,,iii  #aagth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #hba  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,september
 #bi1 #bjbb,mr4 ,cramer 7for himself1   
,mr4 ,king1 ,mr4 ,risch1 and ,mr4       
,padilla7 submitted the following       
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,relations       
,,resolution  ,condemning the arrest of 
,cardinal ,zen in ,hong ,kong1 and      
reaffirming the commitment of the       
,senate to supporting democracy1        
autonomy1 religious freedom1 and human  
rights in ,hong ,kong4  ,whereas1 in    
,may #bjbb1 ,hong ,kong authorities     
arrested ,cardinal ,zen1 a #ij-year-old 
bishop emeritus of ,hong ,kong and      
outspoken critic of ,china's ruling     
,communist ,party1 on spurious charges1 
accusing him and four others of         
violating ,china's national security by 
colluding with foreign forces1 as well  
as for allegedly failing to register a  
fund established to assist people       
arrested in the mass anti-government    

protests that began in #bjai2 ,whereas  
,china imposed a so-called national     
security law in #bjbj1 effectively      
crushing ,hong ,kong's opposition       
movement1 overhauling its electoral     
system to provide ,beijing with even    
more control1 silencing free media1 and 
crippling its once-vibrant civil        
society2 ,whereas hundreds of           
protestors1 activists1 and former       
opposition lawmakers have been arrested 
since the national security law came    
into force2 ,whereas ,hong ,kong is     
devolving into an increasingly          
repressive society where no one         
resisting government tyranny is safe1   
including religious leaders and         
communities2 ,whereas1 in #bjbb1 the    
,united ,kingdom announced that two of  
its ,supreme ,court judges would no     
longer sit on ,hong ,kong's top court1  
as the threat to civil liberties and    
lack of judicial independence had made  
their role untenable2 ,whereas ,cardinal
 ,zen and five prominent pro-democracy  

campaigners have pleaded not guilty in  
court in ,hong ,kong for failing to     
properly register a humanitarian fund   
they established to help people arrested
 in anti-government protests in #bjai2  
and ,whereas the story of ,cardinal ,zen
 is only one of many such instances of  
religious persecution and infringement  
on democratic freedom in ,china and     
around the world3 ,now1 therefore1 be it
 ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns the  
arrest of ,cardinal ,zen by the ,hong   
,kong authorities at the behest of the  
,chinese ,communist ,party2  7#b7 calls 
for all charges to be immediately       
dropped against ,cardinal ,zen2  7#c7   
reaffirms religious freedom as a        
fundamental right2 and  7#d7 urges the  
,chinese and ,hong ,kong authorities to 
cease targeting ,hong ,kong's civil     
society actors and to immediately       
release and drop all charges against all
 political prisoners who have been      
unjustly detained and charged4