HR 750 EH

1 the People’s Republic of China to obtain con2 fidential files on civil servants of the Hong

3 Kong Government or require such civil servants

4 to take ‘‘loyalty oaths’’;

5 (B) the decision of the Government of the

6 People’s Republic of China to dissolve the

7 democratically elected Legislative Council on

8 July 1, 1997, and the appointment of a provi9 sional legislature in December of 1996;

10 (C) the delineation by officials concerning

11 the types of speech and association which will

12 be permitted by the Government of the People’s

13 Republic of China after the reversion;

14 (D) initial warnings, which were later with15 drawn, to religious institutions not to hold cer16 tain gatherings after the reversion; and

17 (E) the decision on February 23, 1997, of

18 the Standing Committee of the National Peo19 ple’s Congress of the People’s Republic of

20 China to repeal or amend certain Hong Kong

21 ordinances, including the Bill of Rights Ordi22 nance, the Societies Ordinance of 1992 (relat23 ing to freedom of association), and the Public

24 Order Ordinance of 1995 (relating to freedom

25 of assembly).
5

•HR 750 EH

1 (5) The reversion of Hong Kong to the People’s

2 Republic of China has important implications for

3 both United States national interests and the inter4 ests of the Hong Kong people. The United States

5 Government has a responsibility to ensure that Unit6 ed States interests are protected during and after

7 this transition, and it has a profound interest in en8 suring that basic and fundamental human rights of

9 the Hong Kong people are also protected.

10 (6) The United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of

11 1992 sets forth United States policy concerning

12 Hong Kong’s reversion to the People’s Republic of

13 China on July 1, 1997, and Hong Kong’s special

14 status as a Special Administrative Region of that

15 country. It ensures the continuity of United States

16 laws regarding Hong Kong while establishing a

17 mechanism in section 202 of that Act whereby the

18 President can modify the application of United

19 States laws with respect to Hong Kong if the Presi20 dent ‘‘determines that Hong Kong is not sufficiently

21 autonomous to justify treatment under a particular

22 law of the United States, or any provision thereof,

23 different from that accorded the People’s Republic

24 of China’’.
6

•HR 750 EH

1 (7) One of the principal purposes of the Con2 gress in enacting the United States Hong Kong Pol3 icy Act of 1992 was to maintain Hong Kong’s au4 tonomy by ensuring that the United States will con5 tinue to treat Hong Kong as a distinct legal entity,

6 separate and apart from the People’s Republic of

7 China, for all purposes, in those areas in which the

8 People’s Republic of China has agreed that Hong

9 Kong will continue to enjoy a high degree of auton10 omy, unless the President makes a determination

11 under section 202 of that Act.

12 (8) Although the United States Government

13 can have an impact on ensuring the future auton14 omy of the Hong Kong Government and in protect15 ing the well-being of the Hong Kong people, ulti16 mately the future of Hong Kong will be determined

17 by the willingness of the Government of the People’s

18 Republic of China to maintain the freedoms now en19 joyed by the people of Hong Kong and to rely on the

20 people of Hong Kong to govern themselves.

21 SEC. 4. CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATIONS.

22 The Congress makes the following declarations:

23 (1) Recognizing that the United States Govern24 ment and the Hong Kong Government have long en25 joyed a close and beneficial working relationship, for
7

•HR 750 EH

1 example between the United States Customs Service,

2 the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug En3 forcement Administration, the Immigration and Nat4 uralization Service, the Secret Service, and their cor5 responding agencies of the Hong Kong Government,

6 the United States urges the two governments to con7 tinue their effective cooperation.

8 (2) Recognizing that the preservation of Hong

9 Kong’s autonomous customs territory has important

10 security and commercial implications for the United

11 States and the people of Hong Kong, the United

12 States calls upon the People’s Republic of China to

13 fully respect the autonomy of the Hong Kong cus14 toms territory.

