Dharamshala: The Resolve Tibet Bill advanced closer to becoming law as the US House passed a suspension motion on the Senate version of the bill on Wednesday, June 12, a day after its introduction to the House. With a vote of 391 to 26, the House approved the amended legislation on Wednesday morning.
The bill will now move forward to President Biden’s office for final approval.
Bill S.138, titled “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act”, is the Senate version of the bipartisan House bill HR. 533, which the House passed earlier on February 15 with a strong majority. The bill was then forwarded to the Senate, where it underwent a single-paragraph amendment as the S.138 and garnered unanimous support on May 23. The Senate-amended bill returned to the House for consideration.
On 11 June the sponsors of the bill, Representative Jim McGovern (D-MA), and Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX) introduced the bill and urged the members of the House to vote for the bill along with Representative Bill Keating who also spoke in strong support of the bill.
Representative Michael McCaul said, “The United States has never accepted that Tibet was part of China since ancient times as the CCP falsely claims. This legislation clarifies US policy and highlights the unique language, religion, and culture of the Tibetan people. It directs US diplomacy to push back against CCP propaganda. In addition, it ensures Tibetans have a say in their own future. This bill stresses the need for dialogue between the CCP and other democratically elected leaders of Tibet. Any resolution must include the wishes and voice of the Tibetan people… Passing this bill demonstrates America’s resolve that the CCP’s status quo in Tibet is not acceptable and I can think of no greater message or gift to the Dalai Lama and the people of Tibet than the swift passage of this bill to get to the president’s desk as soon as possible to help put the people of Tibet in charge of their own future.”
Representative Bill Keating said, “For too long, Beijing has oppressed the Tibetan people and failed to honour its commitment to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama and his representatives regarding Tibet’s future… [The bill] calls out Beijing’s oppressive tactics and relentless disinformation. This bill reinforces our unwavering support for the Tibetan issues and calls on the PRC to engage in genuine dialogue with Tibetan representatives. It also strengthens the Tibetan policy act of 2002 by enhancing our public diplomacy efforts to counter PRC disinformation about Tibet”.
Representative Jim McGovern who authored the bill said, “The world is awash in conflict. At the heart of many conflicts lies this systematic denial of a people’s human rights and the decade-old dispute between Tibet and China started as an armed conflict of invasion, resistance, and insurgency. In the long run, the only guarantee against the resumption of violence is for the PRC to fully respect the human rights and dignity of the Tibetan people. A vote for this bill is a vote to recognize the rights of the Tibetan people and it’s a vote to insist on resolving the dispute between Tibet and the People’s Republic of China peacefully in accordance with international law through dialogue and without preconditions.”