[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 124 (Thursday, September 17, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10536-S10537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF JURISTS ON TIBET AND ON THE UNITED STATES 
                      POLICY WITH REGARD TO TIBET

  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 500, S. Con. 
Res. 103.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 103) expressing the 
     sense of Congress in support of the recommendations of the 
     International Commission of Jurists on Tibet and on United 
     States policy with regard to Tibet.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the immediate 
consideration of the concurrent resolution?
  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
concurrent resolution, which had been reported from the Committee on 
Foreign Relations with an amendment, as follows:
       Resolved
     That Congress--
       (1) expresses grave concern regarding the findings of the 
     December 1997 International Commission of Jurists report on 
     Tibet that--
       (A) repression in Tibet has increased steadily since 1994, 
     resulting in heightened control on religious activity; a 
     denunciation campaign against the Dalai Lama unprecedented 
     since the Cultural Revolution; an increase in political 
     arrests; suppression of peaceful protests; and an accelerated 
     movement of Chinese to Tibet; and
       (B) in 1997, the People's Republic of China labeled the 
     Tibetan Buddhist culture, which has flourished in Tibet since 
     the seventh century, as a ``foreign culture'' in order to 
     facilitate indoctrination of Tibetans in Chinese socialist 
     ideology and the process of national and cultural 
     extermination;
       (2) supports the recommendations contained in the report 
     referred to in paragraph (1) that--
       (A) call on the People's Republic of China--
       (i) to enter into discussions with the Dalai Lama or his 
     representatives on a solution to the question of Tibet;
       (ii) to ensure respect for the fundamental human rights of 
     the Tibetan people; and
       (iii) to end those practices which threaten to erode the 
     distinct cultural, religious and national identity of the 
     Tibetan people and, in particular, to cease policies which 
     result in the movement of Chinese people to Tibetan 
     territory;
       (B) call on the United Nations General Assembly to resume 
     its debate on the question of Tibet based on its resolutions 
     of 1959, 1961, and 1965; and
       (C) call on the Dalai Lama or his representatives to enter 
     into discussions with the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China on a solution to the question of Tibet;
       (3) commends the appointment by the Secretary of State of a 
     United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues--
       (A) to promote substantive dialogue between the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his 
     representatives;
       (B) to coordinate United States Government policies, 
     programs, and projects concerning Tibet;
       (C) to consult with the Congress on policies relevant to 
     Tibet and the future and welfare of all Tibetan people, and 
     to report to Congress in partial fulfillment of the 
     requirements of section 536(a) of the Public Law 103-236; and
       (D) to advance United States policy which seeks to protect 
     the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of 
     Tibet, and to encourage improved respect for Tibetan human 
     rights;
       (4) calls on the People's Republic of China to release from 
     detention the 9-year old Panchen Lama, Gedhun Cheokyi Nyima, 
     to his home in Tibet from which he was taken on May 17, 1995, 
     and to allow him to pursue his religious studies without 
     interference and according to tradition;
       (5) commends the President for publicly urging President 
     Jiang Zemin, during their recent summit meeting in Beijing, 
     to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama; and
       (6) calls on the President to continue to work to secure an 
     agreement to begin substantive negotiations between the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai 
     Lama or his representatives.

  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
committee amendment be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The committee amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution, as amended, be agreed to; that the preamble be agreed to; 
that the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any 
statements relating to the concurrent resolution be placed at the 
appropriate place in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 103), as amended, was agreed 
to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, is as follows:

