US House Foreign Affairs Committee approves ‘Resolve Tibet Act’ for Tibet-China dispute

A bill aimed at strengthening US efforts to push China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama’s envoys and resolve the ongoing Tibet-China dispute can now proceed to the House floor, following a unanimous vote by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.

The bipartisan legislation, known as the Resolve Tibet Act, received approval at a markup meeting attended by Tibetan Americans, according to the Washington-based advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).

The Resolve Tibet Act establishes official US policy that China must resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s envoys, emphasizing the unresolved conflict between Tibet and China and Tibet’s undetermined legal status under international law.

The bill, an amended House version of the legislation, was introduced last year; however, the dialogue process has been stalled since 2010.

The bill aims to pressure China to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s envoys or democratically elected Tibetan leaders, according to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT).

The bill also seeks to dismiss as inaccurate the Chinese claim that Tibet has been part of China since antiquity, and it will empower the State Department to actively counter China’s disinformation about Tibetan history, people and institutions.

According to the Resolve Tibet Act, China’s policies are “systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan people to preserve their religion, culture, language, history, way of life and environment.”

The Resolve Tibet Act states that Tibetans “are a people with a distinct religious, cultural, linguistic and historical identity,” as per the ICT.

The approval of the bill comes just days after President Joe Biden met Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, where the White House said that Biden raised concerns about China’s human rights abuses in Tibet.
The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act states that it is US policy that the dispute between Tibet and China must be resolved in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter, by peaceful means through dialogue and without preconditions, the ICT stated.

According to the legislation, the US should promote substantive dialogue without preconditions between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama, his representatives or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan community.

Additionally, the US could also explore activities to improve prospects for dialogue leading to a negotiated agreement on Tibet and coordinate with other governments in multilateral efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet.

Furthermore, it should encourage the Chinese government to address the aspirations of the Tibetan people regarding their distinct historical, cultural, religious and linguistic identity.