[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 26 (Thursday, March 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S1428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          AMENDMENTS SUBMITTED

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 RECOGNIZING THE PLIGHT OF THE TIBETAN PEOPLE AND CALLING FOR SERIOUS 
              NEGOTIATION BETWEEN CHINA AND THE DALAI LAMA

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                        MACK AMENDMENT NO. 2884

  Mr. GRAMS (for Mr. Mack) proposed an amendment to the resolution (S. 
Res. 60) recognizing the plight of the Tibetan people on the fortieth 
anniversary of Tibet's attempt to restore its independence and calling 
for serious negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama to achieve a 
peaceful solution to the situation in Tibet; as follows:

       On page 3, strike lines 2 through 16 and insert the 
     following:
       (1) March 10, 2000 should be recognized as the Tibetan Day 
     of Commemoration in solemn remembrance of those Tibetans who 
     sacrificed, suffered, and died during the Lhasa uprising, and 
     in affirmation of the inherent rights of the Tibetan people 
     to determine their own future; and
       (2) March 10, 2000 should serve as an occasion to renew 
     calls by the President, Congress, and other United States 
     Government officials on the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China to enter into serious negotiations with the 
     Dalai Lama or his representatives until such a time as a 
     peaceful solution, satisfactory to both sides, is achieved.
       In the preamble, strike all the whereas clauses and insert 
     the following:
       Whereas during the period of 1949-1950, the newly 
     established communist govenment of the People's Republic of 
     China sent an army to invade Tibet;
       Whereas the Tibetan army was ill equipped and outnumbered, 
     and the People's Liberation Army overwhelmed Tibetan 
     defenses;
       Whereas, on May 23, 1951, a delegation sent from the 
     capital city of Lhasa to Peking to negotiate with the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China was forced under 
     duress to accept a Chinese-drafted 17-point agreement that 
     incorporated Tibet into China but promised to preserve 
     Tibetan political, cultural, and religious institutions;
       Whereas during the period of 1951-1959, the failure of the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China to uphold 
     guarantees to autonomy contained in the 17-Point Agreement 
     and the imposition of socialist reforms resulted in 
     widespread oppression and brutality;
       Whereas on March 10, 1959, the people of Lhasa, fearing for 
     the life of the Dalai Lama, surrounded his palace, organized 
     a permanent guard, and called for the withdrawal of the 
     Chinese from Tibet and the restoration of Tibet's 
     independence;
       Whereas on March 17, 1959, the Dalai Lama escaped in 
     disguise during the night after two mortar shells exploded 
     within the walls of his palace and, before crossing the 
     Indian border into exile two weeks later, repudiated the 17-
     Point Agreement;
       Whereas during the ``Lhasa uprising'' begun on March 10, 
     1959, Chinese statistics estimate 87,000 Tibetans were 
     killed, arrested, or deported to labor camps, and only a 
     small percentage of the thousands who attempted to escape to 
     India survived Chinese military attacks, malnutrition, cold, 
     and disease;
       Whereas for the past forty years, the Dalai Lama has worked 
     in exile to find ways to allow Tibetans to determine the 
     future status of Tibet and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 
     for his efforts in 1989;
       Whereas it is the policy of the United States to support 
     substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives;
       Whereas the State Department's 1999 Country Report on Human 
     Rights Practices finds that ``Chinese government authorities 
     continued to commit serious human rights abuses in Tibet, 
     including instances of torture, arbitrary arrest, detention 
     without public trial, and lengthy detention of Tibetan 
     nationalists for peacefully expressing their political or 
     religious views.'';
       Whereas President Jiang Zemin pointed out in a press 
     conference with President Clinton on June 27, 1997, that if 
     the Dalai Lama recognizes that Tibet is an inalienable part 
     of China and Taiwan is a province of China, then the door to 
     negotiate is open;
       Whereas all efforts by the U.S. and private parties to 
     enable the Dalai Lama to find a negotiated solution have 
     failed;
       Whereas the Dalai Lama has specifically stated that he is 
     not seeking independence and is committed to finding a 
     negotiated solution within the framework enunciated by Deng 
     Xiaoping in 1979; and
       Whereas China has signed but failed to ratify the 
     International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 
     International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 
     Rights: Now, therefore, be it

       Amend the title of the resolution to read as follows: 
     ``Recognizing the plight of the Tibetan people on the forty-
     first anniversary of Tibet's 1959 Lhasa uprising and calling 
     for serious negotiations between China and the Dalai Lama to 
     achieve a peaceful solution to the situation in Tibet.''.

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