Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his advocacy on behalf of this issue.

And the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I am delighted to be here with him, and I want to thank him for his work on this.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4331, the Tibetan Policy and Support Act. I am proud to have introduced this legislation with Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey and with Senators Rubio and Cardin in the Senate.

I thank Chairman Engel and Ranking Member McCaul for their strong support of this bill and, more importantly, for their tireless leadership in support of the human rights of the Tibetan people.

Madam Speaker, our bill updates and strengthens the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to address the challenges facing the Tibetan people. Perhaps as importantly, it reaffirms America's commitment to the idea that human rights matter, that we care about those who are oppressed, that we stand with those who are struggling for freedom, and that we have a moral obligation to do something when we see something that is not right.

It should be clear that we support a positive and productive U.S.- China relationship, but it is essential that the human rights of all the people of China are respected by their government.

Unfortunately, the human rights situation in Tibet has gotten much worse. The Chinese Government has refused to enter into genuine dialogue with Tibetan leaders. Restrictions on access to Tibet, both for Tibetans and foreigners, have been tightened. International journalists have stated that the isolation of Tibet is as bad as North Korea, allowing human rights abuses and environmental degradation to be concealed from the outside world.

Last year, the Congress passed the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act to demand that American journalists, diplomats, and tourists be given the same freedom to travel to Tibet that Chinese officials have to travel freely in America. I hope to see a report from the State Department, which was due in December, describing the steps that the administration has taken to implement this policy over the last year.

In addition, the Chinese Government has used advanced technology to intensify security and surveillance.

It has ratcheted up its so-called anti-crime and vice campaign targeting Tibetans.

Religious freedom continues to be severely curtailed, including through mandatory political education for religious leaders and arrests of Tibetans who display a photo of the Dalai Lama.

The Panchen Lama turned 30 years old this year, but he and his family remain incommunicado since being kidnapped by Chinese authorities in 1995, making him the world's longest-serving prisoner of conscience.

Finally, Chinese officials have intervened to select Tibetan Buddhist leaders and threatened to choose the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama. These actions are in clear violation of China's international obligations to protect religious freedom.

It is essential that U.S. policy toward Tibet be updated and strengthened. The bill we are considering today would establish as U.S. policy that the succession or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is an exclusively religious matter that should be decided solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community.

Send a clear message that Chinese officials who interfere in the succession or reincarnation process will be subject to targeted financial, economic, and visa-related sanctions, including those contained in the Global Magnitsky Act.

Strengthen the role of the State Department Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues by including a mandate to work multilaterally to promote a genuine dialogue.

Mandate that no new Chinese consulates should be established in the United States until a U.S. consulate is established in Tibet's historical capital of Lhasa.

Direct the State Department to begin collaborative, multinational efforts to protect the environment and water resources of the Tibetan Plateau.

Support democratic governance in the Tibetan exile community.

The Dalai Lama should be commended for his decision to devolve political authority to elected leaders.

The Tibetan exile community is also to be commended for adopting a system of self-governance with democratic institutions to choose their own leaders, including holding multiple free and fair elections to select its parliament and chief executive.

The adoption of democracy within the Tibetan exile community ensures that the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala, India, legitimately represents and reflects the aspirations of the Tibetan people around the world.

Standing together, the American people will remain steadfast partners of the Tibetan people. For 60 years, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and so many Tibetans have remained separated from their land and their home, while the people in Tibet endure some of the harshest human rights abuses in the world.

I am proud that today the House of Representatives is taking this important step to strengthen U.S. policy in support of the Tibetan people.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their support, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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