[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 196 (Wednesday, November 18, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H5878-H5880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING SIGNIFICANCE OF GENUINE AUTONOMY OF TIBET AND TIBETAN
PEOPLE
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 697) recognizing the significance of the genuine
autonomy of Tibet and the Tibetan people and the work His Holiness the
14th Dalai Lama has done to promote global peace, harmony, and
understanding, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 697
Whereas the Dalai Lama's principal commitments include
cultivation of warm-heartedness and such human values as
compassion and forgiveness; promotion of religious harmony;
and preservation of Tibetan language and culture and
protection of Tibet's natural environment;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has stated, ``I remain convinced
that most human conflicts can be solved through genuine
dialogue conducted with the spirit of openness and
reconciliation'';
Whereas, in 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize for his nonviolent struggle for the liberation of
Tibet, his advocacy for peaceful solutions to preserve
Tibetans' historical and cultural heritage, and his
constructive, forward-looking
[[Page H5879]]
proposals for resolving international conflicts, human rights
issues, and global environmental problems;
Whereas Congress has consistently shown overwhelming,
bipartisan, bicameral support for the Tibetan people's
aspirations for internationally recognized human rights and
freedoms and the protection of their distinct religious,
cultural, linguistic, and historical identity, including by
passing the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-228;
22 U.S.C. 6901 note);
Whereas, in 2006, Congress passed the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Congressional Gold Medal Act (Public Law 109-287; 31 U.S.C.
5111), and in October 2007, President George W. Bush, Speaker
of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, and other
Congressional leaders awarded the Dalai Lama the United
States Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor
awarded by Congress, for his contributions to peace,
nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding;
Whereas Members of Congress have on multiple occasions met
with the Dalai Lama during congressional delegations
overseas, including a bipartisan delegation led by then-House
Speaker Pelosi to meet with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
exiled community in 2008, a bipartisan delegation led by
then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in 2017, and a
bipartisan delegation from the House Democracy Partnership in
2019, to spotlight the unjust oppression against the Tibetan
people;
Whereas the Dalai Lama has on multiple occasions visited
the United States Capitol, including most recently in June
2016, during which he met with congressional leadership to
promote respectful inter-religious harmony and protection of
the Tibetan people's identity, culture, language, and
environment;
Whereas the Department of State finds in its 2020 Report to
Congress on Access to Tibetan Areas of the People's Republic
of China (PRC), as required by the Reciprocal Access to Tibet
Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-330), that the Chinese Government
systematically impeded travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region
(TAR) and Tibetan areas outside the TAR for United States
diplomats and officials, journalists, and tourists in 2019;
Whereas, in 2018, the Secretary of State convened the
first-ever Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, during
which the Dalai Lama addressed hundreds of members of
religious organizations and civil society by video;
Whereas under the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, it is the
policy of the United States to support economic development,
cultural preservation, health care, and education and
environmental sustainability for Tibetans inside Tibet;
Whereas the human rights situation in Tibet has
significantly deteriorated since the Tibetan Policy Act of
2002 was signed into law;
Whereas the Government of the People's Republic of China's
repeated insistence that it must control the selection of the
next leader of Tibetan Buddhism, a religion with adherents
across the globe including in Mongolia, where a 2010 census
reports 53 percent of individuals ages 15 and older self-
identify as Buddhists, is a gross violation of international
religious freedom;
Whereas the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed
H.R. 4331, the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019, which
reiterates support for the Tibetan community and the need to
hold Chinese officials responsible for religious freedom
abuses targeting Tibetan Buddhists;
Whereas after 35 years, the United States Consulate in
Chengdu, which was responsible for operations in and
providing diplomatic reporting on developments concerning
Tibetan populations in southwestern China and the Tibet
Autonomous Region, closed on July 27, 2020; and
Whereas on September 12, 2020, the Dalai Lama addressed a
virtual session of the Group of Seven annual meeting of
Speakers and Heads of Parliament hosted by Speaker of the
House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) affirms the cultural and religious significance of the
goal of genuine autonomy for the people of Tibet and the deep
bond between the American and Tibetan people;
(2) supports the efforts of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan
leadership to achieve genuine autonomy for Tibetans through
negotiations without preconditions with the People's Republic
of China;
(3) supports the 14th Dalai Lama's commitment to global
peace, nonviolence, human rights, and environmental
protection and sustainability;
(4) urges the swift enactment of the Tibetan Policy and
Support Act of 2019 to update United States policy toward
Tibet, particularly on issues related to the succession or
reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, water security and
environmental concerns in the Tibetan plateau, and support
for the Tibetan community, language, culture, and religion;
(5) stresses the urgency of addressing the ongoing climate
crisis, including in the Tibetan Plateau, and working toward
environmental and economic justice and equality;
(6) encourages United States diplomats and other officials,
journalists, and other citizens to seek access to Tibetan
areas and demand that China provide access and treatment
reciprocal to access and treatment the United States provides
to Chinese diplomats and other officials, scholars, and
others in the United States;
(7) calls on the Secretary of State to mitigate any
potential impact the closure of the United States Consulate
in Chengdu may have on the Department of State's ability to
provide timely reporting on and support for Tibetan
communities, such as by allocating additional resources to
other United States missions in China to improve coverage;
and
(8) determines that it would be beneficial to continue
years of bipartisan and bicameral engagement with the leaders
of the Tibetan people, including between Members of Congress
and His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Engel) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho) each will
control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H. Res. 697.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, Congress has consistently demonstrated bipartisan and
bicameral support for the Tibetan community, and I hope it does so
again by supporting Mr. Yoho's, the gentleman from Florida,
legislation.
