[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2174-E2175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       H. CON. RES. 283 ON TIBET

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 1998

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud that House Concurrent Resolution 
283, expressing the sense of the Congress on the December 1997 report 
on Tibet of the International Commission of Jurists and on United 
States policy on Tibet, is being considered now.
  I offered this Resolution in an effort to maintain the world's 
attention on developments in Tibet. A comparable provision has been 
offered and passed in the Senate. With 66 cosponsors in the House, this 
resolution has strong bipartisan support.
  Tibet remains on the American foreign policy agenda today and it 
remains on the international community's agenda largely because the 
U.S. Congress does not let anyone forget what is happening to Tibetans 
and Tibet culture under Chinese rule. This resolution reflects our 
serious concern for the plight of the Tibetan people and our strong 
support for the Dalai Lama's efforts to enter into serious discussions 
with the Chinese leadership on the future of Tibet.

[[Page E2175]]

  The resolution cites a recent and comprehensive report by the 
International Committee of Jurists entitled ``Tibet: Human Rights and 
the Rule of Law.'' It is the fourth report on Tibet by this 
distinguished body since 1959 and their first since 1964. The December 
1997 report was inspired by the situation in Tibet that by all credible 
accounts, including the Department of State, remains unsettled and in 
many ways has grown more desperate.
  The President has appointed a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. 
Until recently, this position was held by Mr. Gregory Craig of the U.S. 
Department of State. I understand that he has played a very active and 
productive role behind the scenes in promoting discussions between the 
Dalai Lama and his representatives and the Chinese. I would hope that 
further progress will be made on opening this dialogue as President 
Jiang Zemin indicated that he would do during his summit meeting with 
President Clinton. Discussions must lead to negotiations and a positive 
outcome to those negotiations would improve substantially American 
relations with China.
  Finally, I would like to draw the House's attention to the continuing 
detention of Gendun Choekyi Nyima. Over three years ago, the Dalai Lama 
announced the recognition of this young boy, then only six, as the 
Panchen Lama of Tibet. Within days, this child disappeared from his 
home. It was not until a year later that the Chinese Ambassador to 
Geneva admitted to a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the 
Rights of the Child that Gendun Choekyi Nyima was under the 
``protection'' of the Chinese government. Repeated requests from 
governments and private humanitarian organizations to meet with the boy 
have been denied. No one knows where he is nor the conditions under 
which he lives. It is unconscionable that in today's world a young 
child, now nine years old, has apparently become a pawn in Beijing's 
political efforts to control Tibet.
  I would like in particular to thank Mr. Porter, an original cosponsor 
of this resolution; Mr. Gilman, chairman of the International Relations 
Committee, and Mr. Bereuter, chair of the Asia and Pacific 
Subcommittee, on which I serve as Ranking Member, for doing all they 
could to see that this resolution was brought forward for 
consideration. I appreciate the efforts they both made to achieve a 
compromise which would permit the House to consider this initiative. I 
would also like to note the contribution made by Mr. Bereuter's 
subcommittee counsel, Dan Martz, who has negotiated in good faith with 
my staff to reach accommodation on this legislation. I understand that 
Mr. Martz will be soon leaving the subcommittee staff to join the 
private sector in New York City. His advice will be missed in the 
subcommittee but we all wish him well in his next endeavor.

  I urge my colleagues to join me in introducing this resolution which 
calls for the release of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama of 
Tibet, and for a dialogue between the Dalai Lama and Chinese 
authorities.

                            H. Con. Res. 283

       Sponsor: Rep. Berman (introduced 05/22/98).

