[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 115 (Tuesday, July 10, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TIBET ``FROM ALL ANGLES''

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 10, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, we recently had a hearing on 
the egregious human rights violations in Tibet. This hearing, again, 
reminds us of the dire and worsening situation of the Tibetan people 
inside of China. We very robustly welcomed Dhondup Wangchen to the 
United States.
  We were glad for him to join us and that he is finally reunited with 
his family. What an unbelievable irony that at a time when China is 
buying Hollywood, buying access to universities, and buying companies 
to influence product, that a man who speaks so eloquently about another 
product of the Chinese government--repression--would find himself so 
horribly mistreated.
  As Chairman Rubio said, Mr. Wangchen was one of the key focuses of 
this Commission for a very long time.
  He is one in a long line of heroic dissidents and former prisoners of 
conscience who have testified before this Commission. The Chinese 
government may not like our efforts, and that is an understatement. 
They do not like light being shown on their human rights abuses, but 
nothing good happens in the dark. We need to accelerate what we are 
doing to bring focus and scrutiny to their abuses.
  We are looking at Tibet from all angles, as a human rights issue, as 
a critical matter of diplomacy, and as a geostrategic concern. Too 
often human rights and human rights diplomacy are discounted or ignored 
as a secondary concern in bilateral relations. That has been a 
bipartisan failure by a number of White Houses and State Departments.
  They are too often viewed as problems, and not of real interest to 
the United States. I believe that sells out the dissidents, and sells 
out the best and the bravest women and men in China and anywhere else 
where we practice that kind of subordination of human rights to other 
concerns.
  It is abundantly clear that we are in direct link between China's 
domestic human rights problems and the security and the prosperity of 
the United States. There is a link.
  The health of the U.S. economy and the environment, the safety of our 
food and drug supplies, the security of our investments and personal 
information in cyberspace, the academic freedom of our universities and 
the civility of a specific region will all depend on China complying 
with international law, allowing the free flow of news and information, 
complying with its WTO obligations and protecting the basic rights of 
Chinese citizens, including the fundamental freedoms of religious 
expression, assembly and association.
  Losing sight of these facts leads to bad policy, bad diplomacy, and 
the needless juxtaposition of values and interests. It also sends the 
wrong message to those in China standing courageously for greater 
freedom, human rights, and the rule of law.
  There is the issue of corporate capitulation referenced by our 
distinguished Chairman. As Mercedes Benz pulled an advertisement on 
Instagram with the Dalai Lama and a quote, ``Look at a situation from 
all angles and you will become more open.'' Like Delta and Marriott 
before it, Mercedes shamelessly apologized even though Instagram is 
blocked in China.
  I remind my colleagues that back in 2006, I began a series of 
hearings where we had Google, Microsoft, Cisco and Yahoo. I had them 
take the stand and swear in. It was an eight-hour hearing. And they 
were not only censoring all things on their platforms, Google 
especially, but they were also aiding and abetting the propaganda of 
the Beijing dictatorship, all for profit--all for profit.
  Now we see others following that terrible and dangerous precedent of 
years ago. It has been unabated, and now it's continuing even in a more 
shameless way towards Tibet.
  The administration's national security strategy rightly identifies 
China's foreign influence operations as a strategic threat. It is 
imperative to counter China's global influence operations and efforts 
to export its authoritarian model, and globally.
  I chair the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and 
International Organizations Subcommittee. We had a hearing in March on 
the influence of China in Africa. We have had these hearings before, 
but it is getting worse. The bad governance model of Beijing is being 
accepted by some, particularly dictatorships like Zimbabwe. So we need 
to bring a light there and compete with that influence that is being 
subjected, or imposed, I should say, on Africa.
  As China increasingly flexes its economic muscle, the result will be 
more apologies, sadly, accommodation and self-censorship.
  Corporate America needs to get more of a backbone. It needs to stand 
for fundamental freedoms. Yes, make a profit, but do so in a way that 
does not violate human rights. And it is not just companies that have 
capitulated, but universities and Hollywood, and nongovernmental 
organizations, and even whole countries.
  As China's Belt and Road initiative expands, so will demands that 
countries be silent about human rights abuses, silent about religious 
persecution, and silent about the Chinese government's repeated 
failures to abide by its international obligations.
  Where is the UN? I have raised it over and over again. The Human 
Rights Council, even at the Periodic Review, it is a very short look 
and scrutinizing--Israel gets unbelievable focus at the United Nations 
on all things related to human rights; China, not even a slap on the 
wrist.
  We should not be silent about the abuses faced by the Tibetan people 
and religious leaders. The China Commission's political prisoner 
database contains records on 600 known Tibetan political and religious 
prisoners. Forty-three percent of those detained are monks, nuns and 
religious teachers. Almost all were imprisoned since 2008.
  The Tibetan people have a right to practice their religion, preserve 
their wonderful culture, and speak their language. They have a right to 
do so without restriction or interference. The Chinese government, of 
course, does not agree. To them, their faith and culture are problems 
to be solved, not a heritage to be preserved and protected. To them, 
the Dalai Lama is an agitator and a revolutionary, not a world-renowned 
and respected voice for peace and harmony that we know him to be.
  The Chinese government wants the Tibetan Buddhism that is attractive 
to tourists for photo-ops, and not one that is strongly embraced and 
revered by the Tibetan people. Allowing greater religious freedom is an 
essential part of dealing with the grievances of the Tibetan people, 
but China's answer is always the same: control, manage and repress, 
incarcerate, and torture. It is counterproductive and it violates 
China's international obligations.
  Finally, in our dealings with the Chinese government and officials, 
Members of Congress and the administration should affirm the peaceful 
desires of the Tibetan people for greater autonomy and freedom within 
China. We should stress that China's policies create needless 
grievances and their repression of Tibet only hurts China's 
international prestige. It brings dishonor--dishonor to Beijing.
  We should demand open access to Tibet by journalists and diplomats, 
and we should raise the cases of prisoners of conscience with Chinese 
officials. U.S. leadership on these issues is critical because our 
allies in Europe and Asia can often be bullied by Chinese threats of 
economic boycotts. We must demonstrate that Tibet matters, human rights 
matter, and that religious freedom matters to U.S.-China relations.
  And, again, I thank Chairman Rubio who has been a stalwart in 
speaking out on behalf of human rights all over the world, including 
and especially in Tibet.

                          ____________________