[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 5510-5511]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       CONDEMNING THE VIOLENCE IN TIBET AND CALLING FOR RESTRAINT

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee be discharged from further consideration of 
S. Res. 504, and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 504) condemning the violence in Tibet 
     and calling for restraint by the Government of the People's 
     Republic of China and the people of Tibet.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise to speak in support of a 
resolution condemning the violence in Tibet and calling for restraint 
by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the people of 
Tibet.
  Cosponsoring this resolution with me is Senator Gordon Smith of 
Oregon.
  The measure is also cosponsored by Senator Joe Biden, the Chairman of 
the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Klobuchar, Brown, 
Cantwell, Dole, Obama, Snowe, Menendez, Voinovich, Schumer, Collins, 
Byrd, Murray, Durbin, Lieberman, Stabenow, Sanders, Reed, Clinton and 
Feingold.
  The resolution also calls for dialogue between the leadership of 
China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama on meaningful religious and 
cultural autonomy for Tibet within China; the release of individuals 
who protested in a peaceful manner; a cessation of China's efforts to 
``reeducate'' Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns; China to open Tibet to 
international journalists, as it promised the international community 
it would do during the lead up to the Olympic games; and asks for a 
full accounting of the protests in Tibet which began in March.
  Starting on March 10, Tibetan Monks and other Tibetans began 
protesting in Tibetan autonomous areas of Western China.
  The protests, begun peacefully by monks who marched in their robes, 
were an expression of these religious people's desire to practice their 
religion freely and without government interference.
  The protesters took this action at great personal risk. Many monks 
and marchers carried pictures of the Dalai Lama, the most revered 
figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Possession of such a picture is considered 
a crime in China.
  Unfortunately and tragically, on March 14 protests in Lhasa, the 
capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, turned violent. Long suppressed 
animosity boiled over. Innocent people were killed in the violence. 
Homes and businesses were burned in what appears to have been a riot.
  Over the days and weeks that followed, the protests spread. Protests 
reportedly occurred in 42 separate Chinese counties. Most were 
peaceful, and in some case they were met with brute force by the 
Chinese police.
  This resolution condemns the violence on both sides.
  The Chinese government has now begun the punishment process.
  Thousands of paramilitary police and possibly the People's Liberation 
Army are in Tibet rounding up protest participants.
  International journalists and official representatives are still 
being kept out, making accurate information difficult to obtain.
  But we know that dozens of people or more have died. And we know that 
more than 1,000 people have been incarcerated. We know that the 
monasteries have been surrounded by armed force.
  On Monday I spoke about the underlying issues including a lack of 
religious freedom and economic opportunity that have caused Tibetans to 
take to the streets.
  I also spoke about my long standing work to open the door between 
China and San Francisco and about my sincere friendship with China and 
its leaders.
  Most importantly, I discussed my efforts since 1991 to establish 
dialogue between the Chinese Leadership and the Dalai Lama.
  I read from letters that I carried from the Dalai Lama to the 
President of China in 1992, 1997, and 1998.
  In those letters, the Dalai Lama expressed that he does not seek 
Independence as China's leaders assert.
  In the Dalai Lama's 1998 letter, he wrote:
       I would like to reiterate here that I am not seeking 
     independence for Tibet. My main concern is for the six 
     million Tibetan people . . . to be able to enjoy the 
     opportunity to fully preserve their civilisation and the 
     distinct Tibetan culture, religion, and language. I am 
     convinced that this could be achieved through genuine 
     autonomy or self-rule within the framework of the People's 
     Republic of China.

  The Dalai Lama neither calls for independence nor supports the use of 
violence. He has encouraged the Tibetan people to use restraint both in 
Tibet and also in the cities, such as San Francisco, where the Olympic 
torch visits.
  On Sunday, The Dalai Lama reiterated his call. In a message to the 
Tibetan people, he said:

       I want to urge my fellow Tibetans who live in freedom 
     outside Tibet to be extra vigilant as they voice their 
     feelings on the developments in Tibet. We should not engage 
     in any action that could be even remotely interpreted as 
     violent. Even under the most provocative of situations we 
     must not allow our most precious and deeply held values to be 
     compromised. I firmly believe that we will achieve success 
     through our nonviolent path. We must be wise to understand 
     where the unprecedented affection and support for our cause 
     stems from.

