Promoting A Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in favor of the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act.

Sixty-five years ago, in the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, thousands of courageous Tibetans risked their lives for their freedoms as they took a stand against Chinese occupation. When the People's Liberation Army security forces tightened their hold on Lhasa in response to the uprising, a young Dalai Lama was forced to flee his country--and he has lived in exile ever since.

The leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama serves as a symbol of the bravery and resilience of the Tibetan people--and his story challenges the conscience of all freedom-loving people. It was my privilege to lead Congressional delegations to visit the His Holiness in Dharamsala in 2008, and 2017. On those trips, we saw firsthand the aspirations of the Tibetan people--especially in the eyes of the children who had only known relentless intimidation by the Chinese Communist Party.

In the decades since the uprising, Beijing has only accelerated its aggression against Tibetans. The world has witnessed unconscionable and intolerable actions of the Chinese Communist Party against the Tibetan people: mandatory political education, restrictions on religious freedom, a mass surveillance regime, and further closing off Tibet from the world. Yet despite their oppression, the children of Tibet still yearn for a future where they can speak their language, practice their faith and celebrate their culture without fear.

The United States of America has a clarion moral duty to stand up for Tibet and speak out against Beijing's abuses. In the Congress, there has long been strong, bipartisan, bicameral support for the Tibetan people. We were proud to enact the Tibet Policy Act in 2019: promoting Tibetans' religious, linguistic and cultural identity, and including the right to select their own religious leaders in accordance with their own belief system.

It has been my privilege to help shape this bill--including through our annual Tibet Strategy Meetings when I was Speaker and in further sessions convened in my office in recent months. Alongside Ranking Member McGovern and fearless Tibetan advocates, we workshopped the bill language to strengthen American efforts for a diplomatic solution to Tibet's status, from establishing a statutory definition of Tibet, to further empowering the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to combat disinformation.

It was with great pride that I voted for this bill's passage in the House in February--and I am proud to support this bill's passage again today. I urge a strong `aye' vote today to reaffirm Congress's bipartisan and unbreakable support for human rights in Tibet and thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for their leadership.

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