I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1159 
To reinstate reporting requirements related to United States-Hong Kong 
relations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 27, 2015 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. ENGEL, and Mr. 
ROHRABACHER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs 
A BILL 
To reinstate reporting requirements related to United States- 
Hong Kong relations. 
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 ‘‘Hong Kong Human 
Rights and Democracy Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The Joint Declaration of the Government of 
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern 
Ireland and the Government of the People’s Repub-
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lic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, done at 
Beijing December 19, 1984 (in this Act referred to 
as the ‘‘Joint Declaration’’)— 
(A) provided that the People’s Republic of 
China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on 
July 1, 1997; and 
(B) established a ‘‘high degree of auton-
omy’’ for Hong Kong except in matters of for-
eign affairs and defense. 
(2) The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special 
Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of 
China (in this Act referred to as ‘‘Basic Law’’)— 
(A) guarantees Hong Kong a ‘‘high degree 
of autonomy’’ and separate executive, legisla-
tive, and independent judicial powers; 
(B) generally prohibits the central Govern-
ment of the People’s Republic of China from 
interfering in the affairs that Hong Kong ad-
ministers on its own according to the Basic 
Law; 
(C) protects the rights to free speech, 
press, assembly, and religion; 
(D) provides that the socialist system and 
policies shall not be practiced in Hong Kong 
and that Hong Kong’s capitalist system and 
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way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years 
(the principle of ‘‘one country, two systems’’); 
(E) affirms the continuing applicability of 
the International Covenant on Civil and Polit-
ical Rights to Hong Kong; 
(F) provides that the head of the Hong 
Kong Special Administrative Region shall be 
the Chief Executive; 
(G) provides that ‘‘the ultimate aim is the 
selection of the Chief Executive by universal 
suffrage upon nomination by a broadly rep-
resentative nominating committee in accordance 
with democratic procedures’’; 
(H) provides that the legislature of the 
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall 
be the Legislative Council; and 
(I) provides that ‘‘the ultimate aim is the 
election of all the members of the Legislative 
Council by universal suffrage’’. 
(3) The National People’s Congress Standing 
Committee (NPCSC) determined on December 29, 
2007, that Hong Kong could elect the Chief Execu-
tive by universal suffrage beginning in 2017, and 
that Hong Kong could thereafter elect the Legisla-
tive Council by universal suffrage beginning in 2020. 
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(4) The Chief Executive is currently selected by 
an Election Committee consisting of 1,200 members. 
In order to run, candidates for Chief Executive must 
currently receive the support of one-eighth of the 
members of the Election Committee, the majority of 
whom reportedly support or have ties to the Chinese 
Communist Party. 
(5) On August 31, 2014, the NPCSC deter-
mined that the 2017 election for the Chief Executive 
could be held by universal suffrage but that Hong 
Kong voters could only choose from two to three 
candidates, each of whom is to be chosen by a ma-
jority of a nominating committee similar to the cur-
rent Election Committee that is heavily controlled by 
pro-Beijing members. 
(6) International standards for elections, in-
cluding Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights and Article 25 of the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, guarantee 
citizens the right to vote and to be elected in gen-
uine periodic elections by universal and equal suf-
frage without unreasonable restrictions. 
(7) Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong resi-
dents have consistently and peacefully expressed 
their dissatisfaction with the electoral reform plans 
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of the Hong Kong government and the Government 
of the People’s Republic of China, including the Au-
gust 2014 NPCSC decision, and have called for a 
genuine choice in elections that meet international 
standards. Their peaceful and orderly protests have 
set an example for other democratic movements 
around the world, including those in mainland China 
who continue to fight for their fundamental free-
doms. 
(8) Media reports indicate that Hong Kong po-
lice used tear gas and pepper spray against dem-
onstrators on September 28, 2014, and that police 
allegedly failed to adequately protect demonstrators 
from mobs of counter-protestors, some of whom had 
affiliations with gangs known as ‘‘triads’’, who beat 
students and forcibly tried to remove them from 
their places of protest. There have also been several 
accusations of excessive use of force by the Hong 
Kong Police which are under investigation. 
(9) The United States enjoys close economic, 
social, and cultural ties with Hong Kong. According 
to the Department of State, 60,000 United States 
citizens live in Hong Kong, and 1,400 United States 
businesses have offices there. According to the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative, Hong 
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Kong is the United States 18th largest trade part-
ner and 9th largest goods export market. 
(10) Hong Kong’s unique status as an inter-
national finance center where the rule of law and the 
rights and freedoms of its citizens are protected has 
served as the foundation for Hong Kong’s stability 
and prosperity. 
(11) Section 301 of the Hong Kong Policy Act 
of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5731) required the Secretary of 
State to issue reports on conditions in Hong Kong 
of interest to the United States, including the devel-
opment of democratic institutions in Hong Kong, 
and the last report under section 301 was issued on 
June 30, 2007. 
(12) Failure to establish a genuine democratic 
option to nominate and elect the Chief Executive of 
Hong Kong by 2017 and to establish open and di-
rect democratic elections for all members of the 
Hong Kong Legislative Council by 2020 would re-
duce confidence in the commitment of the Govern-
ment of the People’s Republic of China to uphold its 
obligations under international law, and would erode 
the ability of Hong Kong to retain a high degree of 
autonomy. 