  I sincerely hope the people of San Francisco will heed the Dalai 
Lama's call.
  I would like to commend the people of my city for holding a peaceful 
rally and candlelight vigil at San Francisco's United Nations Plaza.
  And I call on the people of San Francisco that plan to take to the 
streets today to embrace the nonviolence advocated by the Dalai Lama.
  As a friend of China and the Dalai Lama, I am saddened to see the 
situation in Tibet deteriorate to this point.
  Violence cannot solve this matter.
  The United States must use its influence to bring the Government of 
China and the people of Tibet together to begin the process of 
reconciliation and dialogue.

[[Page 5511]]

  To bring this issue to a settlement, the leaders must be involved.
  It is in the interest of both the Chinese government and the Tibetan 
people for the leaders to sit down and negotiate how to bring about 
meaningful cultural and religious autonomy for the Tibetan people and 
faith.
  For nearly three decades, I have worked to bring this about.
  The events in Tibet over the past month have been tragic.
  But they renew my commitment and belief.
  China has an opportunity to negotiate with a moderate leader capable 
of quelling the anger within the new generation of Tibetans.
  I hope that China's leaders will see this as an opportunity to open 
the long overdue dialogue with the Dalai Lama.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any 
statements be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 504) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 504

       Whereas, beginning on March 10, 2008, Tibetans and Tibetan 
     Buddhist monks began demonstrations in Lhasa, the capital of 
     the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of 
     China;
       Whereas those protests spread to elsewhere in the Tibet 
     Autonomous Region and to Tibetan autonomous areas in the 
     Sichuan, Gansu, and Qinghan provinces of China;
       Whereas long-suppressed resentment prompted violent clashes 
     between demonstrators and government forces in the streets of 
     Lhasa, resulting in innocent civilian casualties, the burning 
     of buildings, and extensive property damage;
       Whereas Chinese and Tibetan sources report dozens of 
     fatalities and the arrest of more than 1,000 protesters in 
     the Tibet Autonomous Region and surrounding Tibetan areas of 
     China;
       Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism and the 
     Dalai Lama is the most revered figure in Tibetan Buddhism;
       Whereas the Government of China continues to restrict the 
     rights of Tibetan Buddhists to practice their religion 
     freely;
       Whereas the Dalai Lama has condemned the violence that 
     began on March 14, 2008, and announced his continuing support 
     for the Olympic Games to be held in Beijing, China;
       Whereas the Dalai Lama has specifically stated that he does 
     not seek independence for Tibet from China and has called for 
     negotiations to bring about meaningful autonomy for Tibet 
     that allows Tibetans to maintain their distinctive identity 
     within China;
       Whereas the Constitution of the People's Republic of China 
     guarantees freedom of religious belief for all citizens, but 
     the 2007 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom of 
     the Department of State states that ``[d]uring the period 
     covered by this report, the Government [of China]'s respect 
     for freedom of religion remained poor''; and
       Whereas, following the demonstrations that began on March 
     10, 2008, the Government of China began severely restricting 
     access to journalists and diplomats and creating a shortage 
     of independent verification of the situation on the ground in 
     Tibet: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) condemns the violence in Tibet and calls for restraint 
     by the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
     people of Tibet;
       (2) calls for a dialogue between the leadership of the 
     Government of China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama on 
     meaningful religious and cultural autonomy for Tibet within 
     China and urges that these discussions take place with all 
     deliberate speed;
       (3) calls for the release of individuals who protested in a 
     peaceful manner and for medical care for those injured and 
     wounded in the violence that followed the protests;
       (4) calls on the Government of China to cease its efforts 
     to enter monasteries to `reeducate' monks and nuns, to 
     respect the right of the people of Tibet to speak of the 
     Dalai Lama and possess his photograph, and to respect and 
     protect basic human rights, as provided in the Constitution 
     of the People's Republic of China;
       (5) calls on the Government of China to honor its 
     commitment to allow international journalists free access to 
     China from mid-2007 to October 17, 2008;
       (6) calls on the Government of China to provide a full 
     accounting of the March 2008 protests in Tibet, the response 
     of the Government of China, and the manner and number of 
     detentions and deaths that occurred following the protests; 
     and
       (7) both--
       (A) calls on the United States Department of State to fully 
     implement the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 
     note), including the stipulation that the Secretary of State 
     seek ``to establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor 
     political, economic, and cultural developments in Tibet'', 
     and also to provide consular protection and citizen services 
     in emergencies; and
       (B) urges that the agreement to permit China to open 
     further diplomatic missions in the United States should be 
     contingent upon the establishment of a United States 
     Government office in Lhasa, Tibet.

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