[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 138 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>





                                                       Calendar No. 367
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                 S. 138

To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of 
                               that Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 30, 2023

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. 
  Braun, Mr. Coons, Mr. Romney, Ms. Smith, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Risch, Mr. 
   Crapo, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Butler, and Mr. Welch) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                           Foreign Relations

                              May 7, 2024

               Reported by Mr. Cardin, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of 
                               that Act.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting a Resolution to 
the Tibet-China Conflict Act''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) It has been the long-standing policy of the 
        United States to encourage meaningful and direct dialogue 
        between People's Republic of China authorities and the Dalai 
        Lama or his representatives, without preconditions, to seek a 
        settlement that resolves differences.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Ten rounds of dialogue held between 2002 and 
        2010 between the People's Republic of China authorities and the 
        14th Dalai Lama's representatives failed to produce a 
        settlement that resolved differences, and the two sides have 
        not met since January 2010.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China continues to 
        impose conditions on His Holiness the Dalai Lama for a 
        resumption of dialogue, including a demand that he say that 
        Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, which the 
        Dalai Lama has refused to do because it is false.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) United States Government statements that the 
        United States considers Tibet a part of the People's Republic 
        of China have reflected the reality on the ground that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China has exerted 
        effective control over Tibet.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) The United States Government has never taken 
        the position that Tibet was a part of China since ancient times 
        or that the means by which the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China came to exert effective control over Tibet 
        was consistent with international law or included the free or 
        meaningful consent of the Tibetan people.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) United States Government documents dated 
        January 9, 1919, June 1, 1944, June 17, 1949, April 4, 1951, 
        December 3, 1951, March 23, 1961, and February 14, 1963, listed 
        Tibet as an entity separate and distinct from China.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Article 1 of the International Covenant on 
        Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 the International 
        Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that 
        ``All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue 
        of that right they freely determine their political status and 
        freely pursue their economic, social and cultural 
        development.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Under international law, including United 
        Nations General Assembly Resolution 2625, the right to self-
        determination is the right of a people to determine its own 
        destiny and the exercise of this right can result in a variety 
        of outcomes ranging from independence, federation, protection, 
        some form of autonomy or full integration within a 
        State.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 
        1723, adopted on December 20, 1961, called for the ``cessation 
        of practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their 
        fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to 
        self-determination.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) In a December 30, 1950, note to the 
        Governments of the United Kingdom and India, the Department of 
        State wrote that ``The United States, which was one of the 
        early supporters of the principle of self-determination of 
        peoples, believes that the Tibetan people has the same inherent 
        right as any other to have the determining voice in its 
        political destiny. It is believed further that, should 
        developments warrant, consideration could be given to 
        recognition of Tibet as an independent State.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) In a June 2, 1951, telegram to the United 
        States Embassy in New Delhi, the State Department wrote that 
        Tibet should not ``be compelled by duress [to] accept [the] 
        violation [of] its autonomy'' and that the Tibetan people 
        should ``enjoy certain rights [of] self-determination, 
        commensurate with [the] autonomy Tibet has maintained since 
        [the] Chinese revolution.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a May 
        26, 2022, speech entitled ``The Administration's Approach to 
        the People's Republic of China,'' said that the rules-based 
        international order's ``founding documents include the UN 
        Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which 
        enshrined concepts like self-determination, sovereignty, the 
        peaceful settlement of disputes. These are not Western 
        constructs. They are reflections of the world's shared 
        aspirations.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 
        6901 note), in directing the United States Government ``to 
        promote the human rights and distinct religious, cultural, 
        linguistic, and historical identity of the Tibetan people'' 
        acknowledges that the Tibetan people possess a distinct 
        religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical 
        identity.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) Department of State reports on human rights 
        and religious freedom have consistently documented repression 
        by the People's Republic of China authorities against Tibetans 
        as well as acts of defiance and resistance by Tibetan people 
        against the People's Republic of China policies.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) Section 355 of the Foreign Relations 
        Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public Law 102-
        138; 105 Stat. 713) stated that it is the sense of Congress 
        that--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) ``Tibet, including those areas 
                incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, 
                Yunnan, Gansu, and Qinghai, is an occupied country 
                under the established principles of international 
                law'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) ``Tibet's true representatives are the 
                Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile as 
                recognized by the Tibetan people'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) ``Tibet has maintained throughout its 
                history a distinctive and sovereign national, cultural, 
                and religious identity separate from that of China and, 
                except during periods of illegal Chinese occupation, 
                has maintained a separate and sovereign political and 
                territorial identity'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (D) ``historical evidence of this separate 
                identity may be found in Chinese archival documents and 
                traditional dynastic histories, in United States 
                recognition of Tibetan neutrality during World War II, 
                and in the fact that a number of countries including 
                the United States, Mongolia, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, 
                India, Japan, Great Britain, and Russia recognized 
                Tibet as an independent nation or dealt with Tibet 
                independently of any Chinese government'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (E) ``1949-1950, China launched an armed 
                invasion of Tibet in contravention of international 
                law'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (F) ``it is the policy of the United 
                States to oppose aggression and other illegal uses of 
                force by one country against the sovereignty of another 
                as a manner of acquiring territory, and to condemn 
                violations of international law, including the illegal 
                occupation of one country by another''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (G) ``numerous United States declarations 
                since the Chinese invasion have recognized Tibet's 
                right to self-determination and the illegality of 
                China's occupation of Tibet.''.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) The joint explanatory statement to accompany 
        division K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal 
        Year 2023 (Public Law 117-328) states that ``Funds appropriated 
        by the Act shall not be used to produce or disseminate 
        documents, maps, or other materials that recognize or identify 
        Tibet, including the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan 
        autonomous counties and prefectures, as part of the PRC until 
        the Secretary of State reports to the appropriate congressional 
        committees that the Government of the PRC has reached a final 
        negotiated agreement on Tibet with the Dalai Lama or his 
        representatives or with democratically elected leaders of the 
        Tibetan people.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    It is the policy of the United States that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the Tibetan people are a people entitled to 
        the right of self-determination under international law, 
        including the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
        Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and 
        Cultural Rights and that their ability to exercise this right 
        is precluded by the current policies of the People's Republic 
        of China; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the conflict between Tibet and the People's 
        Republic of China is unresolved, and that the legal status of 
