Hong Kong People's Freedom and Choice Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4229 To reaffirm the principles and objectives set forth in the United States- Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 20, 2020 Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To reaffirm the principles and objectives set forth in the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Hong Kong People’s Freedom and Choice Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. Sec. 3. Findings. Sec. 4. Statement of policy. Sec. 5. Protection for Hong Kong residents in the United States. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4229 IS Sec. 6. Differential treatment of Hong Kong residents for immigration pur- poses. Sec. 7. Admission for certain highly skilled Hong Kong residents. Sec. 8. Adjustment to lawful permanent resident status of certain nationals of the PRC. Sec. 9. Reporting requirements. Sec. 10. Strategy for international cooperation on Hong Kong. Sec. 11. Sunset. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 3 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 4 mittees’’ means— 5 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 6 the Senate; 7 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 8 Senate; 9 (C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 10 the House of Representatives; and 11 (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 12 House of Representatives. 13 (2) BASIC LAW.—The term ‘‘Basic Law’’ means 14 the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Adminis- 15 trative Region of the PRC. 16 (3) HONG KONG.—The term ‘‘Hong Kong’’ 17 means the Hong Kong Special Administrative Re- 18 gion. 19 (4) NPC.—The term ‘‘NPC’’ means the Na- 20 tional People’s Congress of the PRC. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4229 IS (5) PRC.—The term ‘‘PRC’’ means the Peo- 1 ple’s Republic of China. 2 (6) PRIORITY HONG KONG RESIDENT.—The 3 term ‘‘priority Hong Kong resident’’ means— 4 (A) any lawful resident of Hong Kong or 5 lawful permanent residents of Hong Kong who, 6 as of the date of the enactment of this Act— 7 (i) holds no right to citizenship or 8 residency in any country or jurisdiction 9 other than in the PRC, Hong Kong, or 10 Macau; and 11 (ii) has continuously resided in Hong 12 Kong during the 10-year period ending on 13 such date of enactment; and 14 (B) the immediate family member of any 15 person described in subparagraph (A). 16 (7) SINO-BRITISH JOINT DECLARATION.—The 17 term ‘‘Sino-British Joint Declaration’’ means the 18 Joint Declaration of the Government of the United 19 Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 20 the Government of the People’s Republic of China 21 on the Question of Hong Kong, done at Beijing De- 22 cember 19, 1984. 23 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 24 Congress finds the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4229 IS (1) The NPC has committed to pass national 1 security legislation which, if enacted, would— 2 (A) contravene the will of the people of 3 Hong Kong whose constitution, the Basic Law, 4 provides in Article 23 that the Legislative 5 Council of Hong Kong shall enact legislation re- 6 lated to national security; 7 (B) violate the PRC’s commitments under 8 international law, as defined by the Sino-British 9 Joint Declaration; and 10 (C) cause severe and irreparable damage to 11 the ‘‘one country, two systems’’ principle and 12 further erode global confidence in the PRC’s 13 commitment to international law. 14 (2) The United States has a long and proud 15 history as a destination for refugees and asylees flee- 16 ing persecution based on race, religion, nationality, 17 political opinion, or membership in a particular so- 18 cial group. 19 (3) The United States also shares deep social, 20 cultural, and economic ties with the people of Hong 21 Kong, including a shared commitment to democracy, 22 to the rule of law, and to the protection of human 23 rights. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4229 IS (4) The United States has sheltered, protected, 1 and welcomed individuals who have fled oppression 2 of authoritarian regimes, including citizens from the 3 PRC following the violent June 4, 1989, crackdown 4 in Tiananmen Square, which has deepened ties be- 5 tween the people of the United States and individ- 6 uals, regardless of nationality, who are seeking to 7 contribute to a free, open society founded on respect 8 for the rule of law. 9 (5) The United States has reaped enormous 10 economic, cultural, and strategic benefits from wel- 11 coming successive generations of scientists, doctors, 12 entrepreneurs, artists, intellectuals, and other free- 13 dom-loving people fleeing Fascism, Communism, vio- 14 lent Islamist extremism, and other repressive 15 ideologies, including Nazi Germany, the Soviet 16 Union, Soviet-controlled Central Europe, Cuba, Viet- 17 nam, and Iran. 18 (6) Offering prospective refuge to the people 19 who have contributed the most to Hong Kong’s suc- 20 cess would signal to the Chinese Communist Party 21 that repression in Hong Kong would result in losing 22 some of its immense wealth and talent to the United 23 States. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4229 IS (7) A mid-2020 Brookings report states, ‘‘Chi- 1 nese officials see the United States’ continued ability 2 to attract and retain Chinese talent as a serious im- 3 pediment to their technological ambitions’’. 4 (8) A 2009 report published in Issues in 5 Science and Technology states, ‘‘competition for 6 [science and technology] brainpower . . . will become 7 one of the key defining features of the West’s inter- 8 actions with the PRC over the coming decades’’. 9 (9) A major asymmetric advantage for the 10 United States in its long-term, strategic competition 11 with the Communist Party of China is the ability of 12 people from every country in the world, regardless of 13 their race, ethnicity, or religion, to immigrate to the 14 United States and become United States citizens. 15 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 16 It is the policy of the United States— 17 (1) to continue to reaffirm the principles and 18 objectives set forth in the United States-Hong Kong 19 Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–383; 22 U.S.C. 20 5701 et seq.), including— 21 (A) the ‘‘strong interest [of the United 22 States] in the continued vitality, prosperity, and 23 stability of Hong Kong’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:13 Jul 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4229 IS (B) ‘‘support for democratization is a fun- 1 damental principle of United States foreign pol- 2 icy’’ that ‘‘naturally applies to United States 3 policy toward Hong Kong’’; 4 (C) ‘‘the human rights of the people of 5 Hong Kong are of great importance to the 6 United States and are directly relevant to 7 United States interests in Hong Kong and 8 serve as a basis for Hong Kong’s continued eco- 9 nomic prosperity’’; and 10 (D) Hong Kong must remain sufficiently 11 autonomous from the PRC to ‘‘justify treat- 12 ment under a particular law of the United 13 States, or any provision thereof, different from 14 that accorded the People’s Republic of China’’; 15 (2) to continue to support the high degree of 16 autonomy and fundamental rights and freedoms of 17 the people of Hong Kong, as enumerated by— 18 (A) the Sino-British Joint Declaration; 19 (B) the International Covenant on Civil 20 and Political Rights, done at New York Decem- 21 ber 19, 1966; and 22 (C) the Universal Declaration of Human 23 Rights, done at Paris December 10, 1948; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4229 IS (3) to continue to support the democratic aspi- 1 rations of the people of Hong Kong, including the 2 ultimate aim of the selection of the Chief Executive 3 and all members of the Legislative Council by uni- 4 versal suffrage, as articulated in the Basic Law; 5 (4) to urge the Government of the PRC, despite 6 its recent actions, to uphold its commitments to 7 Hong Kong, including— 8 (A) allowing the people of Hong Kong to 9 govern Hong Kong with a high degree of auton- 10 omy and without undue interference; and 11 (B) ensuring that Hong Kong voters freely 12 enjoy the right to elect the Chief Executive and 13 all members of the Hong Kong Legislative 14 Council by universal suffrage; 15 (5) to support the establishment of— 16 (A) a genuine democratic option to freely 17 and fairly nominate and elect the Chief Execu- 18 tive of Hong Kong; and 19 (B) open and direct democratic elections 20 for all members of the Hong Kong Legislative 21 Council by the end of 2020; 22 (6) to support the robust exercise Hong Kong 23 residents of the rights to free speech, the press, and 24 other fundamental freedoms, as provided by the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4229 IS Basic Law, the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and 1 the International Covenant on Civil and Political 2 Rights; 3 (7) to support freedom from arbitrary or unlaw- 4 ful arrest, detention, or