                             66 Cosponsors

       Rep. Porter--05/22/98.
       Rep. D. Payne--05/22/98.
       Rep. Lantos--05/22/98.
       Rep. Lowey--05/22/98.
       Rep. Wolf--05/22/98.
       Rep. C. Smith--05/22/98.
       Rep. J. Kennedy--05/22/98.
       Rep. Scarborough--06/25/98.
       Rep. Menendez--06/25/98.
       Rep. Hinchey--06/25/98.
       Rep. Borski--06/25/98.
       Rep. Woolsey--06/25/98.
       Rep. LoBiondo--06/25/98.
       Rep. Ehlers--07/17/98.
       Rep. Allen--07/17/98.
       Rep. Waxman--07/17/98.
       Rep. S. Brown--07/17/98.
       Rep. King--07/17/98.
       Rep. Meehan--07/17/98.
       Rep. Faleomavaega--08/06/98.
       Rep. Cramer--08/06/98.
       Rep. Olver--08/06/98.
       Rep. Calvert--08/06/98.
       Rep. Forbes--08/06/98.
       Rep. Kelly--08/06/98.
       Rep. Adam Smith--08/06/98.
       Rep. Underwood--08/06/98.
       Rep. Engel--08/06/98.
       Rep. Kennelly--09/23/98.
       Rep. Ackerman--09/23/98.
       Rep. Furse--09/23/98.
       Rep. Watts--09/25/98.
       Rep. Slaughter--10/05/98.
       Rep. C. Maloney--05/22/98.
       Rep. Abercrombie--05/22/98.
       Rep. Rohrabacher--05/22/98.
       Rep. Gilman--05/22/98.
       Rep. Cox--05/22/98.
       Rep. Lofgren--05/22/98.
       Rep. Pelosi--05/22/98.
       Rep. Dixon--06/25/98.
       Rep. Nadler--06/25/98.
       Rep. Skaggs--06/25/98.
       Rep. Farr--06/25/98.
       Rep. Pappas--06/25/98.
       Rep. Frank--06/25/98.
       Rep. Rivers--07/17/98.
       Rep. Roybal-Allard--07/17/98.
       Rep. Solomon--07/17/98.
       Rep. Pascrell--07/17/98.
       Rep. Goodling--07/17/98.
       Rep. Gejdenson--08/06/98.
       Rep. John Lewis--08/06/98.
       Rep. Stark--08/06/98.
       Rep. McGovern--08/06/98.
       Rep. Sherman--08/06/98.
       Rep. English--08/06/98.
       Rep. Dreier--08/06/98.
       Rep. Sanders--08/06/98.
       Rep. Rangel--08/06/98.
       Rep. G. Miller--09/23/98.
       Rep. Christensen--09/23/98.
       Rep. Inglis--09/23/98.
       Rep. Kilpatrick--09/23/98.
       Rep. Salmon--10/05/98.
       Rep. McKinney--10/07/98.


                            H. Con. Res. 283

       Whereas the International Commission of Jurists is a 
     nongovernmental organization founded in 1952 to defend the 
     rule of law throughout the world and to work toward the full 
     observance of the provisions of 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 these findings were presented to the United Nations 
     General Assembly, which adopted three resolutions (in 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;
       Whereas in December 1997, the International Commission of 
     Jurists issued a fourth report on Tibet, examining human 
     rights and the rule of law;
       Whereas the President of the United States has repeatedly 
     indicated his support for substantive dialogue 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 House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That the Congress--
       (1) expresses grave concern regarding the findings of the 
     report of the International Commission of Jurists on Tibet 
     issued in December 1997, 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 people to Tibet; and
       (B) in 1997, a senior office of 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 integration;
       (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 ensure respect for the fundamental human rights of 
     the Tibetan people; and
       (ii) to end those practices which threaten to erode the 
     distinct cultural, religious, and linguistic identity of the 
     Tibetan people;
       (B) call on the United Nations General Assembly to resume 
     its debate on Tibet; and
       (C) call on the Dalai Lama or his representatives to enter 
     into discussions with the Government of the People's Republic 
     of China;
       (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 the Congress in accordance with the requirements 
     of section 536(a) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
     Fiscal Years 1994 and 1995 (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 child identified by the Dalai Lama 
     as the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi 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) recognizes that the Dalai Lama is not seeking 
     independence but genuine autonomy and calls on the People's 
     Republic of China to respond positively to the Dalai Lama's 
     proposal for Tibet and to enter into discussions with him or 
     his representatives;
       (6) 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
       (7) 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.