[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7306-S7308]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 30--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH 
RESPECT TO UNITED STATES POLICY TOWARD TIBET AND THAT THE TREATMENT OF 
  THE TIBETAN PEOPLE SHOULD BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE CONDUCT OF 
      UNITED STATES RELATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

  Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Rubio, Ms. Baldwin, Mr.

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Gardner, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leahy, and Mrs. Feinstein) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 30

       Whereas, on October 17, 2007, His Holiness the 14th Dalai 
     Lama (in this resolution referred to as the ``Dalai Lama'') 
     was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of 
     his many enduring and outstanding contributions to peace, 
     nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding;
       Whereas, during his Congressional Gold Medal acceptance 
     speech, Dalai Lama stated, ``The time has come for our 
     dialogue with the Chinese leadership to progress towards the 
     successful implementation of a meaningful autonomy for Tibet, 
     as guaranteed in the Chinese constitution and detailed in the 
     Chinese State Council `White Paper on Regional Ethnic 
     Autonomy of Tibet'.'';
       Whereas the Dalai Lama continues to advance the goal of 
     greater understanding, tolerance, harmony, and respect among 
     the different religious faiths of the world through 
     interfaith dialogue and outreach to other religious leaders;
       Whereas the Dalai Lama continues to use his moral authority 
     to promote the concept of universal responsibility as a 
     guiding tenet for how human beings should treat one another 
     and the planet we share;
       Whereas, in the ten years since the Dalai Lama accepted the 
     Congressional Gold Medal, China has implemented increasingly 
     repressive policies in Tibet, including--
       (1) travel restrictions against Tibetans and United States 
     citizens;
       (2) restrictive regulations on religious affairs;
       (3) censorship of Buddhist literature and information;
       (4) demolition of Tibetan Buddhist sites;
       (5) imprisonment of Tibetan prisoners of conscience; and
       (6) declarations that ``Decision-making power over the 
     reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and over the end of survival 
     of his lineage resides with the central government of 
     China'';
       Whereas, on April 15, 2015, the Chinese State Council 
     released a white paper entitled ``Tibet's Path of Development 
     Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide'', which stated 
     that ``there is no prospect of [a high degree of autonomy for 
     Tibet] ever coming to pass'' and furthermore stated that 
     Tibet had been part of China ``since ancient times'';
       Whereas in recent years, Tibetan nomads, who have lived as 
     nomadic herders on the Tibetan Plateau for centuries, have 
     been banned from grazing in certain areas of the Tibetan 
     Plateau, and hundreds of Tibetan herders have been forcibly 
     relocated by Chinese government officials into ``socialist 
     villages'';
       Whereas, in September 2017, the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China adopted additional restrictive regulations 
     on governmental control over the practice of religion and 
     expressed an intention that the government should ``actively 
     guide religion to fit within socialist society'';
       Whereas these 2017 regulations state that ``religious 
     groups, religious schools, religious activity sites and 
     religious citizens shall abide by the Constitution, laws, 
     regulations and rules; practice the core socialist values; 
     [and] preserve the unification of the country, ethnic unity 
     and religious harmony and social stability'';
       Whereas these 2017 regulations, scheduled for 
     implementation by the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China beginning February 2018, would explicitly ban 
     unregistered religious groups from teaching about religion, 
     establishing religious colleges, going abroad to take part in 
     religious training or gatherings, or otherwise engage in 
     activities that ``endanger national security'';
       Whereas the Department of State stated in the 2016 Report 
     on Tibet Negotiations that ``[t]he Dalai Lama's 
     representatives and Chinese officials from the United Front 
     Work Department have not met directly since the ninth round 
     of dialogue in January 2010'';
       Whereas the 2016 International Religious Freedom Report for 
     China published by the Department of State stated, ``In the 
     [Tibet Autonomous Region] and other Tibetan areas, 
     authorities engaged in widespread interference in religious 
     practices, especially in Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and 
     nunneries.'';
       Whereas the 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
     for China published by the Department of State stated, 
     ``Under the professed objectives of controlling border areas, 
     maintaining social stability, combating separatism, and 
     extracting natural resources, the government engaged in the 
     severe repression of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, and 
     linguistic heritage by, among other means, strictly 
     curtailing the civil rights of the Tibetan population, 
     including the freedoms of speech, religion, association, 
     assembly, and movement.'';
       Whereas, since 2009, 150 Tibetans have self-immolated to 
     protest against China's rule in Tibet and most Tibetans 
     publicly call for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has refused to allow an independent investigation into the 
