Title: Condemning the continued violation of rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong by the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns the actions taken by the governments of China and Hong Kong to put in place national security legislation that violates the freedoms and rights guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong. (Hong Kong is a part of China but, by agreement, has operated a legal and economic system largely separate from China's.)

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 130 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 130

Condemning the continued violation of rights and freedoms of the people 
 of Hong Kong by the People's Republic of China and the Government of 
              the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 18, 2021

     Mr. Meeks (for himself, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Bera, Mr. Chabot, Mr. 
  Malinowski, and Mr. Kinzinger) submitted the following resolution; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning the continued violation of rights and freedoms of the people 
 of Hong Kong by the People's Republic of China and the Government of 
              the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

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 Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government 
        of the People's Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong (``Joint 
        Declaration''), in which the PRC committed that--

    (1) Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy;

    (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 established rights of 
        the Hong Kong people, the PRC National People's Congress Standing 
        Committee (``Standing Committee'') passed and imposed upon Hong Kong 
        oppressive and intentionally vague national security legislation on June 
        30, 2020, that grants Beijing sweeping powers to punish acts of 
        ``separating the country, subverting state power, and organizing 
        terroristic activities'';
Whereas the legislative process by which the Standing Committee 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 
        Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (``Basic Law''), 
        and involved unusual secrecy, as demonstrated 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) disqualified 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 elections during 
        the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas, on July 31, 2020, in an attempt to assert extraterritorial 
        jurisdiction, the HKSAR Government announced 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 violating the law after the Standing Committee 
        passed additional legislation barring those who promoted or supported 
        Hong Kong independence and refused to acknowledge PRC sovereignty over 
        Hong Kong, or otherwise violates the national security law, from running 
        for or serving in the Legislative Council;
Whereas, on December 2, 2020, pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, 
        and Ivan Lam were sentenced 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 national 
        security under the national security legislation;
Whereas, on January 4, 2021, the Departments of Justice in Henan and Sichuan 
        province threatened to revoke the licenses 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 Government of the 
        Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (``HKSAR''), including 
        the adoption and implementation of national security 
        legislation for Hong Kong through irregular procedures, that 
        violate the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong that 
        are guaranteed by the Joint Declaration and its implementing 
        document, the Basic Law;
            (2) reaffirms its support for the people of Hong Kong, who 
        face grave threats to their rights and freedoms;
            (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 politicians 
                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 efforts to respond to 
        developments in Hong Kong, including by--
                    (A) providing protection for Hong Kong residents 
                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 
                representatives 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 authorities, 
                especially authorities recently enacted to address 
                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 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 ensure 
                that such implementation of sanctions is multilateral.
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