H. Res. 130 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
April 19, 2021. 
Whereas despite international condemnation, the Government 
of the People’s Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’) continues to 
disregard its international legal obligations under the 
Joint Declaration of the Government of the United King-
dom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Gov-
ernment of the People’s Republic of China on the Ques-
tion of Hong Kong (‘‘Joint Declaration’’), in which the 
PRC committed that— 
(1) Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of auton-
omy; 
(2) for at least 50 years the ‘‘social and economic 
systems in Hong Kong’’ would remain unchanged; and 
(3) the personal rights and freedoms of the people 
of Hong Kong would be protected by law; 
Whereas, as part of its continued efforts to undermine the es-
tablished rights of the Hong Kong people, the PRC Na-
tional People’s Congress Standing Committee (‘‘Standing 
Committee’’) passed and imposed upon Hong Kong op-
pressive and intentionally vague national security legisla-
tion on June 30, 2020, that grants Beijing sweeping 
powers to punish acts of ‘‘separating the country, sub-
verting state power, and organizing terroristic activities’’;
•HRES 130 EH 
Whereas the legislative process by which the Standing Com-
mittee imposed the national security law on Hong Kong 
bypassed Hong Kong’s local government in a potential 
violation of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Ad-
ministrative Region of the People’s Republic of China 
(‘‘Basic Law’’), and involved unusual secrecy, as dem-
onstrated by the fact that the legislation was only the 
second law since 2008 that the Standing Committee has 
passed without releasing a draft for public comment; 
Whereas, on July 30, 2020, election officials of the Hong 
Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) disquali-
fied twelve pro-democracy candidates from participating 
in the September 6 Legislative Council elections, which 
were subsequently postponed for a year until September 
5, 2021, by citing the public health risk of holding elec-
tions during the COVID–19 pandemic; 
Whereas, on July 31, 2020, in an attempt to assert 
extraterritorial jurisdiction, the HKSAR Government an-
nounced indictments of and arrest warrants for six Hong 
Kong activists living overseas, including United States 
citizen Samuel Chu, for alleged violations of the national 
security law; 
Whereas, on November 11, 2020, the HKSAR Government 
removed four lawmakers from office for allegedly vio-
lating the law after the Standing Committee passed addi-
tional legislation barring those who promoted or sup-
ported Hong Kong independence and refused to acknowl-
edge PRC sovereignty over Hong Kong, or otherwise vio-
lates the national security law, from running for or serv-
ing in the Legislative Council;
•HRES 130 EH 
Whereas, on December 2, 2020, pro-democracy activists 
Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam were sen-
tenced to prison for participating in 2019 protests; 
Whereas ten of the twelve Hong Kong residents (also known 
as ‘‘the Hong Kong 12’’) who sought to flee by boat from 
Hong Kong to Taiwan on August 23, 2020, were taken 
to mainland China and sentenced on December 30, 2020, 
to prison terms ranging from seven months to three years 
for illegal border crossing; 
Whereas, on December 31, 2020, Hong Kong’s highest court 
revoked bail for Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, a pro-democracy 
figure and publisher, who was charged on December 12 
with colluding with foreign forces and endangering na-
tional security under the national security legislation; 
Whereas, on January 4, 2021, the Departments of Justice in 
Henan and Sichuan province threatened to revoke the li-
censes of two lawyers hired to help the Hong Kong 12; 
and 
Whereas, on January 5, 2021, the Hong Kong Police Force 
arrested more than fifty opposition figures, including pro- 
democracy officials, activists, and an American lawyer, 
for their involvement in an informal July 2020 primary 
to select candidates for the general election originally 
scheduled for September 2020, despite other political 
parties having held similar primaries without retribution: 
Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) condemns the actions taken by the Government 
of the People’s Republic of China (‘‘PRC’’) and the Gov-
ernment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re-
•HRES 130 EH 
gion (‘‘HKSAR’’), including the adoption and implemen-
tation of national security legislation for Hong Kong 
through irregular procedures, that violate the rights and 
freedoms of the people of Hong Kong that are guaran-
teed by the Joint Declaration and its implementing doc-
ument, the Basic Law; 
(2) reaffirms its support for the people of Hong 
Kong, who face grave threats to their rights and free-
doms; 
(3) calls on the governments of the PRC and 
HKSAR to— 
(A) respect and uphold— 
(i) commitments made to the international 
community and the people of Hong Kong 
under the Joint Declaration; and 
(ii) the judicial independence of the Hong 
Kong legal system; and 
(B) release pro-democracy activists and politi-
cians arrested under the national security law; and 
(4) encourages the President, the Secretary of 
State, and the Secretary of the Treasury to coordinate 
with allies and partners and continue United States ef-
forts to respond to developments in Hong Kong, includ-
ing by—
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(A) providing protection for Hong Kong resi-
dents who fear persecution; 
(B) supporting those who may seek to file a 
case before the International Court of Justice to 
hold the Government of the PRC accountable for 
violating its binding legal commitments under the 
Joint Declaration; 
(C) encouraging allies and partner countries to 
instruct, as appropriate, their respective representa-
tives to the United Nations to use their voice, vote, 
and influence to press for the appointment of a 
United Nations special mandate holder to monitor 
and report on human rights developments in Hong 
Kong; 
(D) ensuring the private sector, particularly 
United States companies with economic interests in 
Hong Kong, is aware of risks the national security 
legislation poses to the security of United States 
citizens and to the medium and long-term interest 
of United States businesses in Hong Kong; 
(E) continuing to implement sanctions authori-
ties, especially authorities recently enacted to ad-
dress actions undermining the rights and freedoms 
of the Hong Kong people such as the Hong Kong 
Autonomy Act (Public Law 116–149) and the Hong
•HRES 130 EH 
Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 
(Public Law 116–76), with respect to officials of 
the Chinese Communist Party, the Government of 
the PRC, or the Government of the HKSAR who 
are responsible for undermining such rights and 
freedoms; and 
(F) coordinating with allies and partners to en-
sure that such implementation of sanctions is multi-
lateral. 
Attest: 
Clerk.