    [United States Statutes at Large, Volume 132, 115th Congress, 2nd Session]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    Public Law 115-330
    115th Congress

    An Act

    To promote access for United States diplomats and other officials,
    journalists, and other citizens to Tibetan areas of the People's
    Republic of China, and for other purposes. <>

    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 ``Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of
    2018''.
    SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
    (1) The Government of the People's Republic of China does
    not grant United States diplomats and other officials,
    journalists, and other citizens access to China on a basis that
    is reciprocal to the access that the Government of the United
    States grants Chinese diplomats and other officials,
    journalists, and citizens.
    (2) The Government of China imposes greater restrictions on
    travel to Tibetan areas than to other areas of China.
    (3) Officials of China have stated that Tibet is open to
    foreign visitors.
    (4) The Government of China is promoting tourism in Tibetan
    areas, and at the Sixth Tibet Work Forum in August 2015, Premier
    Li Keqiang called for Tibet to build ``major world tourism
    destinations''.
    (5) The Government of China requires foreigners to obtain
    permission from the Tibet Foreign and Overseas Affairs Office or
    from the Tibet Tourism Bureau to enter the Tibet Autonomous
    Region, a restriction that is not imposed on travel to any other
    provincial-level jurisdiction in China.
    (6) The Department of State reports that--
    (A) officials of the Government of the United States
    submitted 39 requests for diplomatic access to the Tibet
    Autonomous Region between May 2011 and July 2015, but
    only four were granted; and
    (B) when such requests are granted, diplomatic
    personnel are closely supervised and given few
    opportunities to meet local residents not approved by
    authorities.
    (7) The Government of China delayed United States consular
    access for more than 48 hours after an October 28, 2013, bus
    crash in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in which three citizens of
    the United States died and more than a dozen others, all from
    Walnut, California, were injured, undermining

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    the ability of the Government of the United States to provide
    consular services to the victims and their families, and failing
    to meet China's obligations under the Convention on Consular
    Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963 (21 UST 77).
    (8) Following a 2015 earthquake that trapped dozens of
    citizens of the United States in the Tibet Autonomous Region,
    the United States Consulate General in Chengdu faced significant
    challenges in providing emergency consular assistance due to a
    lack of consular access.
    (9) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015
    of the Department of State stated ``With the exception of a few
    highly controlled trips, the Chinese government also denied
    multiple requests by foreign diplomats for permission to visit
    the TAR.''.
    (10) Tibetan-Americans, attempting to visit their homeland,
    report having to undergo a discriminatory visa application
    process, different from what is typically required, at the
    Chinese embassy and consulates in the United States, and often
    find their requests to travel denied.
    (11) The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016
    of the Department of State stated ``The few visits to the TAR by
    diplomats and journalists that were allowed were tightly
    controlled by local authorities.''.
    (12) A September 2016 article in the Washington Post
    reported that ``The Tibet Autonomous Region . . . is harder to
    visit as a journalist than North Korea.''.
    (13) The Government of China has failed to respond
    positively to requests from the Government of the United States
    to open a consulate in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.
    (14) The Foreign Correspondents Club of China reports that--
    (A) 2008 rules prevent foreign reporters from
    visiting the Tibet Autonomous Region without prior
    permission from the Government of such Region;
    (B) such permission has only rarely been granted;
    and
    (C) although the 2008 rules allow journalists to
    travel freely in other parts of China, Tibetan areas
    outside such Region remain ``effectively off-limits to
    foreign reporters''.
    (15) The Department of State reports that in addition to
    having to obtain permission to enter the Tibet Autonomous
    Region, foreign tourists--
    (A) must be accompanied at all times by a
    government-designated tour guide;
    (B) are rarely granted permission to enter the
    region by road;
    (C) are largely barred from visiting around the
    March anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan uprising; and
    (D) are banned from visiting the area where Larung
    Gar, the world's largest center for the study of Tibetan
    Buddhism, and the site of a large-scale campaign to
    expel students and demolish living quarters, is located.
    (16) Foreign visitors also face restrictions in their
    ability to travel freely in Tibetan areas outside the Tibet
    Autonomous Region.
    (17) The Government of the United States generally allows
    journalists and other citizens of China to travel freely within
    the United States. The Government of the United States

