Title: Recognizing Hong Kong's bilateral relationship with the United States, condemning the People's Republic of China for violating their obligations to the people of Hong Kong, and supporting the people of Hong Kong's right to freedom of assembly and peaceful protest.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution calls on the Hong Kong government to begin negotiations with protesters to address their five central demands, including the complete withdrawal of the extradition bill that prompted the protests and the complete implementation of universal adult suffrage. It also condemns (1) the Hong Kong government's use of force against the demonstrations; (2) the government's characterizations of the protests as "riots" and attempts to blame the United States for the city's political situation; and (3) the pro-Chinese government media's targeting of Julie Eadeh, the political counselor at the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong, and her family.
(Hong Kong is a part of China but has a mostly separate legal system, which includes protection for civil liberties including freedom from arbitrary imprisonment. Protests sprung up in opposition to the introduction of an extradition bill that critics say would allow extradition to jurisdictions that do not have such protections, in particular mainland China.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 543 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 543

Recognizing Hong Kong's bilateral relationship with the United States, 
 condemning the interference of the People's Republic of China in Hong 
   Kong's affairs, and supporting the people of Hong Kong's right to 
                                protest.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 30, 2019

  Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Connolly, and Mr. Yoho) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing Hong Kong's bilateral relationship with the United States, 
 condemning the interference of the People's Republic of China in Hong 
   Kong's affairs, and supporting the people of Hong Kong's right to 
                                protest.

Whereas the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-383) 
        states that--

    (1) ``[s]upport for democratization is a fundamental principle of 
United States foreign policy'';

    (2) ``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 [and] serve as a basis for Hong Kong's continued 
economic prosperity''; and

    (3) Hong Kong must remain sufficiently autonomous from the People's 
Republic of China to justify a different treatment than accorded to the 
People's Republic of China under United States law;

