Policy of United States on promotion of autonomy of Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

It is the policy of the United States— (1) to ensure that entities of the United States Government do not knowingly assist in the promotion of Hong Kong as a free and autonomous city or the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as committed to protecting the human rights of the people of Hong Kong or fully maintaining the rule of law required for human rights and economic prosperity as long as the Secretary of State continues to determine under section 205(a)(1) of the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (22 U.S.C. 5725(a)(1)) that Hong Kong does not enjoy a high degree of autonomy from the People’s Republic of China and does not warrant treatment under the laws of the United States in the same manner as those laws were applied to Hong Kong before July 1, 1997; (2) to recognize that promotion of Hong Kong as described in paragraph (1) should be considered propaganda for the efforts of the People’s Republic of China to dismantle rights and freedom guaranteed to the residents of Hong Kong by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984; (3) to ensure that entities of the United States Government do not engage in or assist with propaganda of the People’s Republic of China regarding Hong Kong; and (4) to engage with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, through all relevant entities of the United States Government, seeking the release of political prisoners, the end of arbitrary detentions, the resumption of a free press and fair and free elections open to all candidates, and the restoration of an independent judiciary.