[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

[[Page H556]]

     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.

[[Page H557]]

  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.

                          ____________________