[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2922 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2922
To reinstate reporting requirements related to United States-Hong Kong
relations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 13, 2014
Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Wicker, Mrs.
Feinstein, and Mr. Merkley) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reinstate reporting requirements related to United States-Hong Kong
relations.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) 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, done at Beijing December 19, 1984 (in this Act
referred to as the ``Joint Declaration'')--
(A) provided that the People's Republic of China
resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997; and
(B) established a ``high degree of autonomy'' for
Hong Kong except in matters of foreign affairs and
defense.
(2) The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region of the People's Republic of China (in this Act referred
to as ``Basic Law'')--
(A) guarantees Hong Kong a ``high degree of
autonomy'' and separate executive, legislative, and
independent judicial powers;
(B) generally prohibits the central Government of
the People's Republic of China from interfering in the
affairs that Hong Kong administers on its own according
to the Basic Law;
(C) protects the rights to free speech, press,
assembly, and religion;
(D) provides that the socialist system and policies
shall not be practiced in Hong Kong and that Hong
Kong's capitalist system and way of life shall remain
unchanged for 50 years (the principle of ``one country,
two systems'');
(E) affirms the continuing applicability of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to
Hong Kong;
(F) provides that the head of the Hong Kong Special
Administrative Region shall be the Chief Executive;
(G) provides that ``the ultimate aim is the
selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage
upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating
committee in accordance with democratic procedures'';
(H) provides that the legislature of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region shall be the Legislative
Council; and
(I) provides that ``the ultimate aim is the
election of all the members of the Legislative Council
by universal suffrage''.
(3) The National People's Congress Standing Committee
(NPCSC) determined on December 29, 2007, that Hong Kong could
elect the Chief Executive by universal suffrage beginning in
2017, and that Hong Kong could thereafter elect the Legislative
Council by universal suffrage beginning in 2020.
(4) The Chief Executive is currently selected by an
Election Committee consisting of 1,200 members. In order to
run, candidates for Chief Executive must currently receive the
support of one-eighth of the members of the Election Committee,
the majority of whom reportedly support or have ties to the
Chinese Communist Party.
(5) On August 31, 2014, the NPCSC determined that the 2017
election for the Chief Executive could be held by universal
suffrage but that Hong Kong voters could only choose from two
to three candidates, each of whom is to be chosen by a majority
of a nominating committee similar to the current Election
Committee that is heavily controlled by pro-Beijing members.
(6) International standards for elections, including
Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, guarantee citizens the right to vote and to be elected
in genuine periodic elections by universal and equal suffrage
without unreasonable restrictions.
(7) Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong residents have
consistently and peacefully expressed their dissatisfaction
with the electoral reform plans of the Hong Kong government and
the Government of the People's Republic of China, including the
August 2014 NPCSC decision, and have called for a genuine
choice in elections that meet international standards. Their
peaceful and orderly protests have set an example for other
democratic movements around the world, including those in
mainland China who continue to fight for their fundamental
freedoms.
(8) Media reports indicate that Hong Kong police used tear
gas and pepper spray against demonstrators on September 28,
2014, and that police allegedly failed to adequately protect
demonstrators from mobs of counter-protestors, some of whom had
affiliations with gangs known as ``triads'', who beat students
and forcibly tried to remove them from their places of protest.
There have also been several accusations of excessive use of
force by the Hong Kong Police which are under investigation.
(9) The United States enjoys close economic, social, and
cultural ties with Hong Kong. According to the Department of
State, 60,000 United States citizens live in Hong Kong, and
1,400 United States businesses have offices there. According to
the Office of the United States Trade Representative, Hong Kong
is the United States 18th largest trade partner and 9th largest
goods export market.
(10) Hong Kong's unique status as an international finance
center where the rule of law and the rights and freedoms of its
citizens are protected has served as the foundation for Hong
Kong's stability and prosperity.
(11) Section 301 of the Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22
U.S.C. 5731) required the Secretary of State to issue reports
on conditions in Hong Kong of interest to the United States,
including the development of democratic institutions in Hong
Kong, and the last report under section 301 was issued on June
30, 2007.
(12) Failure to establish a genuine democratic option to
nominate and elect the Chief Executive of Hong Kong by 2017 and
to establish open and direct democratic elections for all
members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council by 2020 would
reduce confidence in the commitment of the Government of the
People's Republic of China to uphold its obligations under
international law, and would erode the ability of Hong Kong to
retain a high degree of autonomy.
