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, in-
cluding keeping the ‘‘social and economic systems in 
Hong Kong’’ unchanged; 
Whereas Article 39 of the Basic Law of Hong Kong man-
dates that: ‘‘The provisions of the International Covenant 
on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant 
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and inter-
national labour conventions as applied to Hong Kong 
shall remain in force and shall be implemented through 
the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re-
gion.’’; 
Whereas the Joint Declaration states that ‘‘Rights and free-
doms, 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
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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 guar-
antees Hong Kong residents other specific rights and 
freedoms, including— 
(1) freedom of speech, of the press, and of publica-
tion; 
(2) freedom of association, of assembly, of proces-
sion, and of demonstration; 
(3) the right and freedom to form and join trade 
unions and to strike; 
(4) freedom from arbitrary or unlawful arrest, de-
tention, 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 re-
gions; 
(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 Com-
mittee (NPCSC) has inserted a national security law di-
rectly into Annex III of the Basic Law of Hong Kong, 
and said national security law is purportedly intended to
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prevent and punish acts of ‘‘separating the country, sub-
verting 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 ‘‘con-
fined 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, se-
cession, 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 max-
imum sentence of 3 years, mirroring the extent of sen-
tence 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
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escalate the ongoing protests and increase public dis-
approval of the PRC and the HKSAR Government, jeop-
ardizing Hong Kong’s future as an open and prosperous 
international city; 
Whereas the full Chinese-language text of the national secu-
rity 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 commit-
ments 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 Dec-
laration;