US Congress Promotes Tibet Conflict Resolution

By Barkha Mathur / July 19, 2022;

Congressman Jim McGovern and Rep .Michael McCaul, R-Texas

A bipartisan Bill to strengthen the United States’ policy to promote dialogue between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and His Holiness the Dalai Lama towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Tibet and the PRC has been introduced in the US Congress. United States lawmakers Representative Michael McCaul, Republican of Texas and Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced the Bill.

The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act, introduced on July 13, supports the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination and recognises Tibet’s legal status as unresolved, according to a press statement released by the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Republicans, led by Michael McCaul. Representative McCaul said in the statement, “The Chinese Communist Party’s invasion of Tibet in 1950 and its repression of Tibetans ever since set the stage for the CCP’s ongoing territorial aggression and human rights atrocities.”

The Bill has two main components:

One, “it strengthens the basis for US support for dialogue by making it US policy that Tibetan people are entitled to the right of self-determination under international law and that their ability to exercise this right is precluded by the current PRC policies; and that the conflict between Tibet and the PRC is unresolved, and that the legal status of Tibet remains to be determined.”

Two, it “counters PRC disinformation on Tibet by directing the State Department’s Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to ensure that US government statements and documents counter disinformation about Tibet from PRC officials, including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions including that of the Dalai Lama, authorising existing funding under the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 to counter disinformation about Tibet, and requiring the annual Report on Tibet Negotiations to Congress on the Executive Branch’s activities to counter disinformation about Tibet.”

The Bill’s supporters hope that this attempt by the US to hold China accountable for its human rights record and the toughening of language surrounding Washington’s position on Tibet will put pressure on Beijing to resume long-stalled negotiations with the Dalai Lama.

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) and US leaders have welcomed the introduction of the new Bill.