(13) During an October 2014 session, the United Nations
Human Rights Committee, consisting of 18 independent experts,
reviewed China's compliance with the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights with respect to Hong Kong. According
to the session's chair, the Committee agreed on ``the need to
ensure universal suffrage, which means both the right to be
elected as well as the right to vote. The main concerns of
Committee members were focused on the right to stand for
elections without unreasonable restrictions.''. Another
Committee member said that the ``committee doesn't want
candidates filtered. The problem is that Beijing wants to vet
candidates.''.
(14) The Congressional-Executive Commission on China's 2014
Annual Report found that press freedom in Hong Kong is under
threat, including reports of ``violent attacks on individuals
associated with the press, self-censorship among journalists,
and pressure from the Hong Kong and central governments and
mainland Chinese businesses.''.
(15) The Hong Kong Journalists Association's 2014 Annual
Report noted that Hong Kong journalists rated self-censorship
at 6.9 on a 10-point scale, which the Association considered a
``low level'' of press freedom.
(16) Hong Kong ranked 61st among 180 countries in Reporters
Without Borders' 2014 World Press Freedom Index, down three
places from the previous year and a significant decline from
2002 when Hong Kong ranked 18th.
(17) By providing timely, uncensored, accurate information
in their native language, United States international broadcast
services, through the Broadcasting Board of Governors, help
those living in countries with poor human rights records, such
as China, to better defend their human rights and hold their
government accountable.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to reaffirm the principles and objectives set forth in
the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, namely that--
(A) the United States has ``a strong interest in
the continued vitality, prosperity, and stability of
Hong Kong'';
(B) ``support for democratization is a fundamental
principle of United States foreign policy'';
(C) ``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'';
(D) human rights ``serve as a basis for Hong Kong's
continued economic prosperity''; and
(E) Hong Kong must remain sufficiently autonomous
from the People's Republic of China to justify a
different treatment under a particular law of the
United States, or any provision thereof, from that
accorded the People's Republic of China;
(2) to support the democratic aspirations of the people of
Hong Kong, as guaranteed to them by the Joint Declaration, the
Basic Law, the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
(3) to urge the Government of the People's Republic of
China to uphold its commitments to Hong Kong, including
allowing the people of Hong Kong to rule Hong Kong with a high
degree of autonomy and without undue interference, and ensuring
that Hong Kong voters freely enjoy the right to elect the Chief
Executive and all members of the Hong Kong Legislative Council
by universal suffrage;
(4) to support the establishment by 2017 of a genuine
democratic option to freely and fairly nominate and elect the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the establishment by 2020 of
open and direct democratic elections for all members of the
Hong Kong Legislative Council; and
(5) to support press freedom and journalistic independence,
including the continuation of international broadcasting
programming in Cantonese that is readily accessible to
Cantonese speaking populations in China and in Hong Kong.
SEC. 4. REINSTATEMENT OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO UNITED
STATES-HONG KONG RELATIONS.
Section 301 of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22
U.S.C. 5731) is amended--
(1) by striking ``Not later than'' and all that follows
through ``the Secretary of State'' and inserting ``Not later
than March 31, 2015, and annually thereafter for 10 years or
until such earlier date that the Secretary of State certifies
that Hong Kong has held free and fair elections for two
consecutive Chief Executive and two consecutive Legislative
Council periods, the Secretary of State'';
(2) by striking ``Speaker of the House of Representatives''
and inserting ``chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives'';
(3) in paragraph (7), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(4) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(9) matters in which Hong Kong is given separate
treatment under the laws of the United States from that
accorded to the People's Republic of China and in accordance
with this Act.''.
SEC. 5. TREATMENT OF HONG KONG UNDER UNITED STATES LAW.
Title II of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22
U.S.C. 5721 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 202 the
following new section:
``SEC. 202A. TREATMENT OF HONG KONG UNDER UNITED STATES LAW.
``(a) Presidential Certification Requirement.--Hong Kong is
ineligible for treatment different from that accorded the People's
Republic of China under United States laws, agreements, or arrangements
enacted or entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act
unless the President certifies to Congress that Hong Kong is
sufficiently autonomous to justify such different treatment.
``(b) Waiver Authority.--The President may waive the application of
subsection (a) if the President--
``(1) determines that such a waiver is in the national
security interests of the United States; and
``(2) on or before the date on which the waiver takes
effect, submits to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of
Representatives a notice of and justification for the
waiver.''.
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