[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1072 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 1072
Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of March
10, 1959, and condemning human rights violations related to the
hydropower dam construction project in Derge.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 11, 2024
Mr. McGovern (for himself and Mrs. Kim of California) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of March
10, 1959, and condemning human rights violations related to the
hydropower dam construction project in Derge.
Whereas for more than 2,000 years the people of Tibet have maintained a distinct
religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity;
Whereas 2024 marks the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of 1959,
ensued by the flight from Tibet to India of the spiritual and temporal
leader of the Tibetan people, Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai
Lama, who was forced to flee due to fear for his safety as the Chinese
Communist Party's People's Liberation Army prepared to commence an
assault on his residence;
Whereas, upon his arrival in India, the Dalai Lama declared that he could do
more to champion the rights, including the right of self-determination,
of the Tibetan people in exile than by remaining inside territory
occupied by the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China (PRC);
Whereas in the intervening years the PRC has persistently sought to erase the
religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity of the Tibetan
people;
Whereas this attempt at erasure includes separating up to 1,000,000 Tibetan
children from their families and forcing them to enroll in schools that
teach principally in Mandarin, seeking to undermine the transmission of
Tibetan language and alienate Tibetan youth from their culture, which if
successful would contribute to the erosion of the identity of the entire
people;
Whereas, as a result of PRC policies, at least 1,800,000 Tibetan nomads have
been forced into concentrated settlements without compensation nor
guarantees of income or employment, contributing to their vulnerability
to coercive labor programs;
Whereas the Government of the PRC routinely interferes with religious practices
of the Tibetan people thus violating the right to freedom of religion
which is vital to Tibetan spiritual education and expression;
Whereas Freedom House's ``Freedom of the World 2024'' report scores Tibet as 0
out of 100, the worst rating in at least 8 years;
Whereas a notable and recent instance of Chinese suppression of Tibetan rights
is the decision of the PRC to undertake a hydropower dam construction
project in the eastern Tibetan area of Derge that would reportedly cause
the displacement of approximately 2,000 Tibetans from their homes and
destroy 6 historical monasteries holding numerous artifacts of religious
significance, including murals that date back to the 13th century,
prompting mass protests against the project;
Whereas in response to the protests in Derge, on February 23, 2024, Chinese
authorities forcibly detained more than 1,000 Tibetans;
Whereas the judiciary in the PRC is not independent;
Whereas cases of arbitrary detention, disappearance, and torture of Tibetans are
frequent and well-documented; and
Whereas, over the years, Congress has consistently and strongly condemned the
Chinese Government's repression of the human rights of the Tibetan
people: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) recognizes the 65th anniversary of the flight from
Tibet of Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, in
response to the People's Republic of China's military
aggression;
(2) confirms its longstanding support for the human rights,
including the right of self-determination, of the Tibetan
people;
(3) condemns the People's Republic of China's persistent
efforts to erase the Tibetan people's distinct religious,
cultural, linguistic, and historical identity, most recently
through the proposed hydropower dam construction in the eastern
Tibetan area of Derge that would reportedly cause the
displacement of approximately 2,000 Tibetans from their homes
and destroy 6 historical monasteries and artifacts of religious
significance;
(4) condemns the arbitrary detention on February 23, 2024,
of those protesting the hydropower dam construction project in
Derge;
(5) expresses grave concern for the well-being of the
protesters and those who provided video and photographic
evidence of the events as they unfolded;
(6) demands that the People's Republic of China immediately
release all prisoners of conscience in China, including those
detained in the February 2024 protests against the hydropower
dam construction project in Derge;
(7) demands that the People's Republic of China publicly
apologize for the violations of the rights of those who
protested against the hydropower dam construction project in
Derge, provide immediate redress for physical and emotional
trauma, and expunge from the detainees' official records any
mention of the arrests or charges;
(8) calls upon the Biden administration to urge authorities
of the People's Republic of China to halt the hydropower dam
construction project in Derge until the views of the local
Tibetan residents are taken into account in accordance with the
provisions of autonomy provided to Tibetans under People's
Republic of China law, and to cancel construction unless
authorities obtain the genuine consent of local Tibetan
residents;
(9) calls on the Biden administration to insist that the
Government of the People's Republic of China abide by its
commitments to safeguard cultural heritage made at the February
2023 review of the United Nations Committee on Economic,
Social, and Cultural Rights; and
(10) calls upon the Biden administration to fully implement
the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), including
the Tibet Project Principles which require Tibetan input into
development projects, to ensure that the People's Republic of
China fully respects all the human rights of the Tibetan
people.
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