Bipartisan, bicameral bill from McCaul, Young supports peaceful end to Tibet-China discord

Toward helping to encourage a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) unveiled a bipartisan, bicameral bill to amend federal law promoting dialogue between the Dalai Lama and the PRC.

“The Chinese Communist Party continues to oppress the Tibetan people. Tibetans are subject to the CCP’s mass surveillance and censorship tactics and are arbitrarily killed or imprisoned for expressing their desire for freedom,” Rep. McCaul said. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to reject the CCP’s claims that their tyranny over Tibet is legitimate and will assert the Tibetan people have a say in their own future.” 

The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act, H.R. 533/S. 138, seeks to empower the United States government to achieve its long-standing goal of helping Tibetans and PRC authorities peacefully resolve their differences through dialogue, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers, which notes that there has been no formal dialogue between the two since 2010. 

Rep. McCaul on Jan. 26 signed on as the original cosponsor of H.R. 533 with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), while Sen. Young on Jan. 30 was the original cosponsor of S. 138 with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

“The CCP’s aggression toward Tibet is self-serving, with negotiations and even the very definition of Tibet on the CCP’s terms. We must refresh U.S. policy toward Tibet, and push for negotiations that advance freedoms for the Tibetan people and peaceful resolution to the CCP’s conflict with the Dalai Lama,” Sen. Young said. “Putting this bill forward again demonstrates America’s resolve that the CCP’s status quo — both in Tibet and elsewhere — is not acceptable.”

If enacted, the bill would make it U.S. policy that the Tibetan people are a people 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, according to the text of the bill, and that the legal status of Tibet remains to be determined in accordance with international law. 

Among several other provisions, the measure also would direct the U.S. State Department’s Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues to ensure that U.S. 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, the text says.