Tibetan groups outside of China welcomed the passage of a new bill by Congress and called on other countries to follow U.S. leadership in supporting Tibetans currently being persecuted by the Chinese regime.
The Dalai Lama is the title given to the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. The current leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, went into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese communist rule in 1959. The Chinese regime perceives the exiled Dalai Lama as a “separatist.”
The new bill stipulates that U.S. policy will recognize that the selection of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, are “exclusively spiritual matters” for the Tibetan Buddhist community.
In 2007, the Chinese regime enacted regulations that allowed it control over the process by which lineages of Tibetan lamas are reincarnated.
The bill would also require the Secretary of State to seek the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet region, to monitor “political, economic, and cultural developments” in the area. Additionally, Beijing would not be able to establish any additional consulate in the United States until the U.S. consulate in Lhasa comes to fruition.
The Secretary of State would also urge Nepal to continue to provide Tibetans safe passage from China to India, where the government-in-exile resides.
The legislation would also allocate funds for programs to support Tibetan communities, such as providing humanitarian assistance for Tibetan refugees in South Asia.
Several U.S. lawmakers applauded the bill’s passage.
McGovern stated: “The legislation reaffirms America’s commitment to the idea that human rights matter, that we care about those who are oppressed, and we stand with those who are struggling for freedom.”
Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), a global grassroots network headquartered in New York, said it was grateful that the bill was included in the spending bill.
Doma added: “I hope that other world leaders can use TPSA as an example of how to incorporate human rights principles and religious freedom into foreign policy.”
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, in a daily briefing on Tuesday, called on the United States to stop “meddling” in its “domestic affairs,” when asked about the Tibet bill.
“We Tibetans are deeply indebted to the government and people of the United States of America for their unwavering support and kindness extended until now,” Jungney added.
Jungney said the exile government would like to “appeal other countries to adopt such kind of legislation in their respective parliaments.”