[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 643 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 643

Calling for greater dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Government 
   of China regarding rights for the people of Tibet, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2008

   Mr. Smith (for himself and Mr. Feingold) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

                           September 17, 2008

Committee discharged; considered and agreed to with an amended preamble

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling for greater dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the Government 
   of China regarding rights for the people of Tibet, and for other 
                               purposes.

Whereas, on April 25, 2008, China's official news agency Xinhua expressed the 
        willingness of the Government of China to meet with envoys of the Dalai 
        Lama;
Whereas, on May 4, 2008, Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama Lodi Gyari 
        and Envoy Kelsang Gyaltsen met with Chinese Executive Vice Minister Zhu 
        Weiqun and Executive Vice Minister Sithar for one day of talks, in which 
        the Government of China alleged that the Dalai Lama instigated the March 
        2008 unrest in autonomous Tibetan areas of China, and was sabotaging the 
        Olympic Games;
Whereas Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, released a 
        statement after this meeting saying that his Government of China was 
        committed to a ``serious'' dialogue with the Dalai Lama;
Whereas, at the United States-European Union (EU) Summit on June 10, 2008, the 
        United States and the European Union issued a joint statement welcoming 
        the decision by the Government of China to hold talks with 
        representatives of the Dalai Lama, and urged ``both parties to move 
        forward with a substantive, constructive and results-oriented dialogue 
        at an early date'';
Whereas the Envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Kelsang Gyaltsen and Lodi 
        Gyari visited Beijing from June 30 to July 3, 2008, to conduct the 
        seventh round of the Tibetan-Chinese dialogue;
Whereas, during these talks, the Government of China issued a new set of 
        demands, including that the Dalai Lama prove that he does not support 
        Tibetan independence or disruption of the Olympic Games in Beijing;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has stated multiple times he does not favor the 
        independence of Tibet and is instead seeking negotiations to address the 
        legitimate grievances of, and provide genuine autonomy for, the Tibetan 
        people within the People's Republic of China, and is committed to non-
        violence;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has repeatedly and publicly declared his support for the 
        Olympic Games in China, as well as his intention to attend the opening 
        ceremony, if invited;
Whereas, at the conclusion of the July round of talks, officials of the 
        Government of China did not accept a proposal by the representatives of 
        the Dalai Lama to agree to a joint statement supporting a continuation 
        of the dialogue process;
Whereas Special Envoy Lodi Gyari said on July 5, 2008, that the talks with the 
        Government of China, called for by the international community, were 
        ``disappointing and difficult'';
Whereas, in contrast to the opinion of Special Envoy Lodi Gyari, President 
        George W. Bush said on July 6, 2008, that ``it looks like there's some 
        progress, at least in the talks with the Dalai Lama'';
Whereas officials of the Government of China subsequently stated that the talks 
        with the Dalai Lama's envoys are only about the Dalai Lama's personal 
        future, rather than about the future of Tibet;
Whereas the Office of the Dalai Lama on July 17, 2008, restated its position 
        that the talks are about ``the future of 6,000,000 Tibetans in Tibet and 
        not His Holiness the Dalai Lama'';
Whereas, on July 11, 2008, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that 
        ``welcomes the resumption of contacts, after the events of March 2008 in 
        Lhasa, between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese 
        authorities'' and ``encourages the two parties to intensify these 
        contacts so as to establish the bases for mutual trust, without which it 
        will be impossible to arrive at a mutually acceptable political 
        solution''; and
Whereas China's People's Armed Police troops have been sent to monasteries in 
        Tibetan areas to give monks ``relevant information'' about the Olympics, 
        and Chinese authorities have stepped up ``patriotic education'' 
        campaigns designed to conform the religious practices of Tibetan 
        Buddhists to Communist Party rules, including forcing monks and nuns to 
        denounce the Dalai Lama: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) urges the Dalai Lama or his representatives and the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China to begin earnest 
        negotiations, without preconditions, to provide for a mutually 
        agreeable solution that addresses the legitimate grievances of, 
        and provides genuine autonomy for, the Tibetan people;
            (2) urges that the talks in October 2008 between the 
        Government of China and the Dalai Lama should focus on the 
        welfare, cultural, political, and religious autonomy of the 
        Tibetan people, and not on the person of the Dalai Lama;
            (3) affirms that the human rights of Tibetans and their 
        right to practice religion free of government regulation is not 
        an internal matter of any one country;
            (4) urges the President to take a more personal and engaged 
        interest in the successful conclusion of these negotiations, 
        both unilaterally and in coordination with United States 
        allies; and
            (5) calls on the United States Government to press the 
        Government of China--
                    (A) to respect freedom of speech and freedom of 
                association, as required by international law and as 
                enshrined in the Constitution of China and to release 
                those who have committed no crime other than peaceful 
                protest; and
                    (B) to end the ``patriotic education'' campaign 
                against lay and clerical Tibetans and allow Tibetans to 
                practice their religion freely.
                                 <all>