,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #edc  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,august #cj1        
#bjai,mr4 ,sherman 7for himself1 ,mrs4  
,wagner1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 and ,mr4 ,yoho7
 submitted the following resolution2    
which was referred to the ,committee on 
,foreign ,affairs  ,,resolution         
,recognizing ,hong ,kong's bilateral    
relationship with the ,united ,states1  
condemning the interference of the      
,people's ,republic of ,china in ,hong  
,kong's affairs1 and supporting the     
people of ,hong ,kong's right to        
protest4  ,whereas the ,united          
,states-,hong ,kong ,policy ,act of     
#aiib 7,public ,law #ajb-chc7 states    
that-- 7#a7 support for democratization 
is a fundamental principle of ,united   
,states foreign policy2  7#b7 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 prosperity2 and  7#c7
 ,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 law2  ,whereas the ,united      
,states maintains substantial economic  
and political interests in ,hong ,kong1 
with more than #a1cjj ,united ,states   
firms operating in the ,special         
,administrative ,region1 owing largely  
to ,hong ,kong's favorable business     
environment2 ,whereas the ,united       
,states supports ,hong ,kong's high     
degree of autonomy promised by the      
,sino-,british ,joint ,declaration of   
#aihd in accordance with the one        
country1 two systems framework by       
concluding and implementing bilateral   
agreements1 promoting trade and         
investment1 and bolstering educational1 
academic1 and cultural links2 ,whereas  
the ,department of ,state reported in   
its #bjai ,hong ,kong ,policy ,act      

,report1 dated ,march #ba1 #bjai1 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 ,region1 and   
the ,sino-,british ,joint ,declaration  
of #aihd1 which have diminished ,hong   
,kong's high degree of autonomy2        
,whereas the ,communist ,party of ,china
 has increasingly constrained ,hong     
,kong's freedoms in violation of the one
 country1 two systems framework by      
supporting1 among other actions1 the    
banishment of the pro-independence ,hong
 ,kong ,national ,party1 the restriction
 of entry for individuals critical of   
the ,communist ,party of ,china1 the    
refusal of a ,united ,states extradition
 request in ,may #bjah1 and the         
indiscriminate disqualification of      
candidates for office due to their      
alleged support for ,hong ,kong         
self-determination2 ,whereas1 on ,april 
#c1 #bjai1 the ,government of ,hong     

,kong introduced a bill to amend the    
,fugitive ,offenders and ,mutual ,legal 
,assistance in ,criminal ,matters       
,ordinance laws 7commonly known as the  
extradition bill7 concerning extradition
 to expand the extradition arrangement  
to include mainland ,china1 which would 
allow for the handover of any persons in
 the territory of ,hong ,kong1 residents
 and nonresidents1 as well as materials 
in their possession2 ,whereas the       
,department of ,state issued a statement
 on ,june #i1 #bjai1 warning that the   
lack of procedural protections in the   
bill could negatively impact ,hong      
,kong's longstanding protections of     
human rights1 fundamental freedoms1 and 
democratic values2 ,whereas1 on ,june   
#i1 #bjai1 approximately #a1jjj1jjj     
people peacefully rallied against the   
bill1 and on ,june #ab1 #bjai1 in       
,admiralty1 tens of thousands staged a  
protest outside the city's government   
headquarters to stop the legislators    
from moving forward with the bill2      

,whereas1 on ,june #ab1 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   
riot1 a charge that can result in a     
prison sentence of up to #aj years for  
those who were arrested2 ,whereas the   
police's excessive use of force on ,june
 #ab1 #bjai1 to disperse the protestors1
 including tear gas1 beanbag rounds1    
rubber bullets1 batons1 and pepper      
spray1 widely visible in video footage1 
fueled tensions1 contributed to         
worsening violence1 and caused severe   
injuries to protesters2 ,whereas1 on    
,june #af1 #bjai1 approximately         
#b1jjj1jjj people peacefully gathered in
 ,admiralty1 equivalent to #be percent  
of the population1 the largest protest  
in ,hong ,kong's history2 ,whereas1 on  
,july #ba1 #bjai1 a self-professed      
progovernment mob of men violently      
attacked protestors1 innocent           
bystanders1 and journalists with sticks 

