[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 138 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.138
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four
An Act
To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of
that Act.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-
China Dispute Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It has been the long-standing policy of the United States
to encourage meaningful and direct dialogue between representatives
of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her
representatives, or democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan
community, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that
resolves differences.
(2) Nine rounds of dialogue held between 2002 and 2010 between
the People's Republic of China authorities and the 14th Dalai
Lama's representatives failed to produce a settlement that resolved
differences, and the two sides have held no formal dialogue since
January 2010.
(3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the Government of
the People's Republic of China continues to impose conditions on
substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama, including a demand that
he say that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, which
the Dalai Lama has refused to do because it is inaccurate.
(4) Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide, ``All peoples have
the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they
freely determine their political status and freely pursue their
economic, social and cultural development.''.
(5) The United States Government has never taken the position
that Tibet was a part of China since ancient times.
(6) China signed the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights on October 5, 1998, and ratified the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on March 27, 2001.
(7) Under international law, including United Nations General
Assembly Resolution 2625, the right to self-determination is the
right of a people to determine its own destiny and the exercise of
this right can result in a variety of outcomes ranging from
independence, federation, protection, some form of autonomy, or
full integration within a State.
(8) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1723, adopted on
December 20, 1961, called for the ``cessation of practices which
deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and
freedoms, including their right to self-determination''.
(9) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a May 26, 2022,
speech entitled ``The Administration's Approach to the People's
Republic of China'', said that the rules-based international
order's ``founding documents include the UN Charter and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrined concepts
like self-determination, sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of
disputes. These are not Western constructs. They are reflections of
the world's shared aspirations.''.
(10) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), as
amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 (subtitle E
of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260), in directing
the United States Government ``to promote the human rights and
distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity
of the Tibetan people'' acknowledges that the Tibetan people
possess a distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical
identity.
(11) Department of State reports on human rights and religious
freedom have consistently documented systematic repression by the
authorities of the People's Republic of China against Tibetans as
well as acts of defiance and resistance by Tibetan people against
the People's Republic of China policies.
(12) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note)
specifies that the central objective of the United States Special
Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is to promote substantive dialogue
between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the
Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically elected
leaders of the Tibetan community.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) that the Tibetan people are a people with a distinct
religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity;
(2) that the dispute between Tibet and the People's Republic of
China must be resolved in accordance with international law,
including the United Nations Charter, by peaceful means, through
dialogue without preconditions;
(3) that the People's Republic of China should cease its
propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the
Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the
Dalai Lama;
(4) to encourage the People's Republic of China to ratify the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and uphold all
its commitments under the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights; and
(5) in accordance with the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of
2020--
(A) to promote substantive dialogue without pre-conditions,
between the Government of the People's Republic of China and
the Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically
elected leaders of the Tibetan community, or explore activities
to improve prospects for dialogue, that leads to a negotiated
agreement on Tibet;
(B) to coordinate with other governments in multilateral
efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet;
and
(C) to encourage the Government of the People's Republic of
China to address the aspirations of the Tibetan people with
regard to their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and
linguistic identity.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) claims made by officials of the People's Republic of China
and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a part of China
since ancient times are historically inaccurate;
(2) the current policies of the People's Republic of China are
systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan people to
preserve their religion, culture, language, history, way of life,
and environment;
(3) the Government of the People's Republic of China is 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; and
(4) United States public diplomacy efforts should counter
disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the People's
Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, including
disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and
Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.
SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 2002.
(a) Tibet Negotiations.--Section 613(b) of the Tibetan Policy Act
of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(4) efforts to counter disinformation about Tibet from the
Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese
Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of
Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that
of the Dalai Lama.''.
(b) United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.--Section
621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is
amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs
(7), (8), and (9), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new
paragraph:
``(6) work with relevant bureaus of the Department of State and
the United States Agency for International Development to ensure
that United States Government statements and documents counter, as
appropriate, disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the
People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party,
including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan
people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai
Lama;''.
(c) Definition.--The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901
note) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 622. DEFINITION.
``For purposes of this Act, the term `Tibet' refers to the
following areas:
``(1) The Tibet Autonomous Region.
``(2) The areas that the Government of the People's Republic of
China designated as Tibetan Autonomous, as of 2018, as follows:
``(A) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and
Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous County located in Gansu
Province.
``(B) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Malho
(Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsojang (Haibei)
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and Tibetan
Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous
Prefecture, located in Qinghai Province.
``(C) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Ngawa
(Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli (Mili)
Tibetan Autonomous County, located in Sichuan Province.
``(D) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,
located in Yunnan Province.''.
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION ABOUT TIBET.
Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available
under section 346 of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020
(subtitle E of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260) are
authorized to be made available to counter disinformation about Tibet
from the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese
Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of Tibet,
the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the
Dalai Lama.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.