IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1033 
Condemning acts by the People’s Republic of China and the Government 
of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that violate funda-
mental rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents as well as acts 
that undermine Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 30, 2020 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. BERA, Mr. 
YOHO, and Mr. MALINOWSKI) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning acts by the People’s Republic of China and 
the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administra-
tive Region that violate fundamental rights and freedoms 
of Hong Kong residents as well as acts that undermine 
Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy. 
Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 
is legally bound to guarantee the civil liberties of the peo-
ple of Hong Kong through 2047 under the Basic Law 
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 Dec-
laration’’), in which the People’s Republic of China com-
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mitted that for 50 years, the ‘‘social and economic sys-
tems in Hong Kong will remain unchanged, and so will 
the life-style.’’; 
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 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; 
(8) freedom of emigration to other countries and re-
gions; 
(9) freedom of conscience; and 
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(10) the right to institute legal proceedings in the 
courts against the acts of the executive authorities and 
their personnel; 
Whereas the Standing Committee of the National People’s 
Congress of the People’s Republic of China has inserted 
a national security law directly into Annex III of the 
Basic Law of Hong Kong, and said national security law 
is purportedly intended to prevent and punish acts of 
‘‘separating the country, subverting state power, and or-
ganizing 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 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 Government of the People’s Re-
public of China caused the adoption of the National An-
them Law in Hong Kong, which curtails the freedom of 
speech and carries a maximum sentence of 3 years, mir-
roring the extent of sentence under the People’s Republic 
of China Criminal Law; 
Whereas the Chinese Government’s repeated and heavy-hand-
ed actions to undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong 
and Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy will only fur-
ther escalate the ongoing protests, jeopardizing Hong 
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Kong’s future as an open and prosperous international 
city; 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, would constitute a violation of com-
mitments made by the People’s Republic of China 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 invio-
lable rights and freedoms; 
(2) condemns the action by the People’s Repub-
lic of China’s National People’s Congress to advance 
national security legislation for Hong Kong through 
irregular procedures, which would constitute a viola-
tion of the letter and spirit of the Basic Law and 
the Joint Declaration; 
(3) asserts that such actions by the People’s 
Republic of China undermine the credibility of the 
People’s Republic of China within the international 
community, including the People’s Republic of Chi-
na’s credibility in honoring its commitments to inter-
national agreements and respecting internationally 
recognized human rights; 
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