        Tibet remains to be determined in accordance with international 
        law.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    It is the sense of Congress that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) claims made by officials of the People's 
        Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet 
        has been a part of China since ancient times are historically 
        false;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China has failed to meet the expectations of the United States 
        to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his 
        representatives toward a peaceful settlement of the unresolved 
        conflict between Tibet and the People's Republic of China; 
        and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) United States public diplomacy efforts should 
        counter disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, 
        including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the 
        Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions including that of the 
        Dalai Lama.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 
              2002.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Tibet Negotiations.--Section 613(b) of the Tibetan 
Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 
        the end and inserting ``; and''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) efforts to counter disinformation about 
        Tibet from the Government of the People's Republic of China and 
        the Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about the 
        history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions 
        including that of the Dalai Lama.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan 
Issues.--Section 621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 
6901 note) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) 
        as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 
        following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) work to ensure that United States Government 
        statements and documents counter, as appropriate, 
        disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, including 
        disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, 
        and Tibetan institutions including that of the Dalai 
        Lama;''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Geographic Definition of Tibet.--The Tibetan Policy 
Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 622. GEOGRAPHIC DEFINITION OF TIBET.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``In this Act and in implementing policies relating to the 
Tibetan people under other provisions of law, the term `Tibet', unless 
otherwise specified, means--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) the Tibet Autonomous Region; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) the Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, 
        Gansu, and Yunnan provinces.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION 
              ABOUT TIBET.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made 
available to carry out section 201(c) of the Asia Reassurance 
Initiative Act of 2018 (22 U.S.C. 2292 et seq.) are authorized to be 
made available to counter disinformation about Tibet from the 
Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist 
Party, including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan 
people, and Tibetan institutions including that of the Dalai 
Lama.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-
China Dispute Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It has been the long-standing policy of the United 
        States to encourage meaningful and direct dialogue between 
        representatives of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai 
        Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically elected 
        leaders of the Tibetan community, without preconditions, to 
        seek a settlement that resolves differences.
            (2) Nine rounds of dialogue held between 2002 and 2010 
        between the People's Republic of China authorities and the 14th 
        Dalai Lama's representatives failed to produce a settlement 
        that resolved differences, and the two sides have held no 
        formal dialogue since January 2010.
            (3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the Government 
        of the People's Republic of China continues to impose 
        conditions on substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama, 
        including a demand that he say that Tibet has been part of 
        China since ancient times, which the Dalai Lama has refused to 
        do because it is inaccurate.
            (4) Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant on 
        Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide, ``All peoples 
        have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right 
        they freely determine their political status and freely pursue 
        their economic, social and cultural development.''.
            (5) The United States Government has never taken the 
        position that Tibet was a part of China since ancient times.
            (6) China signed the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights on October 5, 1998, and ratified the 
        International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 
        on March 27, 2001.
            (7) Under international law, including United Nations 
        General Assembly Resolution 2625, the right to self-
        determination is the right of a people to determine its own 
        destiny and the exercise of this right can result in a variety 
        of outcomes ranging from independence, federation, protection, 
        some form of autonomy, or full integration within a State.
            (8) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1723, 
        adopted on December 20, 1961, called for the ``cessation of 
        practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental 
        human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-
        determination''.
            (9) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a May 26, 2022, 
        speech entitled ``The Administration's Approach to the People's 
        Republic of China'', said that the rules-based international 
        order's ``founding documents include the UN Charter and the 
        Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrined concepts 
        like self-determination, sovereignty, the peaceful settlement 
        of disputes. These are not Western constructs. They are 
        reflections of the world's shared aspirations.''.
            (10) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), 
        as amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 
        (subtitle E of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260), 
        in directing the United States Government ``to promote the 
        human rights and distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and 
        historical identity of the Tibetan people'' acknowledges that 
        the Tibetan people possess a distinct religious, cultural, 
        linguistic, and historical identity.
            (11) Department of State reports on human rights and 
        religious freedom have consistently documented systematic 
        repression by the authorities of the People's Republic of China 
        against Tibetans as well as acts of defiance and resistance by 
        Tibetan people against the People's Republic of China policies.
            (12) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) 
        specifies that the central objective of the United States 
        Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is to promote 
        substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her 
        representatives, or democratically elected leaders of the 
        Tibetan community.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) that the Tibetan people are a people with a distinct 
        religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity;
            (2) that the dispute between Tibet and the People's 
        Republic of China must be resolved in accordance with 
        international law, including the United Nations Charter, by 
        peaceful means, through dialogue without preconditions;
            (3) that the People's Republic of China should cease its 
        propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the 
        Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the 
        Dalai Lama;
            (4) to encourage the People's Republic of China to ratify 
        the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and 
        uphold all its commitments under the International Covenant on 
        Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and
            (5) in accordance with the Tibetan Policy and Support Act 
        of 2020--
                    (A) to promote substantive dialogue without pre-
                conditions, between the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her 
                representatives, or democratically elected leaders of 
                the Tibetan community, or explore activities to improve 
                prospects for dialogue, that leads to a negotiated 
                agreement on Tibet;
                    (B) to coordinate with other governments in 
                multilateral efforts towards the goal of a negotiated 
                agreement on Tibet; and
                    (C) to encourage the Government of the People's 
                Republic of China to address the aspirations of the 
                Tibetan people with regard to their distinct 
                historical, cultural, religious, and linguistic 
                identity.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) claims made by officials of the People's Republic of 
        China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a 
        part of China since ancient times are historically inaccurate;
            (2) the current policies of the People's Republic of China 
        are systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan 
        people to preserve their religion, culture, language, history, 
        way of life, and environment;
            (3) the Government of the People's Republic of China is 
        failing to meet the expectations of the United States to engage 
        in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his 
        representatives or to reach a negotiated resolution that 
        includes the aspirations of the Tibetan people; and
            (4) United States public diplomacy efforts should counter 
        disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, including 
        disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, 
        and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.

SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 2002.

    (a) Tibet Negotiations.--Section 613(b) of the Tibetan Policy Act 
of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
        semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) efforts to counter disinformation about Tibet from 
        the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
        Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about the 
        history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, 
        including that of the Dalai Lama.''.
    (b) United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.--Section 
621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as 
        paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(6) work with relevant bureaus of the Department of State 
        and the United States Agency for International Development to 
        ensure that United States Government statements and documents 
        counter, as appropriate, disinformation about Tibet from the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
        Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of 
        Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including 
        that of the Dalai Lama;''.
    (c) Definition.--The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 
note) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 622. DEFINITION.

    ``For purposes of this Act, the term `Tibet' refers to the 
following areas:
            ``(1) The Tibet Autonomous Region.
            ``(2) The areas that the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China designated as Tibetan Autonomous, as of 2018, 
        as follows:
                    ``(A) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous 
                Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous 
                County located in Gansu Province.
                    ``(B) 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.
                    ``(C) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 
                Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, 
                and Muli (Mili) Tibetan Autonomous County, located in 
                Sichuan Province.
                    ``(D) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous 
                Prefecture, located in Yunnan Province.''.

SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION ABOUT TIBET.

    Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 
under section 346 of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 
(subtitle E of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260) are 
authorized to be made available to counter disinformation about Tibet 
from the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of Tibet, 
the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the 
Dalai Lama.
                                                       Calendar No. 367

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                 S. 138

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of 
                               that Act.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 7, 2024

                       Reported with an amendment