By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, April 4: The annual 2021 report of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released on Thursday said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to repress Tibetan religious practices amid other gross violations in Tibet. “The Chinese government’s horrific abuse of human rights and trampling of human dignity make it more important than ever that the Congressional-Executive Commission on China document abuses of human rights and the rule of law in China, as the Commission has done for the past 20 years,” said CECC Chairman Jeff Merkley in a statement.
The findings also suggested that communication between Tibetans inside and outside Tibet is severed due to heavy restrictions imposed by China. It emphasized on the increasing cases of surveillance of Tibetans including US citizens, adding that advanced technology measures including “DNA data collection” could further enable other authoritarian states.
The commission on China called on the Biden administration to use the resources made available by Tibetan Policy and Support Act 2020, a landmark bill passed during the Trump presidency, to help protect Tibetan culture and to confront policies that endanger Tibetan language. The act also supports diplomatic efforts to curtail interference in the selection of the future Dalai Lama and other religious heads. Similarly, the administration was advised to implement Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act by sanctioning officials responsible for closing off access to Tibetan areas to diplomats, journalists, academics and tourists among others.
Another recommendation by CECC implored the members of Congress and the US administration to interact “regularly” with the leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration, also known as the Tibetan government-in-exile, and with parliamentarians around the globe to build international support for Tibet. “It is no secret the Xi Jinping regime has embraced an ever more authoritarian agenda directly opposed to the values of democracy, rule of law, and human rights. In Tibet, brutal oppression and intense surveillance continue the CCP’s systematic work to erase Tibetan culture, religious freedom, and basic human rights,” Franz Matzner from ICT said on the findings.
