U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the Select Committee on China, said on June 15 that he is cosponsoring bipartisan legislation which would require a determination about whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is committing atrocities in Tibet.
“The American people will never turn a blind eye to the CCP’s oppression of innocent Tibetans who wish to live freely and follow their faith,” Rep. Moolenaar said in a statement. “This legislation is the first step to holding China accountable for its atrocities in Tibet.”
Tibet, a region China claims and controls, is a country where the CCP systematically persecutes Tibetans that follow the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader who was exiled after the Tibetan Uprising of 1959, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Moolenaar’s staff.
The CCP has spent decades oppressing the Tibetan people, from regulating monasteries to “Sinicizing” the Tibetan language, culture, and education system, the summary says, noting that the United Front Work Department of the CCP is now engaged in an aggressive cultural erasure campaign.
The congressman has signed on to cosponsor the Tibet Atrocities Determination Act, H.R. 9085, which U.S. Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced on June 2.
If enacted, H.R. 9085 would direct the U.S. Secretary of State to determine if the growing body of evidence documenting the CCP’s systematic abuses of the Tibetan people in Tibet constitutes an “ongoing genocide” or “crimes against humanity.”
The secretary would be required to submit a report that includes a review of actions and statements by the Government of the People’s Republic of China intended to Sinicize Tibetan Buddhism or repress Tibetan language and culture that contribute to policies resulting in genocide or crimes against humanity against the Tibetan people, the text of the bill says.
The report also would include findings from the State Department and credible third-party analyses, as well as recommendations for United States policy responses, including potential sanctions, including, but not limited to, visa restrictions and diplomatic actions, the bill says.
H.R. 9085 is the companion bill to the same-named S. 4432, introduced on April 29 by U.S. Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).