The U.S. Congress passed their bipartisan bill to enhance U.S. support for Tibet and promote dialogue between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Dalai Lama toward a peaceful resolution of the long-standing dispute between Tibet and China. The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act cleared the last step in the Congress on June 12 when a motion to reconsider was tabled in the House of Representatives and agreed to without objection. The legislation has been forwarded to President Biden, who is expected to sign it into law.
The final legislation (S.138/H.R. 533) titled “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act” (Resolve Tibet Act) was introduced by Senators Jeff Merkley and Todd Young and Representatives Jim McGovern and Michael McCaul.
New provisions and language in the legislation include:
- empowering State Department officials to actively and directly counter disinformation about Tibet from the Chinese government “including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.”
- expanding the term ‘Tibet’ to include both the so-called “Tibet Autonomous Region” of China and Tibetan areas that are incorporated in Gansu, Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan provinces.
- holding the Chinese government responsible for “failing to meet the expectations of the United States to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives or to reach a negotiated resolution that includes the aspirations of the Tibetan people.”
“The people of Tibet deserve to be in charge of their own future, and, today, Congress has voted to stand with Tibetans in their struggle for freedom and self-determination. The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act helps counter misinformation from the Chinese government about Tibet and pushes for negotiations between the People’s Republic of China and Tibet to end this long standing dispute. I look forward to President Biden swiftly signing this bill into law—the people of Tibet cannot wait any longer, ” said Senator Jeff Merkley
“The Chinese Communist Party continues to oppress the Tibetan people. Tibetans are subject to the CCP’s mass surveillance and censorship tactics and are arbitrarily killed or imprisoned for expressing their desire for freedom. I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to reject the CCP’s claims that their tyranny over Tibet is legitimate and will assert the Tibetan people have a say in their own future,” said Chairman McCaul.
Penpa Tsering, President of the Central Tibetan Administration, in an interview with TheWeek said that when the bill becomes a U.S. law, “it will become an important tool for us to reach out to other governments to counter China’s false narrative that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China.”