15 (3) Recognizing that Hong Kong has histori16 cally been an important port of call for United

17 States naval vessels, the United States urges the

18 Government of the People’s Republic of China to

19 consider in a timely and routine manner United

20 States requests for port calls at Hong Kong.

21 (4) Recognizing that Hong Kong enjoys a ro22 bust and professional free press with important
8

•HR 750 EH

1 guarantees on the freedom of information, the Unit2 ed States declares that a free press and access to in3 formation are fundamentally important to the eco4 nomic and commercial success of Hong Kong and

5 calls upon the Government of the People’s Republic

6 of China to fully respect these essential rights of the

7 Hong Kong people.

8 (5) Recognizing that the first fully democratic

9 elections of a legislature in Hong Kong took place

10 in 1995, following nearly 150 years of colonial rule,

11 the United States recognizes that the Joint Declara12 tion of 1984 requires that the Special Administrative

13 Region legislature ‘‘shall be constituted by elec14 tions’’, declares that the failure to have an elected

15 legislature would be a violation of the Joint Declara16 tion of 1984, and calls upon the Government of the

17 People’s Republic of China to honor its treaty obli18 gations.

19 (6) Recognizing that the United Kingdom belat20 edly reformed Hong Kong laws with respect to the

21 civil rights of the Hong Kong people, the Hong

22 Kong people have nevertheless long enjoyed essential

23 rights and freedoms as enumerated in the Universal

24 Declaration of Human Rights; therefore, the United

25 States declares that the decision of the National
9

•HR 750 EH

1 People’s Congress to repeal or amend certain ordi2 nances is a serious threat to the Hong Kong people’s

3 continued enjoyment of their freedom of association,

4 speech, and other essential human rights, unless

5 those rights are reestablished no later than July 1,

6 1997, and calls upon the National People’s Congress

7 to reconsider its decision.

8 (7) Recognizing that under the terms of the

9 Joint Declaration of 1984 the provisions of the

10 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

11 will continue to apply in Hong Kong, the United

12 States welcomes the public statement by the Chief

13 Executive-designate of Hong Kong that the legisla14 tion which will replace repealed or amended sections

15 of the Societies Ordinance and Public Order Ordi16 nance will be the subject of public consultation, and

17 urges that the new legislation should reflect both the

18 clearly expressed wishes of the people of Hong Kong

19 and the provisions of the International Covenant on

20 Civil and Political Rights.

21 (8) Recognizing that Hong Kong currently

22 maintains an efficient capitalist economy and trade

23 system by strictly adhering to the rule of law, by

24 honoring the sanctity of contract, and by operating
10

•HR 750 EH

1 without corruption and with minimum and trans2 parent regulation, the United States calls upon the

3 Government of the People’s Republic of China to

4 fully respect the autonomy and independence of the

5 chief executive, the civil service, the judiciary, the

6 police of Hong Kong, and the Independent Commis7 sion Against Corruption.

8 SEC. 5. PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION UNDER SECTION

9 202 OF THE UNITED STATES-HONG KONG POL10 ICY ACT OF 1992 AND ADDITIONAL REPORT11 ING REQUIREMENTS.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—In determining whether ‘‘Hong

13 Kong is not sufficiently autonomous to justify treatment

14 under a particular law of the United States, or any provi15 sion thereof, different from that accorded the People’s Re16 public of China,’’ as required by section 202(a) of the

17 United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, the Presi18 dent of the United States, based upon the assessments

19 made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, as well

20 as other information included in the reports submitted

21 under section 301 of the United States-Hong Kong Policy

22 Act of 1992, shall consider the performance of the Hong

23 Kong Government and the actions of the Government of

24 the People’s Republic of China.
11

•HR 750 EH

1 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—

2 The Secretary of State shall include, in each report re3 quired by section 301 of the United States-Hong Kong

4 Policy Act of 1992, the following:

5 (1) SUCCESSFUL AND TIMELY CONCLUSION OF

6 AGREEMENTS AND TREATIES.—An assessment by

7 the Secretary of State of whether the Hong Kong

8 Government or the People’s Republic of China, or

9 both, as the case may be, have cooperated with the

10 United States Government in securing the following

11 agreements or treaties:

12 (A) A bilateral investment treaty.