Whereas the United States maintains substantial economic and political interests 
        in Hong Kong, with more than 1,300 United States firms operating in the 
        Special Administrative Region, owing largely to Hong Kong's favorable 
        business environment;
Whereas the United States supports Hong Kong's ``high degree of autonomy'' 
        promised by the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 in accordance 
        with the ``one country, two systems'' framework by concluding and 
        implementing bilateral agreements, promoting trade and investment, and 
        bolstering 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 
        implemented a number of fixed ``redlines'' inconsistent with China's 
        commitments in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 
        Region, and the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984, which have 
        diminished Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy;
Whereas the Communist Party of China has increasingly constrained Hong Kong's 
        freedoms in violation of the ``one country, two systems'' framework by 
        supporting, among other actions, the banishment of the pro-independence 
        Hong Kong National Party, the restriction of entry for individuals 
        critical of the Communist Party of China, the refusal of a United States 
        extradition request in May 2018, and the indiscriminate disqualification 
        of candidates for office due to their alleged support for Hong Kong 
        self-determination;
Whereas, on April 3, 2019, the Government of Hong Kong introduced a bill to 
        amend the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal 
        Matters Ordinance laws (commonly known as the extradition bill) 
        concerning extradition to expand the extradition arrangement to include 
        mainland China, which would allow for the handover of any persons in the 
        territory of Hong Kong, residents and nonresidents, as well as materials 
        in their possession;
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 longstanding protections of human rights, fundamental 
        freedoms, and democratic values;
Whereas, on June 9, 2019, approximately 1,000,000 people peacefully rallied 
        against the bill, and on June 12, 2019, in Admiralty, tens of thousands 
        staged a protest outside the city's government headquarters to stop the 
        legislators from moving forward with the bill;
Whereas, on June 12, the Government of Hong Kong took advantage of the acts of a 
        small minority of protesters and classified the largely peaceful protest 
        as an unlawful assembly 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, to disperse the 
        protestors, including tear gas, beanbag rounds, rubber bullets, batons, 
        and pepper spray, widely visible in video footage, fueled tensions, 
        contributed to worsening violence, and caused severe injuries to 
        protesters;
Whereas, on June 16, 2019, approximately 2,000,000 people peacefully gathered in 
        Admiralty, equivalent to 25 percent of the population, the largest 
        protest in Hong Kong's history;
Whereas, on July 21, 2019, a self-professed progovernment mob of men violently 
        attacked protestors, innocent bystanders, and journalists with sticks 
        and metal bars in Yuen Long, which resulted in the hospitalization of 45 
        people, with 1 person in critical condition;
Whereas the Royal Hong Kong Police have failed to take action against the 
        progovernment ``triad'' gangs, suggesting the police may be complicit in 
        their actions;
Whereas the protestors' demands include: the complete withdrawal of the bill to 
        amend the extradition bill; the implementation of universal adult 
        suffrage in the election of Chief Executive and the Legislative Council; 
        the establishment of an independent commission to investigate whether 
        police have used excessive force; the declassification of the protest as 
        a riot; and the dropping of all charges against persons who did not 
        personally engage in violence;
Whereas, on July 27, 2019, 9 people were injured when police fired rubber 
        bullets at demonstrators in Yuen Long who were protesting the July 21, 
        2019, triad gangs' violent attacks 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'', and 
        applauding the police for sticking to their posts;
Whereas, on July 30, 2019, China's Foreign Ministry said the pro-democracy 
        protests are the ``work of the United States'', alleging that there had 
        been unprecedented levels of contact between prodemocracy leaders and 
        the United States;
Whereas the Chinese Communist Party has expressed its ``strong indignation'' and 
        has called the protests ``absolutely intolerable'', raising fears that 
        the Party may use force in an attempt to violently suppress the 
        protestors;
Whereas, on August 5, 2019, teachers, aviation workers, finance employees, and 
        civil servants went on strike across 7 districts, the largest citywide 
        strike in decades, which evolved into a wave of demonstrations, and 
        resulted in the police firing 800 tear gas rounds to clear the 
        protestors, almost as many as were used in the previous 8 weeks;
Whereas, on August 5, 2019, a self-professed pro-government mob of men violently 
        attacked demonstrators with sticks and metal bars in North Point after 
        the demonstrators were dispersed by police from Admiralty, and again the 
        police did not respond to the ambush;
Whereas, on August 6, 2019, a Chinese Communist Party official threatened the 
        demonstrators by stating that, ``those who play with fire will perish by 
        it'' and ``as for their [the demonstrators,] punishment, it's only a 
        matter of time''; and
Whereas, on August 7, 2019, pro-Beijing media began publishing articles accusing 
        Julie Eadeh, the Political Counselor at the United States Consulate 
        General in Hong Kong, of subversion, as well as publicly identifying her 
        husband and family: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) calls on the Government of Hong Kong to begin to 
        undertake steps towards negotiations to address the 
        demonstrators' 5 central demands: the complete withdrawal of 
        the bill to amend the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal 
        Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance laws (commonly known 
        as the extradition bill); the implementation of universal adult 
        suffrage; the establishment of an independent investigation; 
        the declassification of the protest as a riot; and the dropping 
        of all charges against persons arrested during the protests;
            (2) condemns the Hong Kong police's use of force against 
        the demonstrations in a manner that violates citizens' rights 
        of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly;
            (3) calls on the Administration to ensure that munitions 
        and crowd-control equipment the United States sells to the Hong 
        Kong police aren't used to repress peaceful protests in Hong 
        Kong;
            (4) condemns the efforts by the Hong Kong and Chinese 
        Governments to characterize the protests as ``riots'' and to 
        blame the United States for involvement in the political 
        instability they alone created;
            (5) shares the concerns of the people of Hong Kong that the 
        lack of procedural protections in the proposed amendments to 
        the extradition bill, which would negatively impact the 
        territory's longstanding protections of human rights, 
        fundamental freedoms, and democratic values as enshrined in the 
        Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984;
            (6) recognizes the ``one country, two systems'' framework 
        and the Basic Law afford Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy 
        with respect to economic and trade matters, and rule of law;
            (7) condemns the pro-Beijing media for targeting Julie 
        Eadeh, the Political Counselor at the United States Consulate 
        General in Hong Kong, and her family; and
            (8) calls on the Government of Hong Kong and all 
        governments--
                    (A) to protect the rights of freedom of expression 
                and peaceful assembly;
                    (B) to condemn all acts of violence against those 
                seeking to further their democratic rights; and
                    (C) to refrain from the use of violence.
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