Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 4331 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 30, 2020 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To modify and reauthorize the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 HR 4331 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tibetan Policy and 2 Support Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. MODIFICATIONS TO AND REAUTHORIZATION OF TI- 4 BETAN POLICY ACT OF 2002. 5 (a) TIBETAN NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 613 of the Ti- 6 betan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amend- 7 ed— 8 (1) in subsection (a)— 9 (A) in paragraph (1)— 10 (i) by inserting ‘‘without pre- 11 conditions’’ after ‘‘a dialogue’’; 12 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or democratically- 13 elected leaders of the Tibetan community’’ 14 after ‘‘his representatives’’; and 15 (iii) by adding at the end before the 16 period the following: ‘‘and should coordi- 17 nate with other governments in multilat- 18 eral efforts toward this goal’’; 19 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 20 paragraph (3); and 21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 22 following: 23 ‘‘(2) POLICY COMMUNICATION.—The President 24 shall direct the Secretary of State to ensure that, in 25 accordance with this Act, United States policy on 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 HR 4331 RFS Tibet, as coordinated by the United States Special 1 Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, is communicated to 2 all Federal departments and agencies in contact with 3 the Government of the People’s Republic of China.’’; 4 (2) in subsection (b)— 5 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 6 (1)— 7 (i) by striking ‘‘until December 31, 8 2021’’; and 9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and direct the De- 10 partment of State to make public on its 11 website’’ after ‘‘appropriate congressional 12 committees’’; 13 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 14 the end; 15 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe- 16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’ ; and 17 (D) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(3) the steps taken by the United States Gov- 19 ernment to promote the human rights and distinct 20 religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity 21 of the Tibetan people, including the right of the Ti- 22 betan people to select, educate, and venerate their 23 own religious leaders in accordance with their estab- 24 lished religious practice and system.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 HR 4331 RFS (b) TIBET PROJECT PRINCIPLES.—Section 616 of 1 such Act (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended— 2 (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraphs 3 (1) through (9) and inserting the following: 4 ‘‘(1) neither provide incentive for, nor facilitate 5 the migration and settlement of, non-Tibetans into 6 Tibet; 7 ‘‘(2) neither provide incentive for, nor facilitate 8 the transfer of ownership of, Tibetan land or natural 9 resources to non-Tibetans; 10 ‘‘(3) neither provide incentive for, nor facilitate 11 the involuntary or coerced relocation of, Tibetan no- 12 mads from their traditional pasture lands into con- 13 centrated settlements; 14 ‘‘(4) be implemented in consultation with the 15 Tibetan people and, as appropriate, after the con- 16 duct of cultural and environmental impact assess- 17 ments; 18 ‘‘(5) foster self-sufficiency and self-reliance of 19 Tibetans; 20 ‘‘(6) respect human rights and Tibetan culture 21 and traditions; 22 ‘‘(7) be subject to ongoing monitoring and eval- 23 uation; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 HR 4331 RFS ‘‘(8) be conducted, as much as possible, in the 1 Tibetan language.’’; and 2 (2) by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(e) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE.—The President 4 shall provide funds to nongovernmental organizations to 5 support sustainable development, cultural and historical 6 preservation, health care, education, and environmental 7 sustainability projects for Tibetan communities in Tibet, 8 in accordance with the principles specified in subsection 9 (d) and with the concurrence of the United States Special 10 Coordinator for Tibetan Issues under section 621(d).’’. 11 (c) DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION RELATING TO 12 TIBET.—Section 618 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) 13 is amended to read as follows: 14 ‘‘SEC. 618. DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION RELATING TO 15 TIBET. 16 ‘‘(a) UNITED STATES CONSULATE IN LHASA, 17 TIBET.