     causes of the self-immolations and has instead criminalized 
     them, by imprisoning the survivors and collectively punishing 
     the relatives, friends, and villagers of the self-immolators, 
     as documented by the International Campaign for Tibet;
       Whereas Congress has a long history of support for Tibet, 
     including--
       (1) declaring that the United States should make the Tibet 
     issue a higher policy priority;
       (2) declaring that the United States should urge China to 
     establish a constructive dialogue with the Dalai Lama;
       (3) requiring Voice of America and Radio Free Asia to begin 
     broadcasts in the Tibetan language;
       (4) mandating that Tibet be listed separately in the annual 
     Country Reports on Human Rights published by the Department 
     of State;
       (5) requiring a report from the Department of State on the 
     state of negotiations between the representatives of the 
     Tibetan people and the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China;
       (6) establishing educational and cultural exchange programs 
     with Tibet;
       (7) providing humanitarian, food, medical, vocational 
     training, primary and secondary education, and other 
     assistance to Tibetan refugees;
       (8) funding programs to promote and preserve Tibetan 
     culture and the resilience of Tibetan communities in India 
     and Nepal;
       (9) funding a scholarship program for Tibetan refugees to 
     study in the United States;
       (10) providing assistance to non-governmental organizations 
     working to preserve the Tibetan environment and cultural 
     traditions; and
       (11) appropriating funds for National Endowment for 
     Democracy programs related to Tibet;
       Whereas section 901(b)(6) of the Foreign Relations 
     Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 
     101-246; 104 Stat. 80) stated that United States policy 
     toward China should be explicitly linked with the situation 
     in Tibet, specifically including --
       (1) lifting martial law in Lhasa and other parts of Tibet;
       (2) opening Tibet to foreigners, including the press and 
     international human rights organizations;
       (3) releasing Tibetan political prisoners; and
       (4) conducting negotiations between representatives of His 
     Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China;
       Whereas the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of title 
     VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 note), signed into 
     law on September 30, 2002--
       (1) established United States principles with respect to 
     human rights, religious freedom, political prisoners, and 
     economic development projects in Tibet;
       (2) established in statute the position of the Special 
     Coordinator for Tibetan Issues in the Department of State;
       (3) established annual reporting requirements on Sino-
     Tibetan negotiations and safeguarding Tibet's distinct 
     cultural identity, both by the Secretary of State and by the 
     congressionally established Congressional-Executive 
     Commission on China;
       (4) mandated the provision of Tibetan language training to 
     interested foreign service officers;
       (5) required Federal officials to raise issues of religious 
     freedom and political prisoners; and
       (6) urged the Secretary of State to seek establishment of 
     an office in Lhasa; and
       Whereas it is in line with United States national security 
     interests and values to oppose China's increasingly 
     repressive policies toward Tibet and work towards a 
     negotiated solution: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that it should 
     be the policy of the United States to--
       (1) make the treatment of the Tibetan people an important 
     factor in the conduct of United States relations with the 
     People's Republic of China;
       (2) consistent with the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 
     (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 
     note)--
       (A) encourage the Government of the People's Republic of 
     China to enter into a dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his 
     representatives leading to a negotiated agreement with 
     respect to Tibet;
       (B) publicly call for the immediate and unconditional 
     release of all those held prisoner for expressing their 
     political or religious views in the Tibet Autonomous Region 
     and other Tibetan areas; and
       (C) establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to assist visiting 
     United States citizens and to monitor political, economic, 
     and cultural developments in Tibet;
       (3) appoint the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues at 
     the rank of Under Secretary of State;
       (4) revoke appropriate privileges of any Chinese official 
     found to be responsible for impeding access of United States 
     citizens, including Tibetan-Americans, to Tibet and ensure 
     that reciprocal visa processing measures are occurring in 
     accordance with the rules and regulations of the Department 
     of State;
       (5) continue to designate China as a country of particular 
     concern pursuant to section 402 of the International 
     Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)); and
       (6) engage with appropriate officials of the Government of 
     the People's Republic of China to--
       (A) stop the demolition of Tibetan Buddhist religious 
     institutions;
       (B) revise religious and travel regulations to conform with 
     international human rights standards; and

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       (C) ensure that Tibetan nomads are allowed to continue 
     their way of life on the Tibetan Plateau, which they have 
     helped to preserve for centuries, and are not forcibly 
     relocated into ``socialist villages''.

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