13 (B) An extradition treaty.

14 (C) An agreement on consular access in

15 Hong Kong for United States citizens com16 parable to that provided for in the consular con17 vention between the United States and the Peo18 ple’s Republic of China.

19 (D) An agreement to preserve the United

20 States consulate, with privileges and immunities

21 for United States personnel.

22 (E) A mutual legal assistance agreement.

23 (F) A prison transfer agreement.

24 (G) A civil aviation agreement.
12

•HR 750 EH

1 (2) CONTINUED COOPERATION FROM THE

2 AGENCIES OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT.—An

3 assessment by the Secretary of State of whether

4 agencies of the Hong Kong Government continue to

5 cooperate with United States Government agencies.

6 The Secretary of State shall cite in the report any

7 evidence of diminished cooperation in the areas of

8 customs enforcement, drug interdiction, and pros9 ecution and prevention of money laundering, coun10 terfeiting, credit card fraud, and organized crime.

11 (3) PRESERVATION OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND

12 RULE OF LAW IN HONG KONG.—An assessment by

13 the Secretary of State of whether the Hong Kong

14 Government remains autonomous and relatively free

15 of corruption and whether the rule of law is re16 spected in Hong Kong. The Secretary of State shall

17 cite in the report any—

18 (A) efforts to annul or curtail the applica19 tion of the Bill of Rights of Hong Kong;

20 (B) efforts to prosecute for violations of, or

21 broaden the application of, laws against trea22 son, secession, sedition, and subversion;

23 (C) acts or threats against nonviolent civil

24 disobedience;
13

•HR 750 EH

1 (D) interference in the autonomy of the

2 chief executive, the civil service, the judiciary,

3 or the police;

4 (E) increased corruption in the Hong Kong

5 Government; and

6 (F) efforts to suppress freedom of the

7 press or restrict the free flow of information.

8 (4) PRESERVATION OF THE AUTONOMY OF THE

9 CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF HONG KONG.—An assess10 ment by the Secretary of State of whether the cus11 toms territory of Hong Kong is administered in an

12 autonomous manner. The Secretary of State shall

13 cite in the report any—

14 (A) failure to respect United States textile

15 laws and quotas;

16 (B) failure to enforce United States export

17 control laws or export license requirements;

18 (C) unauthorized diversions from Hong

19 Kong of high technology exports from the Unit20 ed States to Hong Kong;

21 (D) unprecedented diversion of Chinese ex22 ports through Hong Kong in order to attain

23 preferential treatment in United States mar24 kets; and
14

•HR 750 EH

1 (E) misuse of the customs territory of

2 Hong Kong to implement the foreign policy or

3 trade goals of the Government of the People’s

4 Republic of China.

5 SEC. 6. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN PRIVILEGES, EXEMPTIONS,

6 AND IMMUNITIES TO HONG KONG ECONOMIC

7 AND TRADE OFFICES.

8 (a) APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZA9 TIONS IMMUNITIES ACT.—The provisions of the Inter10 national Organizations Immunities Act (22 U.S.C. 288 et

11 seq.) may be extended to the Hong Kong Economic and

12 Trade Offices in the same manner, to the same extent,

13 and subject to the same conditions as such provisions may

14 be extended to a public international organization in which

15 the United States participates pursuant to any treaty or

16 under the authority of any Act of Congress authorizing

17 such participation or making an appropriation for such

18 participation.

19 (b) APPLICATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT

20 ON CERTAIN STATE AND LOCAL TAXATION.—The Presi21 dent is authorized to apply the provisions of Article I of

22 the Agreement on State and Local Taxation of Foreign

23 Employees of Public International Organizations, done at

24 Washington, D.C. on April 21, 1994, to the Hong Kong

25 Economic and Trade Offices.
15

•HR 750 EH

1 (c) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘Hong Kong Economic

2 and Trade Offices’’ refers to Hong Kong’s official eco3 nomic and trade missions in the United States.

Passed the House of Representatives March 11,

1997.

Attest:

Clerk.