[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 504 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 504

   Condemning the violence in Tibet and calling for restraint by the 
 Government of the People's Republic of China and the people of Tibet.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2008

 Mrs. Feinstein (for herself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Biden, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
 Brown, Mrs. Dole, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Collins, 
   Mr. Obama, Mr. Byrd, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Schumer, and Mrs. Murray) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the violence in Tibet and calling for restraint by the 
 Government of the People's Republic of China and the people of Tibet.

Whereas, beginning on March 10, 2008, Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhist monks began 
        demonstrations in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in 
        the People's Republic of China;
Whereas those protests spread to elsewhere in the Tibet Autonomous Region and to 
        Tibetan autonomous areas in the Sichuan, Gansu, and Qinghan provinces of 
        China;
Whereas long-suppressed resentment prompted violent clashes between 
        demonstrators and government forces in the streets of Lhasa, resulting 
        in innocent civilian casualties, the burning of buildings, and extensive 
        property damage;
Whereas Chinese and Tibetan sources report dozens of fatalities and the arrest 
        of more than 1,000 protesters in the Tibet Autonomous Region and 
        surrounding Tibetan areas of China;
Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama is the most 
        revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism;
Whereas the Government of China continues to restrict the rights of Tibetan 
        Buddhists to practice their religion freely;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has condemned the violence that began on March 14, 2008, 
        and announced his continuing support for the Olympic Games to be held in 
        Beijing, China;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has specifically stated that he does not seek 
        independence for Tibet from China and has called for negotiations to 
        bring about meaningful autonomy for Tibet that allows Tibetans to 
        maintain their distinctive identity within China;
Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China guarantees freedom of 
        religious belief for all citizens, but the 2007 Annual Report on 
        International Religious Freedom of the Department of State states that 
        ``[d]uring the period covered by this report, the Government [of 
        China]'s respect for freedom of religion remained poor''; and
Whereas, following the demonstrations that began on March 10, 2008, the 
        Government of China began severely restricting access to journalists and 
        diplomats and creating a shortage of independent verification of the 
        situation on the ground in Tibet: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the violence in Tibet and calls for restraint 
        by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
        people of Tibet;
            (2) calls for a dialogue between the leadership of the 
        Government of China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 
        meaningful religious and cultural autonomy for Tibet within 
        China and urges that these discussions take place with all 
        deliberate speed;
            (3) calls for the release of individuals who protested in a 
        peaceful manner and for medical care for those injured and 
        wounded in the violence that followed the protests;
            (4) calls on the Government of China to cease its efforts 
        to enter monasteries to `reeducate' monks and nuns, to respect 
        the right of the people of Tibet to speak of the Dalai Lama and 
        possess his photograph, and to respect and protect basic human 
        rights, as provided in the Constitution of the People's 
        Republic of China;
            (5) calls on the Government of China to honor its 
        commitment to allow international journalists free access to 
        China from mid-2007 to October 17, 2008;
            (6) calls on the Government of China to provide a full 
        accounting of the March 2008 protests in Tibet, the response of 
        the Government of China, and the manner and number of 
        detentions and deaths that occurred following the protests; and
            (7) both--
                    (A) calls on the United States Department of State 
                to fully implement the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 
                U.S.C. 6901 note), including the stipulation that the 
                Secretary of State seek ``to establish an office in 
                Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic, and 
                cultural developments in Tibet'', and also to provide 
                consular protection and citizen services in 
                emergencies; and
                    (B) urges that the agreement to permit China to 
                open further diplomatic missions in the United States 
                should be contingent upon the establishment of a United 
                States Government office in Lhasa, Tibet.
                                 <all>