IV
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. RES. 130
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in condemning the
Government of the People’s Republic of China for its harassment and
efforts to intimidate American citizens and other individuals on United
States soil with the goal of suppressing speech and narratives the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China finds unwelcome.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY13, 2025
Mr. B
ERA(for himself and Mr. BARR) submitted the following resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition
to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Education and Workforce, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives in
condemning the Government of the People’s Republic
of China for its harassment and efforts to intimidate
American citizens and other individuals on United States
soil with the goal of suppressing speech and narratives
the People’s Republic of China finds unwelcome.
Whereas freedom of speech is essential to the functioning of
a free and open society, allowing for the exchange of
ideas and accountability of governments and institutions;
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Whereas Congress relies on credible, independent research
and analysis from academic institutions and think tanks
to inform and help shape United States policy;
Whereas the exchange of ideas between United States and
People’s Republic of China (PRC) scholars, including in
the form of collaborative research and Track 1.5 and
Track 2.0 discussions, plays an important role in pro-
moting better understanding between the 2 countries;
Whereas, in November 2023, PRC leader Xi Jinping called
on the United States and China to ‘‘build more bridges
and pave more roads for people-to-people interactions’’
and ‘‘not erect barriers or create a chilling effect’’;
Whereas the PRC Government has engaged in a wide range
of activities intended to intimidate United States scholars
who engage in research the PRC Government and Chi-
nese Communist Party find unwelcome, including—
(1) unleashing personal attacks on United States
scholars in PRC state media and quasi-state media;
(2) pressuring PRC citizens to resign from jobs sup-
porting the research of United States scholars;
(3) withdrawing invitations for United States schol-
ars to attend conferences in the PRC; and
(4) sending PRC diplomats and nongovernment sur-
rogates to United States scholars’ offices to protest their
research, discourage future research on specific topics,
and warn against scholarly collaboration with specific
other United States scholars;
Whereas the Department of State has stated in regard to the
PRC state media and quasi-state media attacks on
United States scholars that ‘‘combating transnational re-
pression is a priority component of U.S. efforts to
counter rising authoritarianism and defend human rights
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around the world’’, emphasizing that ‘‘any kind of har-
assment’’ toward academics, scholars, journalists, or
other individuals is ‘‘unacceptable’’, and noting that, ‘‘ev-
eryone has a right to express their point of view’’;
Whereas the PRC Government’s harassment of United States
scholars whose research the PRC disagrees with and the
PRC Government’s efforts to intimidate other United
States and PRC scholars into distancing themselves from
such scholars creates a chilling effect on United States-
PRC academic exchange and research;
Whereas PRC restrictions on visas for scholars whose re-
search the PRC disagrees with limit visits and field re-
search of United States scholars in China that promote
global understanding of the PRC and the bilateral rela-
tionship;
Whereas, in 2023 and 2024, the Hong Kong police put 19
Hong Kong democracy activists living overseas, including
a United States citizen, on a wanted list and offered
bounties for information leading to their capture, and in
2024 cancelled the passports of 7 of them;
Whereas, according to the Washington Post, in November
2023, the PRC consulate in Los Angeles paid for the
hotel rooms and meals of pro-PRC counter-protesters
who turned out on the streets of San Francisco during
a visit by Xi Jinping, and hired private security guards
for the visit;
Whereas, during PRC leader Xi’s 2023 visit, some counter-
protesters and consulate-hired security guards reportedly
physically harassed and intimidated protesters opposed to
Beijing’s policies who were exercising their First Amend-
ment rights;
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Whereas consulate-hired security guards were reportedly in-
structed by the PRC consulate to ‘‘protect ‘our’ friends’’,
with one guard stating that the use of violence ‘‘was al-
ways insinuated’’;
Whereas, ahead of Xi’s departure from San Francisco, Chemi
Lhamo, a Tibetan activist holding a Tibetan flag, was
pressed against the railing of a bridge, unable to extract
herself from a crowd of PRC supporters that included 2
PRC consular officials, and at least 8 men from the same
crowd reportedly attacked 2 Tibetan teenagers later that
day;
Whereas, according to the advocacy organization Freedom
House, the Government of the PRC is increasingly dis-
regarding the laws of the United States in order to
threaten, harass, surveil, stalk, intimidate, and, in some
cases, plot physical harm to individuals across the United
States;
Whereas, between 2014 and April 2023, Freedom House cat-
aloged 253 instances globally of direct, physical attacks
originating from the PRC, with the PRC accounting for
30 percent of all recorded incidents, far more than any
other country:
Whereas, in 2023, Freedom House reported that ‘‘China is
the world’s leading perpetrator of transnational repres-
sion, employing a wide array of tactics and targeting both
groups and individuals’’;
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation defines
transnational repression as when foreign governments
reach beyond their borders to intimidate, silence, coerce,
harass, or harm members of their diaspora and exile
communities in the United States;
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Whereas, in April 2023, the Department of Justice charged
40 officers of China’s Ministry of Public Security and 2
officials of the Cyberspace Administration of China with
engaging in transnational repression schemes targeting
American citizens and lawful permanent residents; and
Whereas then-Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen
of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division
stated at the time, ‘‘These cases demonstrate the lengths
to which the PRC government will go to silence and har-
ass U.S. persons who exercise their fundamental rights to
speak out against PRC oppression’’, and that ‘‘these ac-
tions violate our laws and are an affront to our demo-
cratic values and basic human rights.’’: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1
(1) strongly condemns the Government of the 2
People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) efforts to sup-3
press free speech, assembly, and academic freedom 4
in the United States, including through harassment 5
and intimidation; 6
(2) calls on United States Federal and local law 7
enforcement agencies to enhance vigilance and take 8
swift action against the PRC’s attempts to extend 9
its intolerance of dissent into the United States and 10
to target people exercising their First Amendment 11
rights on American soil; 12
(3) urges United States academic institutions 13
and think tanks to protect academic freedom by re-14
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sisting pressure from foreign entities, including the 1
PRC, aimed at stifling open scholarly research and 2
debate; 3
(4) reaffirms the United States commitment to 4
defend the rights of individuals to express them-5
selves freely without fear of retaliation, both domes-6
tically and globally; 7
(5) calls on the executive branch, including the 8
Secretary of State, to raise in diplomatic engage-9
ments with the PRC Government incidents of PRC 10
harassment and intimidation intended to limit free 11
speech, highlighting specific cases of intimidation of 12
individuals intended to stifle free speech in the 13
United States; 14
(6) advocates for international collaboration 15
with like-minded allies and partners to highlight and 16
address the threat of transnational repression and 17
establish global norms to combat it; and 18
(7) calls on United States representatives to 19
international organizations to use their voice and 20
vote to support resolutions condemning the 21
transnational suppression of free speech and de-22
manding accountability. 23
Æ
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