[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H555-H558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROMOTING A RESOLUTION TO THE TIBET-CHINA DISPUTE ACT
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 533) to amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to
modify certain provisions of that Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 533
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting a Resolution to
the Tibet-China Dispute Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It has been the long-standing policy of the United
States to encourage meaningful and direct dialogue between
representatives of the People's Republic of China and the
Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically
elected leaders of the Tibetan community, without
preconditions, to seek a settlement that resolves
differences.
(2) Nine rounds of dialogue held between 2002 and 2010
between the People's Republic of China authorities and the
14th Dalai Lama's representatives failed to produce a
settlement that resolved differences, and the two sides have
held no formal dialogue since January 2010.
(3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the Government
of the People's Republic of China continues to impose
conditions on substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama,
including a demand that he say that Tibet has been part of
China since ancient times, which the Dalai Lama has refused
to do because it is inaccurate.
(4) Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that ``All
peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of
that right they freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.''.
(5) The United States Government has never taken the
position that Tibet was a part of China since ancient times.
(6) China signed the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights on October 5, 1998, and ratified the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights on March 27, 2001.
(7) Under international law, including United Nations
General Assembly Resolution 2625, the right to self-
determination is the right of a people to determine its own
destiny and the exercise of this right can result in a
variety of outcomes ranging from independence, federation,
protection, some form
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of autonomy or full integration within a State.
(8) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1723,
adopted on December 20, 1961, called for the ``cessation of
practices which deprive the Tibetan people of their
fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right
to self-determination.''.
(9) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a May 26, 2022,
speech entitled ``The Administration's Approach to the
People's Republic of China,'' said that the rules-based
international order's ``founding documents include the UN
Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
enshrined concepts like self-determination, sovereignty, the
peaceful settlement of disputes. These are not Western
constructs. They are reflections of the world's shared
aspirations.''.
(10) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note),
as amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, in
directing the United States Government ``to promote the human
rights and distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and
historical identity of the Tibetan people'' acknowledges that
the Tibetan people possess a distinct religious, cultural,
linguistic, and historical identity.
(11) Department of State reports on human rights and
religious freedom have consistently documented systematic
repression by the authorities of the People's Republic of
China against Tibetans as well as acts of defiance and
resistance by Tibetan people against the People's Republic of
China policies.
(12) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note),
as amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020,
specifies that the central objective of the United States
Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is to promote
substantive dialogue between the Government of the People's
Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her
representatives, or democratically elected leaders of the
Tibetan community.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) that the Tibetan people are a people with a distinct
religious, cultural, linguistic and historical identity;
(2) that the dispute between Tibet and the People's
Republic of China must be resolved in accordance with
international law, including the United Nations Charter, by
peaceful means, through dialogue without preconditions;
(3) that the People's Republic of China should cease its
propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the
Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of
the Dalai Lama;
(4) to encourage the People's Republic of China to uphold
all its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and
(5) in accordance with the Tibetan Policy and Support Act
of 2020--
(A) to promote substantive dialogue without pre-conditions,
between the Government of the People's Republic of China and
the Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically
elected leaders of the Tibetan community, or explore
activities to improve prospects for dialogue, that leads to a
negotiated agreement on Tibet;
(B) to coordinate with other governments in multilateral
efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet;
and
(C) to encourage the Government of the People's Republic of
China to address the aspirations of the Tibetan people with
regard to their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and
linguistic identity.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) claims made by officials of the People's Republic of
China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a
part of China since ancient times are historically
inaccurate;
(2) the current policies of the People's Republic of China
are systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan
people to preserve their religion, culture, language,
history, way of life and environment;
(3) the Government of the People's Republic of China is
failing to meet the expectations of the United States to
engage in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his
representatives or to reach a negotiated resolution that
includes the aspirations of the Tibetan people; and
(4) United States public diplomacy efforts should counter
disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the
People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party,
including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the
Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions including that of
the Dalai Lama.
SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 2002.
(a) Tibet Negotiations.--Section 613(b) of the Tibetan
Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) efforts to counter disinformation about Tibet from
the Government of the People's Republic of China and the
Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about the
history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan
institutions including that of the Dalai Lama.''.
(b) United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.--
Section 621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C.
6901 note) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as
paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:
``(6) work with relevant bureaus of the Department of State
and the United States Agency for International Development to
ensure that United States Government statements and documents
counter, as appropriate, disinformation about Tibet from the
Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese
Communist Party, including disinformation about the history
of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions
including that of the Dalai Lama;''.
(c) Definition.--The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C.
6901 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 622. DEFINITION.
``For purposes of this Act, the term `Tibet' refers to the
following areas:
``(1) The Tibet Autonomous Region.
