[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 821 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 821

 To promote access for United States officials, journalists, and other 
 citizens to Tibetan areas of the People's Republic of China, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 4, 2017

Mr. Rubio (for himself and Ms. Baldwin) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To promote access for United States officials, journalists, and other 
 citizens to Tibetan areas of the People's Republic of China, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Government of the People's Republic of China does 
        not grant United States officials, journalists, and other 
        citizens access to China on a basis that is reciprocal to the 
        access that the Government of the United States grants Chinese 
        officials, journalists, and citizens.
            (2) The Government of China imposes greater restrictions on 
        travel to Tibetan areas than to other areas of China.
            (3) Officials of China have stated that Tibet is open to 
        foreign visitors.
            (4) The Government of China is promoting tourism in Tibetan 
        areas, and at the Sixth Tibet Work Forum in August 2015, 
        Premier Li Keqiang called for Tibet to build ``major world 
        tourism destinations''.
            (5) The Government of China requires foreigners to obtain 
        permission from the Tibet Foreign and Overseas Affairs Office 
        or from the Tibet Tourism Bureau to enter the Tibet Autonomous 
        Region, a restriction that is not imposed on travel to any 
        other provincial-level jurisdiction in China.
            (6) The Department of State reports that--
                    (A) officials of the Government of the United 
                States submitted 39 requests for diplomatic access to 
                the Tibet Autonomous Region between May 2011 and July 
                2015, but only four were granted; and
                    (B) when such requests are granted, diplomatic 
                personnel are closely supervised and given few 
                opportunities to meet local residents not approved by 
                authorities.
            (7) The Government of China delayed United States consular 
        access for more than 48 hours after an October 28, 2013, bus 
        crash in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in which three citizens 
        of the United States died and more than a dozen others, all 
        from Walnut, California, were injured, undermining the ability 
        of the Government of the United States to provide consular 
        services to the victims and their families, and failing to meet 
        China's obligations under the Convention on Consular Relations, 
        done at Vienna April 24, 1963 (21 UST 77).
            (8) Following a 2015 earthquake that trapped dozens of 
        citizens of the United States in the Tibet Autonomous Region, 
        the United States Consulate General in Chengdu faced 
        significant challenges in providing emergency consular 
        assistance due to a lack of consular access.
            (9) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015 
        of the Department of State stated ``With the exception of a few 
        highly controlled trips, the Chinese government also denied 
        multiple requests by foreign diplomats for permission to visit 
        the TAR.''.
            (10) Tibetan-Americans, attempting to visit their homeland, 
        report having to undergo a discriminatory visa application 
        process, different from what is typically required, at the 
        Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States, and often 
        find their requests to travel denied.
            (11) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 
        of the Department of State stated ``The few visits to the TAR 
        by diplomats and journalists that were allowed were tightly 
        controlled by local authorities.''.
            (12) A September 2016 article in the Washington Post 
        reported that ``The Tibet Autonomous Region . . . is harder to 
        visit as a journalist than North Korea.''.
            (13) The Government of China has failed to respond 
        positively to requests from the Government of the United States 
        to open a consulate in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.
            (14) The Foreign Correspondents Club of China reports 
        that--
                    (A) 2008 rules prevent foreign reporters from 
                visiting the Tibet Autonomous Region without prior 
                permission from the Government of such Region;
                    (B) such permission has only rarely been granted; 
                and
                    (C) although the 2008 rules allow journalists to 
                travel freely in other parts of China, Tibetan areas 
                outside such Region remain ``effectively off-limits to 
                foreign reporters''.
            (15) The Department of State reports that in addition to 
        having to obtain permission to enter the Tibet Autonomous 
        Region, foreign tourists--
                    (A) must be accompanied at all times by a 
                government-designated tour guide;
                    (B) are rarely granted permission to enter the 
                region by road;
                    (C) are largely barred from visiting around the 
                March anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan uprising; and
                    (D) are banned from visiting the area where Larung 
                Gar, the world's largest center for the study of 
                Tibetan Buddhism, and the site of a large-scale 
                campaign to expel students and demolish living 
                quarters, is located.
            (16) Foreign visitors also face restrictions in their 
        ability to travel freely in Tibetan areas outside the Tibet 
        Autonomous Region.
            (17) The Government of the United States generally allows 
        journalists and other citizens of China to travel freely within 
        the United States. The Government of the United States requires 
        diplomats from China to notify the Department of State of their 
        travel plans, and in certain situations, the Government of the 
        United States requires such diplomats to obtain approval from 
        the Department of State before travel. However, where approval 
        is required, it is almost always granted expeditiously.
            (18) The United States regularly grants visas to Chinese 
        officials, scholars, and others who travel to the United States 
        to discuss, promote, and display the perspective of the 
        Government of China on the situation in Tibetan areas, even as 
        the Government of China restricts the ability of citizens of 
        the United States to travel to Tibetan areas to gain their own 
        perspective.
            (19) Chinese diplomats based in the United States generally 
        avail themselves of the freedom to travel to United States 
        cities and lobby city councils, mayors, and governors to 
        refrain from passing resolutions, issuing proclamations, or 
        making statements of concern on Tibet.
            (20) The Government of China characterizes statements made 
        by officials of the United States about the situation in 
        Tibetan areas as inappropriate interference in the internal 
        affairs of China.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Senior leadership positions.--The term ``senior 
        leadership positions'' means--
                    (A) at the national level, the Chairperson of the 
                National Committee of the Chinese People's Political 
                Consultative Conference and the Head and Deputy Heads 
                of the Communist Party Central Committee's United Front 
                Work Department;
                    (B) at the sub-national level--
                            (i) members of the Communist Party Standing 
                        Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region;
                            (ii) the Director of the Tibet Autonomous 
                        Region Tourism Bureau;
                            (iii) the heads of United Front Work 
                        Departments of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, and 
                        Yunnan Provinces; and
                            (iv) members of the Communist Party 
                        Standing Committees of the areas listed under 
                        paragraph (3)(B); and
                    (C) any other individual determined by the 
                Secretary of State to be personally and substantially 
                involved in the formulation or execution of policies 
                related to access for foreigners to Tibetan areas.
            (3) Tibetan areas.--The term ``Tibetan areas'' includes--
                    (A) the Tibet Autonomous Region; and
                    (B) the areas that the Chinese Government 
                designates as Tibetan Autonomous, as follows:
                            (i) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan 
                        Autonomous County located in Gansu Province.
                            (ii) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and 
                        Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul 
                        (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, located 
                        in Qinghai Province.
                            (iii) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang 
                        Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli (Mili) Tibetan 
                        Autonomous County, located in Sichuan Province.
                            (iv) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous 
                        Prefecture, located in Yunnan Province.

SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
includes--
            (1) an assessment of the level of access Chinese 
        authorities granted diplomats, journalists, and tourists from 
        the United States to Tibetan areas, including--
                    (A) a comparison with the level of access granted 
                to other areas of China;
                    (B) a comparison between the levels of access 
                granted to Tibetan and non-Tibetan areas in relevant 
                provinces;
                    (C) a comparison of the level of access in the 
                reporting year and the previous reporting year; and
                    (D) a description of the required permits and other 
                measures that impede the freedom to travel in Tibetan 
                areas; and
            (2) a list of each individual who holds a senior leadership 
        position.
    (b) Public Availability.--The report required under subsection (a) 
shall be made available to the public on the website of the Department 
of State.

SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS.

    (a) Ineligibility for Visas.--No individual who is included on the 
most recent list required under section 4(a)(2) may be eligible to 
receive a visa to enter the United States or be admitted to the United 
States if the Secretary of State determines that--
            (1)(A) the requirement for specific official permission for 
        foreigners to enter the Tibetan Autonomous Region remains in 
        effect; or
            (B) such requirement has been replaced by a regulation that 
        has a similar effect and requires foreign travelers to gain a 
        level of permission to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region that 
        is not required for travel to other provinces in China; and
            (2) restrictions on travel by officials, journalists, and 
        citizens of the United States to areas designated as ``Tibetan 
        Autonomous'' in the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and 
        Gansu of China are greater than any restrictions on travel by 
        such officials and citizens to areas in such provinces that are 
        not so designated.
    (b) Current Visas Revoked.--The Secretary of State shall revoke, in 
accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or other documentation to enter or be 
present in the United States issued for an alien who would be 
ineligible to receive such a visa or documentation under subsection 
(a).
    (c) Waiver for National Interests.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State may waive the 
        application of subsection (a) or (b) in the case of an alien if 
        the Secretary determines that such a waiver--
                    (A) is necessary to permit the United States to 
                comply with the Agreement Regarding the Headquarters of 
                the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 
                1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947 (TIAS 
                1676), or any other applicable international obligation 
                of the United States; or
                    (B) is in the national security interests of the 
                United States.
            (2) Notification.--Upon granting a waiver under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate 
        congressional committees a document detailing the evidence and 
        justification for the necessity of such waiver, including, if 
        such waiver is granted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), how such 
        waiver relates to the national security interests of the United 
        States.

SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON VISA POLICY.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that reciprocity forms the basis of 
diplomatic law and the practice of mutual exchanges between countries.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) a country should give equivalent consular access to the 
        nationals of a foreign country in a manner that is reciprocal 
        to the consular access granted by such foreign country to 
        citizens of the country; and
            (2) the Secretary of State, when granting diplomats from 
        China access to parts of the United States, should take into 
        account the extent to which the Government of China grants 
        diplomats from the United States access to parts of China, 
        including the level of access afforded to such diplomats to 
        Tibetan areas.
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