and metal bars in ,yuen ,long1 which    
resulted in the hospitalization of #de  
people1 with #a person in critical      
condition2 ,whereas the ,royal ,hong    
,kong ,police have failed to take action
 against the progovernment triad gangs1 
suggesting the police may be complicit  
in their actions2 ,whereas the          
protestors' demands include3 the        
complete withdrawal of the bill to amend
 the extradition bill2 the              
implementation of universal adult       
suffrage in the election of ,chief      
,executive and the ,legislative         
,council2 the establishment of an       
independent commission to investigate   
whether police have used excessive      
force2 the declassification of the      
protest as a riot2 and the dropping of  
all charges against persons who did not 
personally engage in violence2 ,whereas1
 on ,july #bg1 #bjai1 #i people were    
injured when police fired rubber bullets
 at demonstrators in ,yuen ,long who    
were protesting the ,july #ba1 #bjai1   

triad gangs' violent attacks and the    
lack of a police response to them2      
,whereas1 on ,july #bi1 #bjai1 ,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 acts1 and  
applauding the police for sticking to   
their posts2 ,whereas1 on ,july #cj1    
#bjai1 ,china's ,foreign ,ministry said 
the pro-democracy protests are the work 
of the ,united ,states1 alleging that   
there had been unprecedented levels of  
contact between prodemocracy leaders and
 the ,united ,states2 ,whereas the      
,chinese ,communist ,party has expressed
 its strong indignation and has called  
the protests absolutely intolerable1    
raising fears that the ,party may use   
force in an attempt to violently        
suppress the protestors2 ,whereas1 on   
,august #e1 #bjai1 teachers1 aviation   
workers1 finance employees1 and civil   
servants went on strike across #g       

districts1 the largest citywide strike  
in decades1 which evolved into a wave of
 demonstrations1 and resulted in the    
police firing #hjj tear gas rounds to   
clear the protestors1 almost as many as 
were used in the previous #h weeks2     
,whereas1 on ,august #e1 #bjai1 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 ,admiralty1 and again the
 police did not respond to the ambush2  
,whereas1 on ,august #f1 #bjai1 a       
,chinese ,communist ,party official     
threatened the demonstrators by stating 
that1 those who play with fire will     
perish by it and as for their the       
demonstrators1 punishment1 it's only a  
matter of time2 and ,whereas1 on ,august
 #g1 #bjai1 pro-,beijing media began    
publishing articles accusing ,julie     
,eadeh1 the ,political ,counselor at the
 ,united ,states ,consulate ,general in 
,hong ,kong1 of subversion1 as well as  

publicly identifying her husband and    
family3 ,now1 therefore1 be it  ,that   
the ,house of ,representatives-- 7#a7   
calls on the ,government of ,hong ,kong 
to begin to undertake steps towards     
negotiations to address the             
demonstrators' #e central demands3 the  
complete withdrawal of the bill to amend
 the ,fugitive ,offenders and ,mutual   
,legal ,assistance in ,criminal ,matters
 ,ordinance laws 7commonly known as the 
extradition bill72 the implementation of
 universal adult suffrage2 the          
establishment of an independent         
investigation2 the declassification of  
the protest as a riot2 and the dropping 
of all charges against persons arrested 
during the protests2  7#b7 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      
assembly2  7#c7 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 ,kong2  7#d7 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        
created2  7#e7 shares the concerns of   
the people of ,hong ,kong that the lack 
of procedural protections in the        
proposed amendments to the extradition  
bill1 which would negatively impact the 
territory's longstanding protections of 
human rights1 fundamental freedoms1 and 
democratic values as enshrined in the   
,basic ,law and the ,sino-,british      
,joint ,declaration of #aihd2  7#f7     
recognizes the one country1 two systems 
framework and the ,basic ,law afford    
,hong ,kong a high degree of autonomy   
with respect to economic and trade      
matters1 and rule of law2  7#g7 condemns
 the pro-,beijing media for targeting   
,julie ,eadeh1 the ,political ,counselor

 at the ,united ,states ,consulate      
,general in ,hong ,kong1 and her family2
 and  7#h7 calls on the ,government of  
,hong ,kong and all governments-- 7,a7  
to protect the rights of freedom of     
expression and peaceful assembly2  7,b7 
to condemn all acts of violence against 
those seeking to further their          
democratic rights2 and  7,c7 to refrain 
from the use of violence4