Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning threats to Hong Kong's freedoms and autonomy on the 31st anniversary of the violent repression of the peaceful protests centered in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 994 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning threats to Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy on the 31st anniversary of the violent repression of the peaceful protests centered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2020 Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mrs. HARTZLER, Mr. MCADAMS, and Mr. SUOZZI) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives con- demning threats to Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy on the 31st anniversary of the violent repression of the peaceful protests centered in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Whereas the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square mas- sacre is an especially poignant milestone, particularly as the autonomy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China (‘‘Hong Kong’’) and freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong are currently under threat by possible national security legis- lation from the Government of the People’s Republic of China (‘‘China’’); VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 994 IH Whereas, during the spring of 1989, an estimated 1,000,000 people engaged in Tiananmen Square protests and citi- zens in over 400 Chinese cities staged similar protests, including among many others, students, workers, aca- demics, journalists and government employees; Whereas the peaceful demonstrations of 1989 called upon the Government of China to eliminate corruption, accelerate economic and political reform, and protect human rights, particularly the freedoms of expression and assembly, issues that remain relevant in United States-China rela- tions 31 years later; Whereas, on June 4, 1989, troops of the People’s Liberation Army, at the behest of Chinese Communist Party leader- ship, attacked Tiananmen Square to repress demonstra- tors, crushing defenseless protestors with tanks and fir- ing on them indiscriminately, killing hundreds or possibly thousands of individuals; Whereas, since June 4, 1989, the Government of China cen- sors information about the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 and imprisons and harasses its own citizens who at- tempt to discuss or commemorate Tiananmen Square protests and their violent suppression; Whereas, the Tiananmen Mothers—a group in China com- posed of parents and family members of individuals killed on or around June 4, 1989, have annually called upon the Government of China to reveal the truth of the events; Whereas people of mainland China and Macau are again barred this year from commemorating the lives lost and the legacy of the 1989 massacre; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 994 IH Whereas, the Government of China continues to view the de- mands of the Tiananmen protesters, including democ- racy, transparency, rights protections, and freedom of speech, as threats to the legitimacy of the Chinese Com- munist Party’s hold on political power; Whereas the people of Hong Kong have commemorated the Tiananmen massacre each year faithfully in large num- bers; Whereas the Hong Kong Police Force has refused to author- ize the annual candlelight vigil to commemorate Tiananmen this year; Whereas Hong Kong’s guaranteed freedoms and the rule of law have allowed it to be a prosperous bridge between mainland China and the world; Whereas Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms have been eroded by the actions of the Government of Hong Kong and the Government of China, particularly over the past several years, with disqualifications of elected members of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, blocking citizens from running for office, failing to address the petitions of the Hong Kong people, banning a political party advocating Hong Kong independence, and failing to address police excessive use of force; Whereas, the political turmoil in Hong Kong is primarily the result of actions of the Government of Hong Kong and the Government of China and their failure to accommo- date or recognize the lawful desire of the people of Hong Kong for preserving their autonomy and democratic rights and privileges, including selection of the chief exec- utive by universal suffrage as provided for in the Basic Law and the Joint Declaration of the Government of the VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 994 IH United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing on Decem- ber 19, 1984 (the ‘‘Joint Declaration’’); Whereas the arbitrary arrests of peaceful protesters, includ- ing well-known democracy advocates such as Martin Lee, Jimmy Lai, Lee Cheuk Yan, Margaret Ng, Albert Ho, Leung Kwok-hung, Au Nok-hin, Figo Chan, and others, is reminiscent of the treatment of peaceful protestors in mainland China by the Government of China; Whereas China’s National People’s Congress has decided to impose national security legislation with respect to Hong Kong; Whereas the implementation of that legislation signals a vio- lation of China’s commitment to the people of Hong Kong to honor ‘‘one country, two systems’’, a severe blow to Hong Kong’s autonomy and a violation of the Joint Declaration; Whereas the United States