[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 357 Introduced in House (IH)]

  2d Session
H. RES. 357

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
  recognition of the authorities of Tibet who are currently exiled in 
     Dharamsala, India, as the legitimate representatives of Tibet.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2002

 Mr. Rothman (for himself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Ms. 
Carson of Indiana, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Rohrabacher, Mr. Kucinich, 
Ms. McCarthy of Missouri, Ms. Baldwin, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. McGovern, 
Mr. Abercrombie, Mr. Towns, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Rivers, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. 
  Hilliard, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Pallone, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. 
 Davis of Illinois, Mr. Evans, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Pascrell, 
 Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Stark, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Lee, Ms. 
Solis, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Mr. Capuano, Mr. Sherman, Ms. McCollum, Ms. 
  Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Frank, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Sanders, and Mr. 
 Wexler) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                  Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the 
  recognition of the authorities of Tibet who are currently exiled in 
     Dharamsala, India, as the legitimate representatives of Tibet.

Whereas for more than 1,000 years Tibet has maintained a sovereign national 
        identity that is distinct from the national identity of China;
Whereas armed forces of the People's Republic of China invaded and occupied 
        Tibet in 1949 and 1950;
Whereas the Seventeen Point Agreement, which was signed under duress by 
        representatives of the Tibetan Government on May 23, 1951, guaranteed 
        the political autonomy of Tibet;
Whereas the Lhasa Uprising against the People's Republic of China on March 10, 
        1959, led to the death and imprisonment of thousands of Tibetans and to 
        the exile of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual and temporal leader;
Whereas in 1959, 1961, and 1965 the United Nations General Assembly passed 
        resolutions expressing concern about the situation in Tibet, one of 
        which called for ``the cessation of practices which deprive the Tibetan 
        people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their 
        right to self-determination'';
Whereas the People's Republic of China has failed to provide Tibetans in Tibetan 
        autonomous areas any genuine political autonomy;
Whereas in 1992 the People's Republic of China designated Tibet as a special 
        economic zone for the express purpose of encouraging Chinese 
        resettlement in Tibet, which would in time make Tibetans a minority in 
        their own homeland;
Whereas the People's Republic of China appears unwilling to negotiate a new 
        agreement with Tibet that would guarantee genuine political autonomy to 
        Tibetans;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has repeatedly endorsed a compromise that would guarantee 
        Tibetans broad autonomy within the People's Republic of China;
Whereas the authorities of Tibet who live in exile in Dharamsala, India, 
        administer all matters pertaining to exiled Tibetans, including the 
        preservation and development of Tibetan culture and education, and the 
        struggle to restore the freedom of Tibet; and
Whereas the exiled authorities of Tibet are organized according to modern 
        democratic principles, which stands in stark contrast to the autocratic 
        rule presently exercised over Tibet by the People's Republic of China: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
the President should give serious consideration to recognizing the 
authorities of Tibet who are currently exiled in Dharamsala, India, as 
the legitimate representatives of Tibet, if such authorities and the 
Government of the People's Republic of China have not signed, within 3 
years of the date of the adoption of this resolution, an agreement that 
provides for the political autonomy of Tibet.
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