                            S. Con. Res. 103

       Whereas the International Commission of Jurists is a non-
     governmental organization founded in 1952 to defend the Rule 
     of Law throughout the world and to work towards the full 
     observance of the provisions in the Universal Declaration of 
     Human Rights;
       Whereas in 1959, 1960, and 1964, the International 
     Commission of Jurists examined Chinese policy in Tibet, 
     violations of human rights in Tibet, and the position of 
     Tibet in international law;
       Whereas in 1960, the International Commission of Jurists 
     found ``that acts of genocide has been committed in Tibet in 
     an attempt to destroy the Tibetans as a religious group, * * 
     *'' and concluded that Tibet was at least ``a de facto 
     independent State'' prior to 1951 and that Tibet was a 
     ``legitimate concern of the United Nations even on the 
     restrictive interpretation of matters `essentially within the 
     domestic jurisdiction' of a State.'';
       Whereas these findings were presented to the United Nations 
     General Assembly, which adopted three resolutions (1959, 
     1961, and 1965) calling on the People's Republic of China to 
     ensure respect for the fundamental human rights of the 
     Tibetan people and for their distinctive cultural and 
     religious life, and to cease practices which deprive the 
     Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and freedoms 
     including their right to self-determination;
       Whereas in December 1997, the International Commission of 
     Jurists issued a fourth report on Tibet, examining human 
     rights and the rule of law, including self-determination;
       Whereas the President has repeatedly indicated his support 
     for substantive dialogue

[[Page S10537]]

     between the Government of the People's Republic of China and 
     the Dalai Lama or his representatives; and
       Whereas on October 31, 1997, the Secretary of State 
     appointed a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to oversee 
     United States policy regarding Tibet: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representative 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) expresses grave concern regarding the findings of the 
     December 1997 International Commission of Jurists report on 
     Tibet that--
       (A) repression in Tibet has increased steadily since 1994, 
     resulting in heightened control on religious activity; a 
     denunciation campaign against the Dalai Lama unprecedented 
     since the Cultural Revolution; an increase in political 
     arrests; suppression of peaceful protests; and an accelerated 
     movement of Chinese to Tibet; and
       (B) in 1997, the People's Republic of China labeled the 
     Tibetan Buddhist culture, which has flourished in Tibet since 
     the seventh century, as a ``foreign culture'' in order to 
     facilitate indoctrination of Tibetans in Chinese socialist 
     ideology and the process of national and cultural 
     extermination;
       (2) supports the recommendations contained in the report 
     referred to in paragraph (1) that--
       (A) call on the People's Republic of China--
       (i) to enter into discussions with the Dalai Lama or his 
     representatives on a solution to the question of Tibet;
       (ii) to ensure respect for the fundamental human rights of 
     the Tibetan people; and
       (iii) to end those practices which threaten to erode the 
     distinct cultural, religious and national identity of the 
     Tibetan people and, in particular, to cease policies which 
     result in the movement of Chinese people to Tibetan 
     territory;
       (B) call on the United Nations General Assembly to resume 
     its debate on the question of Tibet based on its resolutions 
     of 1959, 1961, and 1965; and
       (C) call on the Dalai Lama or his representatives to enter 
     into discussions with the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China on a solution to the question of Tibet;
       (3) commends the appointment by the Secretary of State of a 
     United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues--
       (A) to promote substantive dialogue between the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his 
     representatives;
       (B) to coordinate United States Government policies, 
     programs, and projects concerning Tibet;
       (C) to consult with the Congress on policies relevant to 
     Tibet and the future and welfare of all Tibetan people, and 
     to report to Congress in partial fulfillment of the 
     requirements of section 536(a) of the Public Law 103-236; and
       (D) to advance United States policy which seeks to protect 
     the unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of 
     Tibet, and to encourage improved respect for Tibetan human 
     rights;
       (4) calls on the People's Republic of China to release from 
     detention the 9-year old Panchen Lama, Gedhun Cheokyi Nyima, 
     to his home in Tibet from which he was taken on May 17, 1995, 
     and to allow him to pursue his religious studies without 
     interference and according to tradition;
       (5) commends the President for publicly urging President 
     Jiang Zemin, during their recent summit meeting in Beijing, 
     to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama; and
       (6) calls on the President to continue to work to secure an 
     agreement to begin substantive negotiations between the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai 
     Lama or his representatives.

                          ____________________