``(2) The areas that the Government of the People's
Republic of China designated as Tibetan Autonomous, as of
2018, as follows:
``(A) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and
Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous County located in Gansu
Province.
``(B) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Malho
(Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsojang (Haibei)
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture, located in Qinghai Province.
``(C) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Ngawa
(Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli
(Mili) Tibetan Autonomous County, located in Sichuan
Province.
``(D) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
located in Yunnan Province.''.
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION
ABOUT TIBET.
Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made
available under section 346 of subtitle E of title III of
division FF of Public Law 116-260 (``Tibetan Policy and
Support Act of 2020'') are authorized to be made available to
counter disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the
People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party,
including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the
Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions including that of
the Dalai Lama.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Kim) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms.
Manning) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 533, Promoting a
Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act.
This year marks the 65th anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama.
The Tibetan people have suffered 70 years of Chinese Communist Party
oppression and control. From forced labor, forced sterilization,
arbitrary detention, the banning of Tibetan education, religious
practices, and language, the CCP will not stop until it has erased
Tibetan culture.
Last year, the CCP released a white paper on its policies in Tibet.
In that document, the party doubles down on its oppression and
crackdown on the religious and economic freedom of Tibetans.
That is why I am a proud cosponsor of this bipartisan bill,
introduced by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), and the
chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee (Mr. McCaul).
The CCP has refused to speak with the Tibetan Central Authorities
since 2010, essentially putting the future of Tibet, and the safety of
millions of Tibetans, at suspended risk.
This bill helps Tibetans in two main ways:
First, it pushes back against CCP propaganda about the history of
Tibet. It is simply not true that Tibet has been, as the CCP claims, a
``part of China since ancient times.'' U.S. policy has never accepted
that false claim.
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For that reason, this legislation clarifies U.S. policy, highlights
the unique language, religion, and culture of the Tibetan people, and
directs U.S. diplomats to push back against CCP propaganda.
Second, this bill ensures that Tibetans have a say in their own
future. It stresses the need for a direct dialogue between the CCP and
the democratically elected leaders of Tibet, and that any resolution
must be peaceful and include the voice of the Tibetan people.
Tibetans are democracy-loving people who wish to freely practice
their religion and have their distinct identity acknowledged and
respected.
Madam Speaker, I am proud to play a small part in supporting this
dream for the Tibetan people. I urge all my colleagues to help push
back against the Chinese Communist Party's crackdown against the
Tibetan people by voting in favor of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I strongly support H.R. 533, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in strong support of H.R. 533, Promoting a Resolution to the
Tibet-China Dispute Act, as amended.
Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. McGovern and Mr. McCaul for introducing
this bill and working with Ranking Member Meeks to pass it out of the
House Foreign Affairs Committee and bring it to the House floor today.
Representative McGovern is a champion of human rights. With this
bill, he is asking all of us to stand up for the people of Tibet.
I also thank Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi for her tireless work in
holding the People's Republic of China responsible for its human rights
violations and her long-time advocacy for the Tibetan people.
In recent years, Beijing has tightened its repressive grip over the
Tibetan areas in China and attempted to dilute the distinct religious,
cultural, linguistic, and historical identity of the Tibetan people.
Since 2010, Beijing has also refused to meet its international
obligations to engage the Dalai Lama and his representatives to resolve
the Tibet issue through dialogue. At the same time, Beijing has
unleashed a disinformation campaign to mislead the world about Tibet
and its history.
For this reason, we must pass H.R. 533, which calls the PRC out for
its repression and unwillingness to engage the Tibetan people. H.R. 533
highlights the need to preserve Tibetan identity, language, and
culture. It calls on the State Department to counter PRC disinformation
efforts to undermine the aspirations of Tibetan people.
H.R. 533 also calls on Beijing to live up to its commitments to
engage in a genuine dialogue with Tibetan representatives to reach a
negotiated resolution on the question of Tibet.
By passing this timely bill, the people's House would be standing up
for the universal rights and aspirations of the Tibetan people.
Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting
this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the Foreign
Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and
International Organizations.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, I speak in strong support of
H.R. 533, which would amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002.
This bill was introduced by Congressman Jim McGovern, House ranking
member on the Congressional Executive Commission on China, which I
chair, along with Chairman McCaul. I am proud to be listed among the
many cosponsors.
Tibet and the Tibetan people face new and ever worsening challenges
from the Chinese Communist Party's repressive rule. After decades of
unspeakable cruelty by the Chinese Communist Party against Tibetans, we
are seeing an increase that is occurring and an effort that looks just
like genocide.