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    requires diplomats from China to notify the Department of State
    of their travel plans, and in certain situations, the Government
    of the United States requires such diplomats to obtain approval
    from the Department of State before travel. However, where
    approval is required, it is almost always granted expeditiously.
    (18) The United States regularly grants visas to Chinese
    diplomats and other officials, scholars, and others who travel
    to the United States to discuss, promote, and display the
    perspective of the Government of China on the situation in
    Tibetan areas, even as the Government of China restricts the
    ability of citizens of the United States to travel to Tibetan
    areas to gain their own perspective.
    (19) Chinese diplomats based in the United States generally
    avail themselves of the freedom to travel to United States
    cities and lobby city councils, mayors, and governors to refrain
    from passing resolutions, issuing proclamations, or making
    statements of concern on Tibet.
    (20) The Government of China characterizes statements made
    by officials of the United States about the situation in Tibetan
    areas as inappropriate interference in the internal affairs of
    China.
    SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
    ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
    Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and
    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
    Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
    Representatives.
    (2) Tibetan areas.--The term ``Tibetan areas'' includes--
    (A) the Tibet Autonomous Region; and
    (B) the areas that the Chinese Government designates
    as Tibetan Autonomous, as follows:
    (i) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous
    Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous
    County located in Gansu Province.
    (ii) 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.
    (iii) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous
    Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang
    Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli (Mili) Tibetan
    Autonomous County, located in Sichuan Province.
    (iv) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous
    Prefecture, located in Yunnan Province.
    SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON ACCESS TO TIBETAN AREAS.

    (a) <>  In General.--Not later than 90 days after the
    date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for the
    following five years, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
    appropriate congressional committees, and make available to the public
    on the website of the Department of State, a report that includes

    [[Page 4482]]

    an assessment of the level of access Chinese authorities granted
    diplomats and other officials, journalists, and tourists from the United
    States to Tibetan areas, including--
    (1) a comparison with the level of access granted to other
    areas of China;
    (2) a comparison between the levels of access granted to
    Tibetan and non-Tibetan areas in relevant provinces;
    (3) a comparison of the level of access in the reporting
    year and the previous reporting year; and
    (4) a description of the required permits and other measures
    that impede the freedom to travel in Tibetan areas.

    (b) Consolidation.--After the issuance of the first report required
    by subsection (a), the Secretary of State is authorized to incorporate
    subsequent reports required by subsection (a) into other publicly
    available, annual reports produced by the Department of State, provided
    they are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees in a
    manner specifying that they are being submitted in fulfillment of the
    requirements of this Act.
    SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS.

    (a) <>  Ineligibility for Visas.--No
    individual whom the Secretary of State has determined to be
    substantially involved in the formulation or execution of policies
    related to access for foreigners to Tibetan areas may be eligible to
    receive a visa to enter the United States or be admitted to the United
    States if the Secretary of State determines that--
    (1)(A) the requirement for specific official permission for
    foreigners to enter the Tibetan Autonomous Region remains in
    effect; or
    (B) such requirement has been replaced by a regulation that
    has a similar effect and requires foreign travelers to gain a
    level of permission to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region that is
    not required for travel to other provinces in China; and
    (2) restrictions on travel by diplomats and other officials,
    journalists, and citizens of the United States to areas
    designated as ``Tibetan Autonomous'' in the provinces of
    Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu of China are greater than
    any restrictions on travel by such officials and citizens to
    areas in such provinces that are not so designated.

    (b) Current Visas Revoked.--The Secretary of State shall revoke, in
    accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
    U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or other documentation to enter or be present
    in the United States issued for an alien who would be ineligible to
    receive such a visa or documentation under subsection (a).
    (c) <>  Report to Congress.--Not later
    than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
    thereafter for the following five years, the Secretary of State shall
    provide to the appropriate congressional committees a report identifying
    the individuals who have had visas denied or revoked pursuant to this
    section during the preceding year and, to the extent practicable, a list
    of Chinese officials who were substantially involved in the formulation
    or execution of policies to restrict access of United States diplomats
    and other officials, journalists, and citizens of the United States to
    Tibetan areas. The report required by this

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    subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may include a
    classified annex.

    (d) Waiver for National Interest.--
    (1) <>  In general.--The Secretary of
    State may waive the application of subsection (a) or (b) in the
    case of an alien if the Secretary determines that such a
    waiver--
    (A) is necessary to permit the United States to
    comply with the Agreement Regarding the Headquarters of
    the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26,
    1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947 (TIAS
    1676), or any other applicable international obligation
    of the United States; or
    (B) is in the national interest of the United
    States.
    (2) Notification.--Upon granting a waiver under paragraph
    (1), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
    congressional committees a document detailing the evidence and
    justification for the necessity of such waiver, including, if
    such waiver is granted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), how such
    waiver relates to the national interest of the United States.
    SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State, when
    granting diplomats and other officials from China access to parts of the
    United States, including consular access, should take into account the
    extent to which the Government of China grants diplomats and other
    officials from the United States access to parts of China, including the
    level of access afforded to such diplomats and other officials to
    Tibetan areas.

    Approved December 19, 2018.

    LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 1872:
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
    Sept. 25, considered and passed House.
    Dec. 11, considered and passed Senate.