—The Secretary should seek to establish a United 18 States consulate in Lhasa, Tibet— 19 ‘‘(1) to provide consular services to United 20 States citizens traveling in Tibet; and 21 ‘‘(2) to monitor political, economic, and cultural 22 developments in Tibet. 23 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—The Secretary may not authorize the 24 establishment in the United States of any additional con- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 HR 4331 RFS sulate of the People’s Republic of China until such time 1 as a United States consulate in Lhasa, Tibet, is estab- 2 lished under subsection (a).’’. 3 (d) RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IN TIBET.—Section 4 620(b) of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended by 5 adding at the end before the period the following: ‘‘, in- 6 cluding with respect to the reincarnation system of Ti- 7 betan Buddhism’’. 8 (e) UNITED STATES SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR TI- 9 BETAN ISSUES.—Section 621 of such Act (22 U.S.C. 6901 10 note) is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (c) to read as follows: 12 ‘‘(c) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the Special Co- 13 ordinator are to— 14 ‘‘(1) promote substantive dialogue without pre- 15 conditions between the Government of the People’s 16 Republic of China and the Dalai Lama or his rep- 17 resentatives or democratically-elected leaders of the 18 Tibetan community leading to a negotiated agree- 19 ment on Tibet and coordinate with other govern- 20 ments in multilateral efforts toward this goal; 21 ‘‘(2) encourage the Government of the People’s 22 Republic of China to address the aspirations of the 23 Tibetan people with regard to their distinct histor- 24 ical, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 HR 4331 RFS ‘‘(3) promote the human rights of the Tibetan 1 people; 2 ‘‘(4) promote activities to preserve environment 3 and water resources of the Tibetan plateau; 4 ‘‘(5) encourage sustainable development in ac- 5 cordance with section 616(d), cultural and historical 6 preservation, health care, education, and environ- 7 mental sustainability projects for Tibetan commu- 8 nities in Tibet; and 9 ‘‘(6) promote access to Tibet in accordance with 10 the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 (Public 11 Law 115–330).’’; 12 (2) in subsection (d)— 13 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 14 the end; 15 (B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 16 paragraph (8); and 17 (C) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 18 following: 19 ‘‘(6) provide concurrence with respect to all 20 projects carried out pursuant to assistance provided 21 under section 616(e); 22 ‘‘(7) seek to establish international diplomatic 23 coalitions to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 HR 4331 RFS ‘‘(A) oppose any effort by the Government 1 of the People’s Republic of China to select, edu- 2 cate, and venerate Tibetan Buddhist religious 3 leaders in a manner inconsistent with Tibetan 4 Buddhism in which the succession or identifica- 5 tion of Tibetan Buddhist lamas, including the 6 Dalai Lama, should occur without interference, 7 in a manner consistent with Tibetan Buddhists’ 8 beliefs; and 9 ‘‘(B) ensure that the identification and in- 10 stallation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, 11 including any future Dalai Lama, is determined 12 solely within the Tibetan Buddhist faith com- 13 munity, in accordance with the universally-rec- 14 ognized right to religious freedom; and’’; and 15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 16 ‘‘(e) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall ensure that 17 the Office of the Special Coordinator is adequately staffed 18 at all times to assist in the management of the responsibil- 19 ities of this section.’’. 20 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING THE SUCCES- 21 SION OR REINCARNATION OF THE DALAI 22 LAMA. 23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 HR 4331 RFS (1) Notwithstanding that Tibetan Buddhism is 1 practiced in many countries including Bhutan, India, 2 Mongolia, Nepal, the People’s Republic of China, the 3 Russian Federation, and the United States, the Gov- 4 ernment of the People’s Republic of China has re- 5 peatedly insisted on its role in managing the selec- 6 tion of Tibet’s next spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, 7 through actions such as those described in the 8 ‘‘Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation 9 of Living Buddhas’’ in 2007. 10 (2) On March 19, 2019, Chinese Ministry of 11 Affairs spokesperson reiterated that the ‘‘reincarna- 12 tion of living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama 13 must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and 14 follow religious rituals and historical conventions’’. 