[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6309-6310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    U.S. NEEDS A NEW POLICY ON TIBET

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, in 2002, Congress passed the Tibetan 
Policy Act to support the aspirations of the Tibetan people to 
safeguard their distinct identity. The law laid out steps to protect 
the distinct religious, cultural, and linguistic identity of Tibet and 
to press for improved respect for the human rights of the Tibetan 
people--a dialogue between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese 
Government, the immediate and unconditional release of Tibetan 
prisoners of conscience, establishing a U.S. consular office in Lhasa, 
and requesting that the 11th Panchen Lama be allowed to pursue his 
religious studies without Chinese Government interference.
  Mr. Speaker, these were basic, commonsense steps, yet 15 years later 
there is little progress. The Chinese-Tibet dialogue has been suspended 
since 2010.
  There are hundreds of Tibetan prisoners of conscience. Many are 
monks. Some like Tenzin Delek Rinpoche have died in custody.
  There is still no U.S. consular office in Lhasa, a major problem for 
U.S. officials trying to respond to emergencies like the 2015 
earthquake that trapped dozens of our citizens in the Tibetan 
Autonomous Region. And the Chinese Government, officially atheist, has 
declared that it will decide who will be reincarnated as the next Dalai 
Lama.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to express my concern for the well-being of the 
missing 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest leader in the Tibetan 
religion. Twenty-two years ago, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was detained by 
Chinese authorities when he was just 6 years old and just 3 days after 
the Dalai Lama declared him to be the reincarnated Panchen Lama. Today, 
he is one of the world's longest serving political prisoners. China has 
refused to provide any details of his whereabouts.
  Let me be clear. The Chinese Government does not have the right or 
the authority to name the reincarnated religious leaders of Tibet, not 
the Panchen Lama and not the next Dalai Lama.
  Mr. Speaker, I constantly receive reports from Tibet of human rights 
abuses and affronts to basic human dignity, like the demolition of 
buildings and forced eviction of religious people from the famous 
Buddhist Institute of Larung Gar or the restrictions that keep Tibetans 
from traveling around their own country, much less abroad.
  We need to rethink U.S. policy toward Tibet. For years, China has 
faced no consequences for its failure to respect the fundamental rights 
of the Tibetan people. This must change.
  Along with a bipartisan group of Members of Congress, I have 
introduced H.R. 1872, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. This bill 
imposes consequences for just one aspect of China's bad behavior: its 
restrictions on travel to areas in China where ethnic Tibetans live.
  U.S. diplomats, journalists, and tourists have to get a special 
permit to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region, and travel to other 
Tibetan areas is also tightly controlled. But under H.R. 1872, no 
senior leader responsible for designing or implementing travel 
restrictions to Tibetan areas would be eligible to enter the United 
States.
  The rationale for the bill is simple. The basis of diplomatic law is 
mutual access and reciprocity. But while the Chinese enjoy broad access 
to the United States, the same is not true for U.S. diplomats, 
journalists, or tourists going to Tibet, including Tibetan Americans 
trying to visit their place of origin. This is simply unacceptable. If 
China wants its citizens and officials to travel freely in the U.S., 
Americans must be able to travel freely in China, including Tibet.
  Allowing travel to Tibet is only one step China needs to take. It 
must also remove the obstacles to freedom of movement for Tibetans 
within China and abroad. China can't have it both ways. Either Tibetans 
are Chinese citizens or they are not. If they are, they must enjoy the 
same rights and privileges as other Chinese citizens.
  China also must permit His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet 
for a visit if he so desires. He is a man of peace who will soon turn 
82 years old. He should be able to visit his homeland.
  China also should demonstrate true respect for the human rights and 
religious freedom of the Tibetan people. A first step would be to 
permit an independent international investigation into the July 2015 
death, in custody, of revered lama Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.
  On our side, the new Trump administration needs to appoint the 
Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues as quickly as possible. To make 
progress, we need someone in charge. They must insist that China 
restart the dialogue to lead a negotiated agreement in Tibet.
  They should develop a list of Chinese officials subject to sanction 
under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. No one 
responsible for torture and extrajudicial killings or for significant 
corruption should benefit from coming to our country and doing business 
here.
  They should publicly engage the Dalai Lama and the democratically 
elected leader of the Tibetan people. The State Department should take 
every opportunity to benefit from the Dalai Lama's knowledge and 
decades of reflections.
  The Secretary of State should highlight the democratic practices of 
the Tibetan people and meet personally with the Sikyong, Dr. Lobsang 
Sangay, and the administration should also engage other governments to 
create a group of friends of Tibet. It is time to pursue a coordinated 
international action in support of the Tibetan people.
  Mr. Speaker, time may be running out for the Tibetan people. All 
those who say they believe in the rights of Tibetans must move beyond 
words to concrete actions.

[[Page 6310]]

  I urge my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 1872, the Reciprocal Access to 
Tibet Act, and to support additional measures to protect all that is 
unique about Tibet and its people.

                          ____________________