Threats to Tibetan linguistic, religious, and cultural heritage have
expanded exponentially in recent years, and now an estimated 80 percent
of all children in the Tibet Autonomous Region are separated from their
families and educated in a massive system of colonial boarding
schools--separating them from parents and indoctrinating and
brainwashing them each and every day.
{time} 1630
In recent years, Chinese police in Tibet have conducted mass DNA
collection and iris scanning programs in wide swaths of Tibetan
society, including in monasteries and primary schools, a sinister
endeavor to harvest biometric data and one which implicated an American
company, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
While, thanks to pressure from many, including our commission, Thermo
Fisher has announced it will cease cooperation in this area, though
they still do business in China that is problematic. We need to drive
home the message to American businesses: Stop cooperating with a brutal
regime and stop subsidizing tyranny.
Amid these threats to Tibetans in Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party
also seeks to extend its repressive reach abroad, targeting for
surveillance and harassment Tibetan diaspora communities in the United
States, India, and Nepal.
The Chinese Communist Party has long engaged in crimes against
humanity in Tibet and against Tibetans, plain and simple. I have
chaired multiple hearings with my good friend and colleague, Mr.
McGovern, at the Lantos Commission and at the Congressional-Executive
Commission on China, including one in March of last year, called
``Preserving Tibet: Combating Cultural Erasure, Forced Assimilation and
Transnational Repression,'' which featured the Sikyong, the head of
Tibet's government in exile, as well as Richard Gere, who is a
passionate and amazingly articulate advocate for Tibet.
This bill authorizes the State Department to take action to counter
Chinese Communist propaganda directed against Tibet and its history and
its institutions. For that reason alone, it ought to be strongly
supported.
Ms. MANNING. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from North
Carolina, the gentlewoman from California, and the gentleman from New
Jersey, who just spoke, not just for their support for this bill but
for their leadership on human rights in general.
Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 533, the Promoting a
Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act.
I thank my co-lead, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul, and
Ranking Member Meeks for their work to bring this bill to the floor
today. This is important.
It has been more than 60 years since the People's Republic of China
forced His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama into exile and took control of
Tibet against the will of its people.
The dispute between the Chinese and the Tibetans over Tibet's status
and governance has persisted ever since, in spite of the willingness of
the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people to resolve Tibet's status and
governance through dialogue.
With dialogue blocked, the PRC has continued its unceasing efforts to
erode Tibetan history, Tibetan language, Tibetan culture, and Tibetan
religion.
A few years ago, I was on a delegation with Speaker Pelosi. We went
to Tibet and saw firsthand the PRC's repression against the people of
Tibet, essentially trying to erase the Tibetans as a people.
This bill that we are discussing here today seeks to end that by
explicitly recognizing that the Tibetan people are a people with a
distinct religious, cultural, and historical identity; by reminding all
concerned that peoples, and not least the Tibetan people, have a right
to self-determination under international human rights law; and by
requiring the U.S. Government to actively counter the PRC's propaganda
about Tibet, like the false claim that Tibet has been part of China
since ancient times, a position that the United States has never
accepted. There is no basis for such a claim.
Through these measures, we hope to kick-start dialogue between Tibet
and China, in keeping with longstanding U.S. policy.
Madam Speaker, any one of us reading the news these days knows that
the
[[Page H558]]
world is awash in conflict. At the heart of most, if not all of those
conflicts, lies the systematic denial or violation of a people's human
rights.
The decades-old dispute between Tibet and China started as an armed
conflict of invasion, resistance, and insurgency. In the long run, the
only guarantee against the resumption of large-scale violence is for
the PRC to fully respect the human rights and dignity of the Tibetan
people.
A vote for this bill is a vote to recognize the rights of the Tibetan
people and a vote to insist on resolving the dispute between Tibet and
the People's Republic of China peacefully, in accordance with
international law, through dialogue, and without preconditions.
There is still an opportunity to do this, but time is running out.
Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill because it is about
standing up for human rights. It is about standing up for the Tibetan
people, a people who have been repressed for far too long.
Madam Speaker, I thank all my colleagues for their support.
Ms. MANNING. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for
the purpose of closing.
The people of Tibet have persevered through decades of repression.
The PRC subjugates the Tibetan people, even though all they are asking
for is the opportunity to live freely and safely. They simply want to
be given the autonomy they have been promised. They want to teach their
children their language, their customs, and their traditions. They want
to preserve their culture, their religious identity, and their dignity
as a distinct people.
I urge the House to pass H.R. 533 so that we may honor the Tibetan
people and make clear that Beijing's repression and unwillingness to
engage in dialogue cannot stand.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, I again thank Mr. McGovern,
Chairman McCaul, and Ranking Member Meeks for introducing this
legislation. I urge the passage of H.R. 533, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 533, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mrs. KIM of California. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________