The resolution was introduced on March 20, 2003 by Representative Tom Udall(D-NM) to express the sense of the House of Representatives regarding several individuals who are being held as prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Government for their involvement in efforts to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
The resolution recalls the history of Tibet’s separate status and the current plight of the Tibetan political prisoners, specifically the group of nuns collectively known as the Drapchi 14, because of their participation in recording songs from Drapchi prison which invoked their love of Tibet and religious beliefs. Of the fourteen, only two remain in prison, incluidng Phuntsok Nyidron who is serving a 17-year sentence due to expire in 2005.
The resolution is currently before the House Committee on International Relations. If you are American citizen you can ask your Member of Congress to support this resolution.
Following is the full text of the resolution.
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 157
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding several individuals who are being held as prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Government for their involvement in efforts to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 20, 2003
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding several individuals who are being held as prisoners of conscience by the Chinese Government for their involvement in efforts to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
Whereas for more than 1,000 years Tibet has maintained a sovereign national identity that is distinct from the national identity of China;
Whereas armed forces of the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1949 and 1950 and have occupied it since then;
Whereas according to the United States Department of State and international human rights organizations, the Government of the People’s Republic of China continues to commit widespread and well-documented human rights abuses in China and Tibet;
Whereas the People’s Republic of China has yet to demonstrate its willingness to abide by internationally accepted norms of freedom of belief, expression, and association by repealing or amending laws and decrees that restrict those freedoms;
Whereas the Chinese Government has detained hundreds of Tibetan nuns, monks and lay persons as prisoners of conscience for their efforts in speaking out against the Chinese occupation of Tibet;
Whereas on October 14, 1989, Phuntsog Nyidron, a Tibetan Buddhist nun, and 5 other nuns from the Michungri Nunnery were arrested in Lhasa after chanting some slogans and marching in a procession as part of a peaceful demonstration that they organized to protest the Chinese occupation of Tibet;
Whereas Phuntsog Nyidron and the other nuns were kicked, beaten and given electric shocks on their hands, shoulders, breasts, tongue, and face while in Chinese custody;
Whereas in 1993, Phuntsog Nyidron and 13 other nuns secretly recorded songs about Tibetan independence and smuggled the recordings out of Drapchi prison;
Whereas the Chinese Government charged Phuntsog Nyidron with ‘spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda’ for her role in recording and smuggling out the taped songs and, on October 9, 1993, extended her prison sentence to 17 years, one of the longest reported sentences of any female Tibetan political prisoner;
Whereas Phuntsog Nyidron was awarded the Reebok Human Rights Award in 1995;
Whereas Phuntsog Nyidron is just one of many individuals whom the Chinese Government has held as a prisoner of conscience;
Whereas the Chinese Government continues to imprison individuals as prisoners of conscience for their involvement in peaceful protests against the brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet; and
Whereas the Chinese Government continues to exert control over religious and cultural institutions in Tibet, abusing human rights through torture, arbitrary arrest, and detention without public trial of Tibetans who peacefully expressed their political or religious views: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the Government of the People’s Republic of China should, as a gesture of goodwill and in order to promote human rights, immediately release all prisoners of conscience, including Phuntsog Nyidron.