Secretary of State, pursuant to the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–383), has determined that Hong Kong no longer manifests a ‘‘high degree of autonomy’’ distinct from mainland China; Whereas national security laws are used widely in mainland China to imprison or arbitrarily detain dissidents, rights defenders, civil society advocates, religious leaders and adherents, and persons from ethnic minorities; Whereas human rights, democracy, and religious freedom ad- vocates have been imprisoned or arbitrarily detained under national security laws in mainland China, including Wu Gan, Qin Yongmin, Zhou Shifeng, Yu Wensheng, VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 994 IH Wang Yi, and Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, who died in state custody nearly three years ago; Whereas the United States Congress, particularly in recent years, has passed numerous measures articulating the longstanding and bipartisan commitment to human rights in China, including— (1) the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account- ability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114– 328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); (2) the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–330); (3) the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (Public Law 116–76); and (4) the bill S. 3744 (116th Congress), the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act; Whereas on this day we stand in solidarity with human rights lawyers, labor and free speech advocates, religious groups, and ethnic minorities in China, such as Tibetans, and also Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities who face mass internment and surveillance, forced labor and family separations, and who are often forced to renounce their faith; and Whereas on this day, we remember the words of the late Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, who said there is ‘‘no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme’’: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) will commemorate the Tiananmen protests 2 and their violent repression at least until such time 3 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HRES 994 IH as Chinese citizens are able to do so freely and pub- 1 licly everywhere across their country; 2 (2) expresses sympathy to the families of those 3 killed, tortured, imprisoned, or exiled for their par- 4 ticipation in the pro-democracy demonstrations dur- 5 ing the spring of 1989; 6 (3) calls on the Government of China to allow 7 those Tiananmen demonstration participants cur- 8 rently living in exile in the United States and other 9 countries to return to China without risk of reper- 10 cussions or retribution; 11 (4) condemns the use of violence, torture, and 12 arbitrary detention as a means to repress the legiti- 13 mate aspirations of the people of China to speak and 14 associate freely, including to petition the government 15 and challenge the policies and ideology of the Chi- 16 nese Communist Party; 17 (5) calls on the Government of China to release 18 all prisoners of conscience, including prisoners de- 19 tained because of their participation in Tiananmen 20 Square commemorations or actions calling for the 21 type of political reforms and rights protections pur- 22 sued by those who gathered in Tiananmen Square in 23 1989 and including over one million Uyghurs and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HRES 994 IH other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities in the 1 Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; 2 (6) condemns any forced imposition of national 3 security legislation with respect to Hong Kong; 4 (7) calls upon the Administration to use all 5 available authorities to protect United States inter- 6 ests in Hong Kong and the freedoms of the Hong 7 Kong people, including— 8 (A) encouraging the Standing Committee 9 of the National People’s Congress of China ‘‘to 10 work with the Hong Kong [Special Administra- 11 tive Region] Government and the people of 12 Hong Kong to find a mutually acceptable ac- 13 commodation that will honor China’s inter- 14 national obligations under the UN-filed Sino- 15 British Joint Declaration’’, as called for by the 16 Joint Statement of the Governments of the 17 United States, Australia, Canada and the 18 United Kingdom; and 19 (B) using all available diplomatic means 20 and targeted sanctions to encourage the repeal 21 of the national security legislation adopted by 22 the Standing Committee of the National Peo- 23 ple’s Congress of China on May 28, 2020; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HRES 994 IH (8) calls upon the Administration to encourage 1 an international coalition to demand that China ad- 2 here to its international agreements and human 3 rights obligations; and 4 (9) calls upon Hong Kong Chief Executive 5 Carrie Lam to allow the Hong Kong people to exer- 6 cise their ‘‘freedoms of speech, of the press and of 7 publication; freedom of association, of assembly, of 8 procession and of demonstration’’, as guaranteed in 9 Article 27 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Spe- 10 cial Administrative Region of the People’s Republic 11 of China. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jun 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR994.IH HR994 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS