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 be-
come a Special Administrative Region under the ‘‘one 
country, two systems’’ principle, pursuant to which Hong 
Kong’s Basic Law would apply and would enshrine ‘‘fun-
damental rights’’ of Hong Kong residents and a political 
structure, including an independent judiciary, the right to 
vote, and freedoms of assembly and speech, among oth-
ers; 
Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 
(PRC) has repeatedly undermined Hong Kong’s auton-
omy since the 1997 handover, including actions which re-
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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 Gov-
ernment’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 Safe-
guarding 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 citi-
zens and residents, as well as PRC nationals and foreign 
nationals, to exit bans in Hong Kong similar to those im-
plemented 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 pri-
mary 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-democ-
racy advocate and media entrepreneur, has been targeted 
and persecuted for decades, most recently through mul-
tiple 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 fac-
ing trial under vaguely defined charges under the so- 
called ‘‘national security law’’; 
Whereas Cardinal Zen, a 90-year-old Roman Catholic car-
dinal, and five other colleagues were found guilty of po-
litically motivated charges related to failing to register a 
humanitarian fund that helped anti-government pro-
testers; 
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