I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4270 
To prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd control items and 
defense articles and services to the Hong Kong Disciplined Services, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. KHANNA) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To prohibit commercial exports of certain nonlethal crowd 
control items and defense articles and services to the 
Hong Kong Disciplined Services, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Placing Restrictions 
on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to 
Hong Kong Act’’ or the ‘‘PROTECT Hong Kong Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) During the 2019 anti-extradition bill and 
pro-democracy protests, the Hong Kong Police 
Force used non-lethal crowd control articles such as 
water cannon trucks, tear gas, rubber bullets, 
sponge grenades, beanbag rounds, batons, pepper 
spray, pepper balls, and projectile launchers. 
(2) The United Nations High Commissioner for 
Human Rights, along with human rights organiza-
tions, have called for an investigation of the use of 
crowd control tactics used in Hong Kong which fall 
short of international standards, including the 
United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforce-
ment Officials and the Basic Principles on the Use 
of Force and Firearms for Law Enforcement Offi-
cials. 
(3) United States companies received export li-
censes to sell the Hong Kong Police Force munitions 
and non-lethal crowd control defense articles and 
services and at least some of those articles were used 
by the police unnecessarily and disproportionately 
during largely peaceful demonstrations. 
(4) The Government of the United Kingdom 
suspended export licenses for the sale of tear gas 
and other non-lethal crowd control equipment to 
Hong Kong until concerns about human rights 
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abuses are addressed by the Hong Kong Special Ad-
ministrative Region government. 
(5) The European Parliament adopted a resolu-
tion calling on European governments and the inter-
national community to impose export-control mecha-
nisms to deny the Hong Kong and Chinese govern-
ments access to technologies used to violate basic 
rights. 
(6) Hong Kong citizens and the international 
community have called for changes to the Hong 
Kong Police’s crowd control tactics and these re-
quests have gone unheeded by the Hong Kong Spe-
cial Administrative Region government. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States— 
(1) to restrict the export of security assistance 
and crime control and detection instruments and 
equipment to any country the government of which 
engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of 
internationally recognized human rights as required 
by section 502B(a) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304(a)); and 
(2) to use export controls on crime control and 
detection instruments and equipment to deter the 
development of a consistent pattern of human rights 
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abuses, distance the United States from such 
abuses, and avoid contributing to civil disorder in a 
country or region in accordance with section 
742.7(b) of part 774 of subtitle B of title 15, Code 
of Federal Regulations. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON COMMERCIAL EXPORT OF COV-
ERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERVICES 
AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS TO THE 
HONG KONG DISCIPLINED SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), beginning on the date that is 30 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall prohibit 
the issuance of licenses to export covered defense articles 
and services and covered munitions items to the Hong 
Kong Disciplined Services. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—The prohibition in subsection (a) 
shall not take effect if— 
(1) the President certifies to the appropriate 
congressional committees before the date specified in 
such subsection (a) that— 
(A) extraordinary circumstances exist that 
necessitate the continuation of the export of 
covered defense articles and services and cov-
ered munitions items to the Hong Kong Dis-
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ciplined Services and includes a description of 
such circumstances; or 
(B) exports of covered defense articles and 
services and covered munitions items to parts of 
the Hong Kong Disciplined Services other than 
the Hong Kong Police Force are required to ad-
vance United States foreign policy goals and in-
cludes— 
(i) a description of the articles, serv-
ices, and items; and 
(ii) the number of articles, services, 
and items required to meet such goals; or 
(2) the President has issued an Executive order 
under section 202 of the United States-Hong Kong 
Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5722) before the date 
specified in such subsection (a) suspending the ap-
plication of section 201(a) of such Act to any United 
States law related to the sale of covered defense arti-
cles and services and covered munitions items to the 
Hong Kong Disciplined Services. 
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SEC. 4. REPORT ON COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND 
SERVICES AND COVERED MUNITIONS ITEMS 
EXPORTED TO THE HONG KONG DISCIPLINED 
SERVICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the 
heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies, 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 
a report that lists and provides a description of all covered 
defense articles and services and covered munitions items 
exported to the Hong Kong Disciplined Services during 
the five-year period ending on such date of enactment. 
(b) FORM.—The report required by subsection (a) 
shall be— 
(1) submitted in unclassified form; and 
(2) submitted as either a separate written re-
port or as an annex to testimony offered by Depart-
ment of State officials before one or more of the ap-
propriate congressional committees. 
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
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(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 
the House of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 
the Senate. 
(2) COVERED DEFENSE ARTICLES AND SERV-
ICES.—The term ‘‘covered defense articles and serv-
ices’’ means defense articles and defense services 
designated by the President under section 38(a)(1) 
of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 
2778(a)(1)). 
(3) COVERED
MUNITIONS
ITEMS.—The term 
‘‘covered munitions items’’ means— 
(A) items controlled under section 742.7 of 
part 742 of subtitle B of title 15, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations (relating to crime control and 
detection instruments and equipment and re-
lated technology and software); and 
(B) items listed under the ‘‘600 series’’ of 
the Commerce Control List contained in Sup-
plement No. 1 to part 774 of subtitle B of title 
15, Code of Federal Regulations. 
(4) HONG KONG.—The term ‘‘Hong Kong’’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 
United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 
U.S.C. 5702). 
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(5) HONG KONG DISCIPLINED SERVICES.—The 
term ‘‘Hong Kong Disciplined Services’’ means— 
(A) the Hong Kong Police Force; 
(B) the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force; 
(C) the Hong Kong Immigration Depart-
ment; 
(D) the Hong Kong Customs and Excise 
Department; 
(E) the Hong Kong Fire Services Depart-
ment; 
(F) the Hong Kong Correctional Services 
Department; and 
(G) the Hong Kong Government Flying 
Service. 
Æ 
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