[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 181 (Thursday, October 22, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6404-S6405]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SENATE RESOLUTION 752--CONDEMNING THE CHINESE COMMUNIST 
      PARTY'S USE OF FORCED LABOR AND OTHER COERCIVE MEASURES TO 
                   DESTROY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN TIBET

  Mr. HAWLEY (for himself, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Scott of South 
Carolina, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Braun, Mr. Young, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. 
Cassidy, Ms. McSally, and Mr. Lankford) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 752

       Whereas the Chinese Communist Party has long persecuted 
     Tibetans for their religious beliefs, including by 
     illegitimately claiming authority to designate the Dalai 
     Lama's successor, destroying religious institutions, and 
     arbitrarily detaining, disappearing, and torturing Tibetans 
     in order to compel adherence to ``normal religious 
     activities'', as sanctioned by the Party;
       Whereas the Chinese Communist Party has launched a policy 
     of Sinicization of Tibetans and escalated its attacks on 
     Tibetans by removing Tibetan farmers and herders from their 
     land, compelling them to cede control of their land and herds 
     to state authorities, transferring them to state facilities 
     where they are subjected to forced labor training programs, 
     political indoctrination, and other abuses, and sending them 
     to state-assigned jobs in Tibet and other parts of China, 
     often far from their families and communities;
       Whereas the Chinese Communist Party views forced labor and 
     other coercive measures as acceptable practices for 
     strengthening the Chinese economy, while simultaneously 
     suppressing or eliminating religious and ethnic groups that 
     it views as inherently threatening to its rule and other 
     political ambitions;
       Whereas the Chinese Communist Party's actions in Tibet, 
     like its actions in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and 
     other parts of China, reflect the Party's belief that might 
     makes right and its determination to use every measure at its 
     disposal, no matter how heinous, to consolidate power and 
     advance its interests; and
       Whereas the Chinese Communist Party believes that might 
     makes right not just domestically, but also in international 
     relations, as evidenced by its actions in the Taiwan Strait, 
     the South and East China Seas, along the Sino-Indian border, 
     and in cyberspace, as well as its use of economic threats to 
     silence or otherwise compel nations, businesses, and 
     individuals to accede to its demands throughout the Indo-
     Pacific region and beyond: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the Chinese Communist Party's campaign against 
     religious freedom in Tibet, including its plainly 
     illegitimate efforts to designate the next Dalai Lama, which 
     is a matter that should be determined solely within the 
     Tibetan Buddhist faith community;
       (2) calls for an investigation into the Chinese Communist 
     Party's use of forced labor, in addition to other coercive 
     measures, to force Tibetans to practice their faith in a 
     manner compliant with the Party's interpretation of ``normal 
     religious activities'';

[[Page S6405]]

       (3) calls on United States companies to scrutinize their 
     supply chains and divest of suppliers and other partners that 
     use Tibetan or other forced labor programs or are unable to 
     certify that they do not use Tibetan or other forced labor;
       (4) calls on the United States Government to proactively 
     support, as per the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (subtitle B of 
     title VI of division A of Public law 107-228; 22 U.S.C. 6901 
     note), the Dalai Lama's call for negotiations to resolve the 
     issue of Tibet, including by preserving religious freedom and 
     Tibetan labor rights; and
       (5) encourages all nations to condemn the Chinese Communist 
     Party's attempts to impose its will on others, both at home 
     and abroad, and stand together against the Party's hegemonic 
     agenda.

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