[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 30 (Thursday, February 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1167-S1168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 408--COMMEMORATING THE 59TH ANNIVERSARY OF TIBET'S 
1959 UPRISING AS ``TIBETAN RIGHTS DAY'', AND EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE 
   HUMAN RIGHTS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF THE TIBETAN PEOPLE AND THE 
                    TIBETAN BUDDHIST FAITH COMMUNITY

  Mr. LEAHY (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 408

       Whereas March 10, 2018, marks the 59th anniversary of the 
     1959 uprising in Tibet, during which the people of Lhasa, 
     fearing for the life of the Dalai Lama, surrounded his 
     residence, organized a guard, and called for the withdrawal 
     of Chinese forces from Tibet and the restoration of Tibet's 
     freedom;
       Whereas Chinese statistics estimate 87,000 Tibetans were 
     killed, arrested, or deported to labor camps during the 
     suppression of the 1959 uprising, which also forced the Dalai 
     Lama and tens of thousands of other Tibetans to flee into 
     exile;
       Whereas March 10, 2018, also marks the 10th anniversary of 
     a series of protests in Lhasa, which spread across Tibet, and 
     which were suppressed by Chinese forces;
       Whereas, according to the Department of State, the 
     Government of the People's Republic of China is engaged in 
     the severe repression of Tibet's unique religious, cultural, 
     and linguistic heritage, and is engaged in gross violations 
     of human rights in Tibet, including extrajudicial detentions, 
     disappearances, and torture;
       Whereas, in the ten years since the 2008 protests, at least 
     152 Tibetans in Tibet are known to have self-immolated, with 
     statements or records left by these self-immolators calling 
     for freedom for Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama;
       Whereas, in 1991, Congress resolved its sense that Tibet is 
     an occupied country under the established principles of 
     international law whose true representatives are the Dalai 
     Lama and the Tibetan government in exile as recognized by the 
     Tibetan people;
       Whereas, in 1961, with the support of the United States, 
     the United Nations General Assembly recognized the Tibetan 
     people's ``fundamental human rights and freedoms, including 
     the right to self-determination'';
       Whereas, on October 18, 2007, Congress awarded the 
     Congressional Gold Medal to the Dalai Lama, finding that he 
     is recognized around the world as a leading figure of moral 
     and religious authority, and is the unrivaled spiritual and 
     cultural leader of the Tibetan people;
       Whereas Buddhists in Tibet, the United States, India, 
     Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Russia, and other countries where 
     followers of Tibetan Buddhism reside look to the Dalai Lama 
     for religious leadership and spiritual guidance;
       Whereas, in its 2017 annual report, the United States 
     Commission on International Religious Freedom noted that 
     ``[t]he Chinese government claims the power to select the 
     next Dalai Lama with the help of a law that grants the 
     government authority over reincarnations,'' which purports to 
     require all Tibetan Buddhist leaders to obtain the approval 
     of the Government of the People's Republic of China in order 
     to reincarnate;
       Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China 
     has interfered in the identification and installation of 
     reincarnated leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, as part of its 
     efforts to maintain control over Tibet, including in 1995 
     arbitrarily detaining the recently identified 11th Panchen 
     Lama, then a six-year-old boy, and purporting to install 
     China's own candidate as Panchen Lama;
       Whereas, in 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama declared that the 
     responsibility for identifying a future 15th Dalai Lama will 
     rest with officials of the Dalai Lama's private office and 
     that ``apart from the reincarnation recognized through such 
     legitimate methods, no recognition or acceptance should be 
     given to a candidate chosen for political ends by anyone, 
     including those in the People's Republic of China'';
       Whereas, in 1981, the United Nations General Assembly 
     passed the Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of 
     Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or 
     Belief, which provides that freedom of religion shall include 
     the freedom to ``train, appoint, elect or designate by 
     succession appropriate leaders called for by the requirements 
     and standards of any religion or belief''; and
       Whereas Congress has long held that the right to freedom of 
     religion undergirds the very origin and existence of the 
     United States, and that freedom of religious belief and 
     practice is a universal human right and fundamental freedom: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes March 10, 2018, as ``Tibetan Rights Day'';
       (2) affirms its recognition of His Holiness the 14th Dalai 
     Lama for his outstanding contributions to peace, nonviolence, 
     human rights, and religious understanding;
       (3) affirms its support for the Tibetan people's 
     fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right 
     to self-determination and the protection of their distinct 
     religious, cultural, linguistic, and national identity;
       (4) expresses its sense that the identification and 
     installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including 
     a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be 
     determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith 
     community, in accordance with the inalienable right to 
     religious freedom;
       (5) expresses its sense that any attempt by the Government 
     of the People's Republic of China to identify or install its 
     own candidate as a Tibetan Buddhist religious leader, 
     including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is invalid interference 
     in the right to religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists around 
     the world, including in Tibet as well as the United States 
     and elsewhere; and
       (6) calls on the Secretary of State to fully implement the 
     provisions of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of 
     title VI of Public Law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), in 
     cooperation with like-minded states where appropriate, 
     including that--
       (A) representatives of the United States Government in 
     exchanges with officials of the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China should call for and otherwise promote the 
     cessation of all interference by the Government of the 
     People's Republic of China or the Chinese Communist Party in 
     the religious affairs of the Tibetan people;
       (B) the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic 
     of China should meet with the 11th Panchen Lama, who was 
     arbitrarily detained on May 17, 1995, and otherwise ascertain 
     information concerning his whereabouts and well-being; and
       (C) the Secretary of State should make best efforts to 
     establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, 
     economic, and cultural developments in Tibet.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senators Feinstein and 
Cruz in cosponsoring a resolution recognizing the 59th anniversary of 
the Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule--March 10, 2018 as ``Tibetan 
Rights Day.''
  Fifty-nine years ago, Tibetans took a stand, together, for the 
freedom of their homeland. The people of the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, 
fearing for the life of the Dalai Lama, surrounded his residence, 
organized a guard, and called for the withdrawal of Chinese forces from 
Tibet and the restoration of Tibet's freedom. Chinese statistics 
estimate 87,000 Tibetans were killed, arrested, or deported to labor 
camps during the suppression of the 1959 uprising, which also led to 
the forced exile of the Dalai Lama and tens of thousands of other 
Tibetans.
  Today, 59 years later, the Government of the People's Republic of 
China remains engaged in the severe repression of Tibet's unique 
religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage, and is engaged in gross 
violations of human rights in Tibet, including extrajudicial 
detentions, disappearances, and torture. At least 152 Tibetans in Tibet 
are known to have self-immolated in protest in the past decade. Yet the 
Tibetan people have not given up their struggle for fundamental human 
rights and freedoms. We stand by the Tibetan people, who have long been 
our unwavering friends.
  We also stand by the rights of Tibetan Buddhists, not just in Tibet 
but around the world, who should be able to determine their own 
religious leadership in accordance with their inalienable right to 
religious freedom. According to the U.S. Commission on International 
Religious Freedom, the Chinese government claims the power to

[[Page S1168]]

select the next Dalai Lama with the help of a law that grants the 
government authority over reincarnations. That is absurd. The 
identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, 
including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter that should be 
determined solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith community.
  We can foster closer, cooperative relations with China, but until 
China works with Tibetan leaders to pursue a new way forward, their 
reputation in the community of nations, and their ability to act as a 
global power, will remain deeply tarnished. I urge other Senators to 
join in support of this resolution, and to pass it before the important 
anniversary commemoration on March 10, 2018.

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