15 (3) The Government of the People’s Republic of 16 China has interfered in the process of recognizing a 17 successor or reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist lead- 18 ers, including in 1995 by arbitrarily detaining 19 Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, a 6-year old boy who was 20 identified as the 11th Panchen Lama, and pur- 21 porting to install its own candidate as the Panchen 22 Lama. 23 (4) The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, 24 issued a statement on September 24, 2011, explain- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 HR 4331 RFS ing the traditions and spiritual precepts of the selec- 1 tion of Dalai Lamas, setting forth his views on the 2 considerations and process for selecting his suc- 3 cessor, and providing a response to the Chinese gov- 4 ernment’s claims that only the Chinese government 5 has the ultimate authority in the selection process of 6 the Dalai Lama. 7 (5) The 14th Dalai Lama said in his statement 8 that the person who reincarnates has sole legitimate 9 authority over where and how he or she takes re- 10 birth and how that reincarnation is to be recognized 11 and if there is a need for a 15th Dalai Lama to be 12 recognized, then the responsibility shall primarily 13 rest with the officers of the Dalai Lama’s Gaden 14 Phodrang Trust, who will be informed by the written 15 instructions of the 14th Dalai Lama. 16 (6) Since 2011, the 14th Dalai Lama has reit- 17 erated publicly on numerous occasions that decisions 18 on the successions, emanations, or reincarnations of 19 the Dalai Lama belongs to the Tibetan Buddhist 20 faith community alone. 21 (7) On June 8, 2015, the United States House 22 of Representatives unanimously approved House 23 Resolution 337 which calls on the United States 24 Government to ‘‘underscore that government inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 HR 4331 RFS ference in the Tibetan reincarnation process is a vio- 1 lation of the internationally recognized right to reli- 2 gious freedom * * * and to highlight the fact that 3 other countries besides China have long Tibetan 4 Buddhist traditions and that matters related to rein- 5 carnations in Tibetan Buddhism are of keen interest 6 to Tibetan Buddhist populations worldwide’’. 7 (8) On April 25, 2018, the United States Sen- 8 ate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 429 9 which ‘‘expresses its sense that the identification 10 and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious lead- 11 ers, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, is a matter 12 that should be determined solely within the Tibetan 13 Buddhist faith community, in accordance with the 14 inalienable right to religious freedom’’. 15 (9) The Department of State’s Report on Inter- 16 national Religious Freedom for 2018 reported on 17 policies and efforts of the Government of the Peo- 18 ple’s Republic of China to exert control over the se- 19 lection of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, includ- 20 ing reincarnate lamas, and stated that ‘‘U.S. offi- 21 cials underscored that decisions on the reincarnation 22 of the Dalai Lama should be made solely by faith 23 leaders.’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4331.RFS H4331 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 HR 4331 RFS (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 1 United States that— 2 (1) decisions regarding the selection, education, 3 and veneration of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders 4 are exclusively spiritual matters that should be made 5 by the appropriate religious authorities within the 6 Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in the context of the 7 will of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism; 8 (2) the wishes of the 14th Dalai Lama, includ- 9 ing any written instructions, should play a deter- 10 minative role in the selection, education, and vener- 11 ation of a future 15th Dalai Lama; and 12 (3) interference by the Government of the Peo- 13 ple’s Republic of China or any other government in 14 the process of recognizing a successor or reincarna- 15 tion of the 14th Dalai Lama and any future Dalai 16 Lamas would represent a clear violation of the fun- 17 damental religious freedoms of Tibetan Buddhists 18 and the Tibetan people. 19 (c) HOLDING CHINESE OFFICIALS RESPONSIBLE 20 FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ABUSES TARGETING TIBETAN 21 BUDDHISTS.—It is the policy of the United States to con- 22 sider senior officials of the Government of the People’s 23 Republic of China who are responsible for, complicit in, 24 or have directly or indirectly engaged in the identification 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Jan 31, 2020 Jkt [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]