By Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, May 24: The United States Senate has unanimously passed the bipartisan ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’ on Thursday. Known as the ‘Resolve Tibet Act’, this legislation was introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) along with Senators Todd Young (R-IN) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR). The Senate committee approved the bill on April 16, 2024.
The President of the exile Tibetan government, known officially as the Central Tibetan Administration, Penpa Tsering on X wrote, “Thanks to the leadership of DIIR, Office Of Tibet & ICT alongside Tibetan associations, youth advocates & Buddhist centers worldwide-a testament to what we can achieve when we unite towards a common goal.”
The House of representative also passed the bill on February 15, 2024 under the sponsorship of Representatives Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas. The bill passed in the House of Representatives (H.R- 533) will be reconciled to match with the version of the bill (S. 138) passed in the Senate which includes few changes.
The Resolve Tibet Act acknowledges Tibet’s unresolved political status and holds China accountable for infringing upon the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination. It challenges the Chinese government’s narrative that Tibet has been an integral part of China since ancient times. The bill also clarifies that Tibet encompasses not only the so-called ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ (TAR) but also Tibetan-inhabited areas of Gansu, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Yunnan.
Additionally, the legislation criticizes China for its refusal to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives. It aims to strengthen the role of the US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, currently held by Under Secretary Uzra Zeya, in countering Chinese propaganda and addressing concerns related to Tibet effectively.
In support of the bill, Senator Jeff Merkley stated, “All peoples around the world have inalienable rights to freedom and self-determination, including the Tibetans. Our bipartisan, bicameral Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act is a direct response to the tactics of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which continues to trample on the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people. The bill supports a peaceful resolution to the ongoing dispute between the PRC and Tibet and counters disinformation from the PRC about Tibet and its history. It now heads back to the House, and we will work to get it to President Biden’s desk to help put the people of Tibet in charge of their own future.”
Fellow Senator Todd Young added, “The Chinese Communist Party’s aggression towards Tibet is self-serving, with negotiations and even the very definition of Tibet on the CCP’s terms. We must refresh U.S. policy towards Tibet, and push for negotiations that advance freedoms for the Tibetan people and a peaceful resolution to the CCP’s conflict with the Dalai Lama. The Senate’s vote to pass this legislation demonstrates America’s resolve that the CCP’s status quo – both in Tibet and elsewhere – is not acceptable.”
The Central Tibetan Administration, Office of Tibet-Washington, International Campaign for Tibet, various grassroots organisations as well as numerous activists, students and supporters have actively lobbied for the passage of the bill.
One Response
TIBET IS A NATION CURRENTLY UNDER CHINESE COMMUNIST ILLEGAL MILITARY OCCUPATION! The Chinese communists have illegally occupied Tibet for the last seventy years! It has made pompous propaganda of bringing “earth shaking progress” in occupied Tibet but the reality is, it is the poorest and most neglected occupied territory ruled by the evil regime! Tibetans have been groaning under the yoke of communist Chinese insane oppression with one sixth of the population murdered by the regime. Tibet’s priceless wealth have been plundered by ransacking and pillaging every monastery and temple. An estimated 6000 monasteries and libraries have been burnt and razed to the ground. For the Tibetan people, their lives have been turned upside down! The racist communist regime has embarked on a Chinese centric policy of demolishing everything that has no resemblance of the Chinese culture, language and identity. The CCP is a xenophobic beast who is driven by Han chauvinism through their Nazi inspired superiority. It seeks to dethrone the lone super power in order to become the hegemon for world domination. The US Congress support for Tibet is most welcome when we most need it. The CCP is determined to destroy both Tibet and America. It is on a path to destroy Tibet by destroying the future generation of Tibet by forcibly removing more than one million Tibetan children (80% of Tibet’s children) from their parents and dumping them in colonial boarding schools exactly like the white colonisers of yore did to the indigenous population of Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Today, all these countries are apologising to the indigenous people for the abominable act of cultural genocide. Communist China, while outwardly professes to be anti-colonialism, yet in reality it practises the evil trade exactly the same as the white European colonisers! The Chinese imperialists have two legs! They use economy to entice unwitting victims to its snare and rip their country’s natural resources. When the victims resist the plunder of their natural resources, they put political pressure by sanctioning them to submit to the CCP’s diktat! The CCP seeks to dominate the world through economic incentives and political pressure! Its ultimate goal is world domination! Therefore, it is only fitting the US supports the nations subjugated by the Chinese communists in order to deter Chinese imperialism. The Chinese coercion upon Taiwan is what Tibet witnessed in the 1950s wherein Tibet was forced to relent to Chinese military coercion to sent a delegation to Beijing where Tibet was forced to sign on the dotted line with a threat of a gun on the head! The Tibetan people have never accepted Chinese occupation of Tibet and remain steadfast to the ideals of Tibetan independence! The sovereignty of Tibet lies with the Tibetan people and nobody else as the Dalai Lama has clearly enunciated by saying, “the sovereignity of the US neither lies with the Democratic Party nor the Republicans but only with the American people”! The exile Government has formulated a “middle way” which is interpreted as an autonomy. The thing with autonomy is what we saw in Hong Kong. Every facet of the agreement the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1988, on the basis of “one country-two systems” for Hong Kong has been buried under the so called “National Security” and there is not a trace of autonomy remaining in the City State. Close to three million Hong Kongers have fled their home! So, how does the CTA expect to achieve genuine autonomy when Hong Kong’s promised autonomy is shredded with draconian laws imposed by Beijing and the HK Government itself. Now, the Hong Kongers can hardly breathe under the double security laws that has bound them by the feet and gagged by the mouth! The CCP never respects the promises it makes. These documents are just a facade to snare the victim to the trap and devour them. The only way to gain Tibet’s freedom is total independence! TIBET WAS NEVER PART OF CHINA AND WILL NOT REMAIN PART OF CHINA BECAUSE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR OUR MOST TREASURED DHARMA དམ་པའི་ཆོས་ TO SURVIVE UNDER CHINESE COMMUNISM! In the words of SL Kuzmin, the author of HIDDEN TIBET-History of independence and occupation: “THE DESTRUCTION OF RELIGION IS THE ETERNAL GOAL OF MARXISTS”! We saw this right from the word go, how the Chinese communists attacked Buddhism and its adherents and burned the holy scriptures and killed the monks and nuns! Today, Tibetan children are barred from going to monasteries or see monks and nuns. The monasteries are run by CCP officials and monks are discouraged from studying Buddhist literature and instead taught Marxist garbage! The CCP is forcing Tibetans to worship the CCP instead of the Buddha and the Dalai Lama. They have the audacity to force Tibetans to don monastic alters with the photos of murderous communist thugs like Mao and Xi! Tibetans are forced to fly the blood soaked communist flag even in the precincts of the monasteries! The CCP and Nazi are the same side of the coin which indulges in super charged nationalism to control the population and thwart any criticism of itself by accusing its detractors of being “unpatriotic and subverting state power”. The war clouds are gathering between Communist China and the US over Taiwan and South China Sea. In the event, China will ask Russia to support its campaign by soliciting Russian arms, ammunition and political and diplomatic support. Russia may not put its boots on the ground but it will be fighting along with China. This means, the US will have to fight on two fronts! It is imperative that the US train Tibetans just as did in the 1950s to prepare for any eventuality in the fight to retain American supremacy and deter the most vicious megalomaniac totalitarian outfit that will plunge the world into a dystopian nightmare!