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(13) During an October 2014 session, the 
United Nations Human Rights Committee, con-
sisting of 18 independent experts, reviewed China’s 
compliance with the International Covenant on Civil 
and Political Rights with respect to Hong Kong. Ac-
cording to the session’s chair, the Committee agreed 
on ‘‘the need to ensure universal suffrage, which 
means both the right to be elected as well as the 
right to vote. The main concerns of Committee 
members were focused on the right to stand for elec-
tions without unreasonable restrictions.’’. Another 
Committee member said that the ‘‘committee doesn’t 
want candidates filtered. The problem is that Beijing 
wants to vet candidates.’’. 
(14) The Congressional-Executive Commission 
on China’s 2014 Annual Report found that press 
freedom in Hong Kong is under threat, including re-
ports of ‘‘violent attacks on individuals associated 
with the press, self-censorship among journalists, 
and pressure from the Hong Kong and central gov-
ernments and mainland Chinese businesses.’’. 
(15) The Hong Kong Journalists Association’s 
2014 Annual Report noted that Hong Kong journal-
ists rated self-censorship at 6.9 on a 10-point scale, 
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which the Association considered a ‘‘low level’’ of 
press freedom. 
(16) Hong Kong ranked 61st among 180 coun-
tries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2014 World 
Press Freedom Index, down three places from the 
previous year and a significant decline from 2002 
when Hong Kong ranked 18th. 
(17) By providing timely, uncensored, accurate 
information in their native language, United States 
international broadcast services, through the Broad-
casting Board of Governors, help those living in 
countries with poor human rights records, such as 
China, to better defend their human rights and hold 
their government accountable. 
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States— 
(1) to reaffirm the principles and objectives set 
forth in the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 
1992, namely that— 
(A) the United States has ‘‘a strong inter-
est in the continued vitality, prosperity, and 
stability of Hong Kong’’; 
(B) ‘‘support for democratization is a fun-
damental principle of United States foreign pol-
icy’’; 
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(C) ‘‘the human rights of the people of 
Hong Kong are of great importance to the 
United States and are directly relevant to 
United States interests in Hong Kong’’; 
(D) human rights ‘‘serve as a basis for 
Hong Kong’s continued economic prosperity’’; 
and 
(E) Hong Kong must remain sufficiently 
autonomous from the People’s Republic of 
China to justify a different treatment under a 
particular law of the United States, or any pro-
vision thereof, from that accorded the People’s 
Republic of China; 
(2) to support the democratic aspirations of the 
people of Hong Kong, as guaranteed to them by the 
Joint Declaration, the Basic Law, the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights; 
(3) to urge the Government of the People’s Re-
public of China to uphold its commitments to Hong 
Kong, including allowing the people of Hong Kong 
to rule Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy 
and without undue interference, and ensuring that 
Hong Kong voters freely enjoy the right to elect the 
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Chief Executive and all members of the Hong Kong 
Legislative Council by universal suffrage; 
(4) to support the establishment by 2017 of a 
genuine democratic option to freely and fairly nomi-
nate and elect the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, 
and the establishment by 2020 of open and direct 
democratic elections for all members of the Hong 
Kong Legislative Council; and 
(5) to support press freedom and journalistic 
independence, including the continuation of inter-
national broadcasting programming in Cantonese 
that is readily accessible to Cantonese speaking pop-
ulations in China and in Hong Kong. 
SEC. 4. REINSTATEMENT OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 
RELATED TO UNITED STATES-HONG KONG 
RELATIONS. 
Section 301 of the United States-Hong Kong Policy 
Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5731) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and all that 
follows through ‘‘the Secretary of State’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘Not later than March 31, 2015, and annually 
thereafter for 10 years or until such earlier date 
that the Secretary of State certifies that Hong Kong 
has held free and fair elections for two consecutive 
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Chief Executive and two consecutive Legislative 
Council periods, the Secretary of State’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives’’ and inserting ‘‘chairman of the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep-
resentatives’’; 
(3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(4) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(9) matters in which Hong Kong is given sep-
arate treatment under the laws of the United States 
from that accorded to the People’s Republic of 
China and in accordance with this Act.’’. 
SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF HONG KONG UNDER UNITED 
STATES LAW. 
Title II of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act 
of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5721 et seq.) is amended by inserting 
after section 202 the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 202a. TREATMENT OF HONG KONG UNDER UNITED 
STATES LAW. 
‘‘(a) SECRETARY
OF STATE CERTIFICATION RE-
QUIREMENT.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of the Hong Kong 
Human Rights and Democracy Act, and annually 
thereafter, the Secretary of State shall certify to 
Congress whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autono-
mous to justify separate treatment different from 
that accorded the People’s Republic of China in any 
new laws, agreements, treaties, or arrangements en-
tered into between the United States and Hong 
Kong after the date of the enactment of such Act. 
‘‘(2) FACTOR FOR CONSIDERATION.—In making 
a certification under paragraph (1), the Secretary of 
State should consider the terms, obligations, and ex-
pectations expressed in the Joint Declaration with 
respect to Hong Kong. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—The certification under this 
subsection shall not be required with respect to any 
new laws, agreements, treaties, or arrangements that 
support human rights, rule of law, or democracy in 
Hong Kong. 
‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of State 
may waive the application of subsection (a) if the Sec-
retary— 
‘‘(1) determines that such a waiver is in the na-
tional interests of the United States; and 
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‘‘(2) on or before the date on which the waiver 
takes effect, submits to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on For-
eign Affairs of the House of Representatives a notice 
of and justification for the waiver.’’. 
Æ 
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