Several overseas Chinese scholars contacted by the International Campaign for Tibet have declared that the new bipartisan bill on Tibet introduced in the US Congress will have a “profound impact” on the Tibet issue, helping to clarify the position of the United States and other democratic countries on the Tibet-China conflict.
The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Congress members Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on July 13, 2022. McGovern stated that he introduced the bill in the hopes of “getting the two sides to negotiate a durable solution,” while McCaul said the legislation “will help ensure Tibetans have a say in their own future.”
Reactions from Chinese scholars
Teng Biao
Teng Biao, human rights scholar at Hunter College in New York, told ICT that the bill “will have a profound impact on Tibet-China relations.”
“The Chinese government has completely trampled on international law, its own Constitution, violated the policy of regional ethnic autonomy, and has carried out a policy of brutal repression in ethnic minority areas, including Tibet,” Teng said. “The government has deprived the people of their freedom and basic human rights while implementing a policy of cultural genocide to restrict and eliminate the cultural, ethnic and religious identity of Tibetans.”
Teng welcomed the legislation, concluding that, “Under such circumstances, precision and clarity in the United States and other democratic countries’ position on the Tibet-China issue is particularly urgent and important for the basic human rights and political future of Tibetans.”
Hu Ping
Hu Ping, writer and editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring Magazine in New York, said the bill is timely as it comes at “a time when the human rights situation in Tibet continues to deteriorate. Tibetan autonomy continues to be grossly trampled upon and the Chinese government is intensifying its barbaric policy of eliminating Tibetan national consciousness and national identity.”
Hu feels the bill not only helps to promote the cause of freedom for Tibetans, but also the cause of Chinese people, as well as global justice and peace. Hu added that the Dalai Lama’s Middle Way Approach is receiving increasing understanding and support from the Chinese people.
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