•HRES 543 EH 
tween the Government of the United Kingdom of Great 
Britain and the Government of the People’s Republic of 
China on the Question of the Hong Kong (‘‘Joint Dec-
laration’’) in accordance with the ‘‘One Country, Two 
Systems’’ framework through bilateral agreements, the 
promotion of trade and investment, and the bolstering of 
educational, academic, and cultural links; 
Whereas the Department of State reported in its 2019 Hong 
Kong Policy Act Report, dated March 21, 2019, that the 
People’s Republic of China has carried out a number of 
actions inconsistent with China’s commitments in the 
Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re-
gion (‘‘Basic Law’’) and the Joint Declaration, which 
have diminished Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy; 
Whereas China has increasingly constrained Hong Kong’s 
freedoms in violation of the ‘‘One Country, Two Sys-
tems’’ framework by, among other actions, supporting 
the restriction of entry into Hong Kong for individuals 
critical of the Communist Party of China, instructing to 
the Hong Kong Government to refuse a United States 
extradition request in May 2018, and abusing the na-
tional security rationale to justify interference with mat-
ters related to Hong Kong politics and governance; 
Whereas on April 3, 2019, the Government of Hong Kong in-
troduced the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal As-
sistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) 
Bill 2019 (commonly known as the ‘‘extradition bill’’) 
that would amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance by 
expanding the existing extradition arrangement to include 
mainland China, allowing for the handover of any persons 
in the territory of Hong Kong, residents and non-resi-
dents, as well as any materials in their possession;
•HRES 543 EH 
Whereas the Department of State issued a statement on June 
9, 2019, warning that the lack of procedural protections 
in the bill could negatively impact Hong Kong’s long-
standing protections of human rights, fundamental free-
doms, and democratic values; 
Whereas on June 9, 2019, as many as 1,000,000 people pro-
tested against the bill, and on June 12, 2019, tens of 
thousands staged a protest near the Legislative Council 
building to express opposition to the bill; 
Whereas on June 12, 2019, the Government of Hong Kong 
took advantage of the acts of a small group of protesters 
to classify the largely peaceful protest as an unlawful as-
sembly and a ‘‘riot’’, a charge that can result in a prison 
sentence of up to 10 years for those who were arrested; 
Whereas the police’s excessive use of force on June 12, 2019, 
as seen in video footage, to disperse the protestors, in-
cluding the use of tear gas, bean bag rounds, rubber bul-
lets, batons, and pepper spray, caused severe injuries to 
protesters; 
Whereas the excessive use of force fueled tensions and con-
tributed to the worsening of violence; 
Whereas on June 16, 2019, as many as 2,000,000 people 
peacefully gathered in the Admiralty district, which is 
likely the largest protest in Hong Kong’s history; 
Whereas on July 21, 2019, a group alleged to be linked to 
organized crime violently attacked protestors, innocent 
bystanders, and journalists with sticks and metal bars in 
Yuen Long, which resulted in the hospitalization of forty- 
five people, with one person in critical condition; 
Whereas the Hong Kong Police Force have been slow to take 
meaningful action against those who attacked the
•HRES 543 EH 
protestors on July 21, 2019, suggesting the police may 
be complicit in their actions; 
Whereas the protestors’ demands included— 
(1) the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill; 
(2) the implementation of universal suffrage in the 
election of the Chief Executive and all members the Leg-
islative Council; 
(3) the establishment of an independent commission 
to investigate police conduct during the protests; 
(4) the declassification of the protests as a riots; and 
(5) the dropping of all charges against persons who 
participated in any protests; 
Whereas on July 27, 2019, nine people were injured when po-
lice fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in Yuen Long 
who were protesting the July 21 violent attacks against 
protestors and the lack of a police response to them; 
Whereas on July 29, 2019, China’s spokesman for the State 
Council’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office issued a 
statement referring to the protesters as ‘‘radical elements 
committing evil and criminal acts’’; 
Whereas on July 30, 2019, China’s Foreign Ministry falsely 
claimed that the pro-democracy protests are the ‘‘work of 
the United States’’, alleging that American officials have 
interfered in Hong Kong’s internal affairs; 
Whereas the Chinese Communist Party has called the pro-
tests ‘‘absolutely intolerable’’, ‘‘terrorism’’, and ‘‘terror 
atrocities’’, raising fears that China may use the People’s 
Liberation Army or the People’s Armed Police to vio-
lently suppress the protestors; 
Whereas on August 5, 2019, teachers, aviation workers, fi-
nance employees, and civil servants went on strike across
•HRES 543 EH 
seven districts, the largest citywide strike in decades, 
which evolved into a wave of demonstrations and resulted 
in the police firing approximately 800 tear gas rounds to 
clear the protestors, almost as many as were used in the 
previous 8 weeks combined; 
Whereas on August 5, 2019, a mob violently attacked dem-
onstrators with sticks and metal bars in North Point 
after the demonstrators were dispersed by police from the 
Admiralty district, and again the police did not respond 
to the ambush; 
Whereas on August 6, 2019, a Chinese Communist Party of-
ficial threatened the demonstrators by stating, ‘‘those 
who play with fire will perish by it’’, and ‘‘as for their 
[the demonstrators’] punishment, it’s only a matter of 
time’’; 
Whereas on August 7, 2019, Chinese state media began pub-
lishing articles accusing the Political Counselor to the 
United States Consulate General in Hong Kong of being 
‘‘a black hand creating chaos in Hong Kong’’, as well as 
publicly identifying family members of the Consulate 
General staff; 
Whereas on August 11, 2019, Hong Kong police beat fleeing 
protesters with batons and fired pepper ball rounds at 
them at close range; 
Whereas on August 11, 2019, it was reported that a young 
woman, allegedly a medic, who has since become a sym-
bol for the protest movement, sustained a serious eye in-
jury from a bean-bag round after the police fired a pro-
jectile into the crowd;
•HRES 543 EH 
Whereas on August 18, 2019, as many as 1,700,000 Hong 
Kong people attended a peaceful rally against police bru-
tality; 
Whereas on August 31, 2019, Hong Kong Police Force Spe-
cial Tactical Squad officers beat with batons protesters 
and train passengers at Prince Edward station; and 
Whereas on September 4, 2019, Hong Kong Chief Executive 
Carrie Lam announced the Government would withdraw 
the extradition bill from the Legislative Council’s agenda 
when it reconvenes in October 2019: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls on the Government of Hong Kong to begin 
negotiations to address the demonstrators’ remaining de-
mands, which include— 
(A) the formal withdrawal of the bill from the 
Hong Kong Legislative Council; 
(B) the implementation of universal suffrage; 
(C) the establishment of an independent inves-
tigation into police conduct during the protests; 
(D) the declassification of the protest as a riot; 
and 
(E) the dropping of all charges against persons 
arrested during the protests; 
(2) condemns— 
(A) the Hong Kong police’s use of force 
against the demonstrators in ways that are incon-