imprisonment for all Hong 5 Kong residents, as provided by the Basic Law, the 6 Sino-British Joint Declaration, and the Inter- 7 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 8 (8) to draw international attention to— 9 (A) any violations by the Government of 10 the PRC of the fundamental rights of the peo- 11 ple of Hong Kong, as provided by the Inter- 12 national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 13 and 14 (B) any encroachment upon the autonomy 15 guaranteed to Hong Kong by the Basic Law 16 and the Sino-British Joint Declaration; 17 (9) to protect United States citizens and long- 18 term permanent residents living in Hong Kong and 19 people visiting and transiting through Hong Kong; 20 (10) to maintain the economic and cultural ties 21 that provide significant benefits to the United States 22 and Hong Kong; 23 (11) to coordinate with allies, including the 24 United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4229 IS Republic of Korea, to promote democracy and 1 human rights in Hong Kong; and 2 (12) with respect to new national security legis- 3 lation in Hong Kong, to review United States immi- 4 gration, asylum, and residency laws to ensure that 5 residents of Hong Kong who are fleeing persecution 6 and seeking better opportunities will be welcomed in 7 the United States. 8 SEC. 5. PROTECTION FOR HONG KONG RESIDENTS IN THE 9 UNITED STATES. 10 Section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 11 (8 U.S.C. 1254a) is amended by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(j) PROTECTION FOR HONG KONG RESIDENTS IN 14 THE UNITED STATES.— 15 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 16 terms ‘Basic Law’ and ‘NPC’ have the meanings 17 given such terms in section 2 of the Hong Kong 18 People’s Freedom and Choice Act. 19 ‘‘(2) DESIGNATION.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Hong Kong shall be 21 treated as having been designated under sub- 22 section (b)(1)(C), subject to the provisions of 23 this subsection. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4229 IS ‘‘(B) PERIOD OF DESIGNATION.—The ini- 1 tial period of the designation described in sub- 2 paragraph (A) shall be for the 18-month period 3 beginning on the date on which the Standing 4 Committee of the NPC promulgates national se- 5 curity legislation with respect to Hong Kong 6 that amends Article III of the Basic Law. 7 ‘‘(3) ALIENS ELIGIBLE.—As a result of the des- 8 ignation described in paragraph (2), an alien who is 9 a resident of Hong Kong is deemed to satisfy the re- 10 quirements under subsection (c)(1) (subject to sub- 11 section(c)(3)) if the alien— 12 ‘‘(A) has been continuously physically 13 present in the United States since the date of 14 the enactment of the Hong Kong People’s Free- 15 dom and Choice Act; 16 ‘‘(B) is admissible as an immigrant, except 17 as otherwise provided in subsection (c)(2)(A); 18 ‘‘(C) is not ineligible for temporary pro- 19 tected status under subsection (c)(2)(B); and 20 ‘‘(D) registers for temporary protected sta- 21 tus in a manner established by the Secretary of 22 Homeland Security. 23 ‘‘(4) CONSENT TO TRAVEL ABROAD.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:19 Jul 26, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4229.IS S4229 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4229 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of 1 Homeland Security shall give prior consent to 2 travel abroad, in accordance with subsection 3 (f)(3), to an alien who is granted temporary 4 protected status pursuant to the designation de- 5 scribed in paragraph (2) if the alien establishes 6 to the satisfaction of the Secretary of Home- 7 land Security that emergency and extenuating 8 circumstances beyond the control of the alien 9 require the alien to depart for a brief, tem- 10 porary trip abroad. 11 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT UPON RETURN.—An 12 alien returning to the United States in accord- 13 ance with an authorization described in sub- 14 paragraph (A) shall be treated as any other re- 15 turning alien provided temporary protected sta- 16 tus under this section. 17 ‘‘(5) FEE.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any 19 other fee authorized by law, the Secretary of 20 Homeland Security is authorized to charge and 21 collect a fee of $360 for each application for 22 temporary protected status under this section 23 244 by a person who is only eligible for such 24 status by reason of paragraph (2). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]