The Chinese Government has repeatedly insisted that it must control
the selection of the next leader of Tibetan Buddhism--a flagrant
violation of international religious freedom.
We are seeing additional signs of Beijing's efforts to exert more
control, as it has already done in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. Radio
Free Asia's Tibetan Service has reported that the rail line being
constructed to connect Chengdu to Nyingtri in the Tibetan Autonomous
Region will tighten Beijing's grip on Tibet.
In addition, the State Department has found that the Chinese
Government has systematically impeded travel to the Tibetan Autonomous
Region and Tibetan areas for U.S. diplomats and officials, journalists,
and tourists.
After the Trump administration closed the Chinese Consulate in
Houston, the Chinese Government retaliated by demanding the closure of
the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. This consulate, among other things, was
responsible for providing reports on developments concerning Tibet, and
its closure risks further undermining our ability to understand
developments in the region.
H. Res. 697 affirms and supports Dalai Lama's teachings and
commitment to global peace, nonviolence, human rights, and
environmental protection. It also encourages further implementation of
the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018. Finally, it calls on the
Secretary of State to mitigate impacts of the closure of the U.S.
Consulate in Chengdu.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this measure, I encourage my
colleagues to do the same, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 697, recognizing the
genuine autonomy of Tibet and the vital work the Dalai Lama has done to
promote peace around the world.
Over 60 years ago, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was forced into
exile by the Chinese Communist Party's full-scale military takeover of
Tibet. To this very day, the CCP uses propaganda, violence, and
oppression to assert totalitarian control over Tibet and the Tibetan
people. The CCP sees Tibet's cultural and religious heritage as a
threat to its control. Just as they have done with Islam and
Christianity, the CCP is trying to stamp out Tibetan Buddhism and
Tibetans' way of life--even though Tibet is guaranteed autonomy under
China's constitution.
Despite these challenges, the Dalai Lama has stood as a leader in the
promotion of human rights and religious harmony and the preservation of
Tibetan culture and religion. The Dalai Lama's contribution to peace
and nonviolence has been revered by the international community, and
for decades the U.S. Congress has remained committed to strengthening
the relationship between the U.S. and the Tibetan people.
[[Page H5880]]
I would like to thank His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for his
dedication to the Tibetan people.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 697 is a strong measure that
encourages the continuation of close engagement between the United
States and Tibet. I therefore urge Members to support it, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my friend, the gentleman
from Florida, in support of this important resolution.
We know as a fact, confirmed by Reuters, the New York Post, and many
other news outlets, that the Chinese Communist Party has recently
forced 500,000 Tibetans into labor camps--500,000.
Through these camps the CCP wishes to sinicize the Tibetan people and
destroy their religious and cultural heritage and national identity.
If you asked the General Secretary Xi Jinping why his country
continues to undermine the national identity of the Tibetan people, he
would tell you that his party's initiative is simply part of a poverty
alleviation program wherein the CCP hopes to move surplus rural labor
to other parts of the country. It is absurd, and it is outrageous. The
fact that a foreign leader could believe that this kind of public
policy is morally acceptable is beyond me, and it is beyond the
civilized world. We have heard similar explanations before.
We know what these so-called poverty alleviation programs are really
about: Xi Jinping desperately wants to crush the spirits of those who
are living under his dictatorial regime. He wants to indoctrinate
people in those camps and ruthlessly marginalize their identities.
Mr. Speaker, you don't need camps for people who are seeking to do
better in their life; you just give them the opportunity, and they will
do it. They don't need to go to camp to do that.
He will fail in his effort. Make no mistake about it. He will fail
spectacularly in his effort to quash the hopes of millions of Tibetans
who dare to dream and fight for a free nation. One of the reasons he
will fail is because the United States is with the people of Tibet.
Our Tibetan friends have long since recognized the significance of
the genuine autonomy of Tibet, and today I am proud to join them.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 697 is a strong measure that
encourages the continuation of close engagement between the United
States and Tibet.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, since 1959, the U.S. Congress, on a bicameral,
bipartisan basis, has remained committed to strengthening the
friendship between the U.S. and the Tibetan people.
There are over 31,000 individuals of Tibetan descent living in North
America, and our people share similar values of freedom and
understanding.
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has dedicated himself to three
principles: the promotion of human values, the promotion of religious
harmony, and the preservation of Tibetan culture and religion.
I would like to thank the Dalai Lama for his vital contributions to
the Tibetan people and the world.
As Mr. Perry said, the Communist Party knows they cannot survive with
free thought, and that is what religion does for people around the
world. They put a deity or a higher power above them, whereas, in
China, the highest power that can be achieved is the Communist Party,
and therefore it will not survive.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 697, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The title of the resolution was amended so as to read: ``A resolution
affirming the significance of the advocacy for genuine autonomy for
Tibetans in the People's Republic of China and the work His Holiness
the 14th Dalai Lama has done to promote global peace, harmony, and
understanding.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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