The United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China* (CECC) released its report for August 2018 to August 2019 on January 8; it states that Congress and the Trump Administration should urge China to stay out of the Dalai Lama’s succession plans, allow unrestricted access to Tibet and recognise the role Chinese policies play in Tibetan self-immolations.
The report quotes CECC Chair Representative James McGovern and Co-Chair Senator Marco Rubio as saying that human rights and the rule of law in China “continued to worsen” over the past year. At the report’s launch, McGovern spoke of China’s persecution of Tibetan Buddhists and mentioned that the new Tibetan Policy and Support Act, already passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, could be passed shortly by the full House of Representatives. This will make it official US policy that only the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Buddhist community can decide on his succession — and will sanction any Chinese officials who attempt to appoint their own Dalai Lama in the future.
The report included mention of the Chinese government crackdown on previously allowed religious practices in Tibet, their expansion of mass surveillance and the damage to Tibet’s environment, which plays a crucial role in the global ecosystem. The report looks at China’s efforts to “Sinicise” Tibetan Buddhism, meaning to forcefully bring it under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, and which includes many restrictions on religious practices for monks, nuns and lay people. The report describes China’s insistence on its right to “choose” the next reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama as “One of China’s most shocking attempts to dominate Tibetan Buddhism”, and continues: “The [Chinese] government’s position violates international standards of religious freedom, which guarantee the right of religious communities ‘to train, appoint, elect or designate by succession appropriate leaders’,” quoting a United Nations declaration on eliminating religious discrimination and intolerance.
The report also calls for the US to take action to obtain the release of political prisoners in China, including the Panchen Lama who was abducted at the age of six and has not been seen since. It notes the restrictions on access to Tibetan language education experienced by Tibetans, as well as the repression of Tibetans’ freedom of speech and assembly, and their freedom of movement. It also notes that foreigners continue to be denied access to Tibet.
The report describes the criminalising of ordinary social activities under China’s “anti-crime and vice” campaign, imprisoning Tibetans who meet or campaign to reclaim their property which has been expropriated by government officials. Tibetans are expected to inform the authorities of anyone engaging in “splittist” activities or low key local political or religious activities, and citizens are subject to pervasive surveillance including, allegedly, secretly installed surveillance apps on Tibetans’ phones.
The report notes that two Tibetans self-immolated during the period of the report, and a further self-immolation has taken place since then, and recommends that the US government urge China to “recognise the role of restrictive [Communist] Party policies and government measures […] in Tibetan self-immolations and protests.”
Environmental issues are highlighted, with the damaging effect of Chinese policies on Tibet’s ecosystem, including the removal of nomads from their ancestral grazing lands, and the threat to China’s rivers which has the potential to affect millions of people living downstream in south east Asia.
The International Campaign for Tibet** (ICT) President Matteo Mecacci said, “The Chinese government continues to oppress the Tibetan people and to crush their vibrant culture; it does this through a centralised and authoritarian form of government that clearly represents a tangible security threat, not only to the Tibetans, the Uighurs, the people of Hong Kong and the Chinese people themselves, but to the world. The new report from the CECC provides a number of urgent recommendations that the US government should follow to support the just aspirations of the Tibetan people.”
CECC Chair, Rep James McGovern said, “The notion that a government can come in and appoint a religious leader and that it would have any credibility at all is ridiculous. It is ridiculous. We find all of this very offensive as people who believe in religious freedom […] China needs to know there’ll be a consequence. It will be more than just a press release saying that we object to this […] We have no quarrel with the Chinese people. It is with Chinese leaders who are trying to suppress individuals’ right to freedom of religion, freedom of expression, freedom to be able to be who they want to be.”
*The Congressional-Executive Commission on China is an independent agency of the United States government which monitors human rights and rule of law developments in the People’s Republic of China.
** The International Campaign for Tibet is a non-profit advocacy group working to promote democratic freedoms for Tibetans, ensure their human rights, and protect Tibetan culture and the environment.
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