Hultgren bill would hold Chinese govt. officials accountable for limiting access to Tibet

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) introduced a bill earlier this month that would deny Chinese government officials access to the United States if they are responsible for restricting Americans who travel to Tibet.

The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, H.R. 1872, would require the U.S. Secretary of State to submit to Congress an assessment of the level of access to Tibet granted to American government officials, journalists, independent observers and tourists by Chinese officials. If the secretary deems there are restrictions on travel to Tibet, then the appropriate Chinese officials will be ineligible to enter the United States — basically, reciprocal access would be provided for the access received.

“It’s time to end the double standard,” said Hultgren, who is co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

“China’s harsh restrictions surrounding Tibet are well-known. It remains unacceptable for China’s officials to enjoy access throughout the United States, while our own diplomats, journalists and Tibetan-Americans are restricted from visiting Tibet,” said Hultgren, who is also a commissioner on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Home to Earth’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, Tibet has been marred in controversy for decades. Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, also considered by many to be the political leader as well, is revered around the world, which has caused the Chinese government to fear him. The communist government has imprisoned and/or killed more than a million people who respect the Dalai Lama and continues to commit human rights violations against Tibetans, according to myriad reports.

While Chinese officials have stated that Tibet is open to foreign visitors, the government imposes greater restrictions on travel to Tibetan areas than to other areas of China, according to Hultgren’s bill, and requires that official permissions be obtained first.

In fact, the U.S. State Department reported that federal officials submitted 39 requests to the Chinese government for diplomatic access to Tibet between May 2011 and July 2015, but only four were granted.

“When such requests are granted, diplomatic personnel are closely supervised and given few opportunities to meet local residents not approved by authorities,” according to text of the bill.

Hultgren and the bill’s cosponsors think that the Chinese government’s oppression of Tibet includes keeping it off limits to Americans, journalists and others who would be able to shine a light on the human rights violations that continue to take place there on a daily basis.

Cosponsors who also introduced the bill April 4 included U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Marco Rubio (R-FL).

The bill, which to date has a total of 18 cosponsors, has been referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.