[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 195 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7427]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     RECIPROCAL ACCESS TO TIBET ACT

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, this evening the Senate unanimously passed 
the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018. I was one of the earliest 
cosponsors of this bill, and I strongly support it. For far too long, 
the Chinese Government has tightly restricted access to Tibet, 
preventing U.S. diplomats and journalists from reporting on the 
systematic human rights abuses and destruction of Tibetan culture 
perpetrated by the Chinese Government and arbitrarily preventing 
Tibetan-Americans from visiting their families. Passing this 
legislation represents a strong, bipartisan step toward addressing that 
decades-long injustice. I would like to thank Senator Rubio and 
Congressman McGovern for their work on this legislation over several 
years.
  The Chinese Government arbitrarily requires a special permit for a 
foreign diplomat, reporter, or tourist to visit Tibet, a requirement 
China does not impose for travel to any other provincial-level 
jurisdiction, even Xinjiang. The Chinese Government frequently denies 
requests for these permits to Tibet. Even when it does grant permits, 
it generally requires foreigners to be accompanied at all times by a 
government-designated guide. This arbitrary system not only makes it 
exceptionally difficult to report on the situation in Tibet, but it 
also gives the Chinese Government significant leverage, which it 
reportedly exploits in various ways, over persons who hope to obtain a 
permit.
  In a 2015 white paper, the Chinese Government claimed that, under 
Chinese rule, ``Tibet has been transformed from a poor and backward 
society to one that is advanced in both economy and culture.'' Setting 
aside that this statement would look perfectly at home among the 
discredited justifications for 19th century colonialism, if it were 
true, then one would expect China to welcome the world to witness its 
rule in Tibet; yet in 2016, the Washington Post reported that Tibet 
``is harder to visit as a journalist than North Korea.'' International 
media cannot even enter Tibet except on infrequent, tightly controlled 
tours organized by the Chinese Government. The situation is much the 
same for U.S. diplomats.
  It is not just journalists and officials whose freedom of movement is 
restricted. Tibetan-Americans attempting to visit their homeland report 
undergoing a discriminatory Chinese visa process, different from what 
is typically required for American citizens, and often find their 
requests arbitrarily denied. I have heard about this problem directly 
from my Tibetan-American constituents in Vermont. I have spoken about 
it with the leader of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
  This issue has even touched a Tibetan-American member of my staff, 
Nima Binara. His 89-year-old grandmother, Kaedungkhangsar Yangchen 
Dolkar, was a naturalized American citizen who hoped to see her 
homeland and her relatives one last time before she passed away, a 
visit the Chinese Government refused to grant. Denying a person's right 
to visit their homeland is a petty display of authoritarian control and 
one that we should not tolerate in the 21st century.
  I vividly remember visiting Tibet in 1988 and meeting its warmhearted 
people, appreciating its profound culture, and seeing its breathtaking 
landscape. With this legislation, we are now a step closer to the day 
when all American tourists, journalists, and diplomats can make such a 
trip without undue restrictions. This legislation will also make it 
more difficult for China to hide its atrocious human rights record in 
Tibet behind a cloak of isolation. It will make it easier for Tibetans 
inside Tibet to interact with the outside world and more likely for the 
world to realize that Tibetans are a distinct people who deserve their 
right to self-determination.
  The House has already unanimously passed this bill. I urge the 
President to sign it into law without delay.

                          ____________________