Support H.R. 4331, The Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA)
The bipartisan Tibetan Policy and Support Act was introduced in the Senate today, Sept. 24, 2019 by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and co-sponsors Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.). The bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives on Sept. 13 by Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.). McGovern and Rubio are chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
The new legislation includes a number of provisions to help the people of Tibet, who have lived under a brutal Chinese occupation for the past 60 years since the current Dalai Lama, now 84, was forced into exile.
Among other efforts, the legislation will:
- Make it official US policy that “decisions regarding the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, are exclusively spiritual matters that should be made by the appropriate religious authorities within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in the context of the will of religious practitioners and the instructions of the [current] 14th Dalai Lama.”
- Not permit China to open a new consulate in the US until a US consulate is allowed in Lhasa, Tibet’s historic capital. The bill also says all Tibetan areas under Chinese control should be overseen by one US consular district, rather than by the several districts that now oversee them.
- Update the Tibetan Policy Act, landmark legislation from 2002 that made support for Tibet part of US law.
- Mandate that the State Department work with US businesses and individuals operating in Tibet to ensure their work takes into account the human rights of the Tibetan people.
- Require the secretary of state to pursue a regional framework on water security in recognition of Tibet’s role as a source of water for more than 1 billion people. The secretary will also have to engage the Chinese government and NGOs to encourage the involvement of Tibetan nomads and other Tibetans in grassland management policies to protect Tibet’s fragile environment.
- Praise the Dalai Lama for leading the democratization of the Tibetan system of government in exile and acknowledge that the Central Tibetan Administration, based in Dharamsala, India, reflects and represents the aspirations of the Tibetan people worldwide.
- Authorize ongoing US appropriations that support humanitarian projects for Tibetans in Tibet and in exile.
We the undersigned call upon the House to pass this bill and protect the human and civil rights of Tibetans.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionThe new legislation includes a number of provisions to help the people of Tibet, who have lived under a brutal Chinese occupation for the past 60 years since the current Dalai Lama, now 84, was forced into exile.
Among other efforts, the legislation will:
- Make it official US policy that “decisions regarding the identification and installation of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders, including a future 15th Dalai Lama, are exclusively spiritual matters that should be made by the appropriate religious authorities within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and in the context of the will of religious practitioners and the instructions of the [current] 14th Dalai Lama.”
- Not permit China to open a new consulate in the US until a US consulate is allowed in Lhasa, Tibet’s historic capital. The bill also says all Tibetan areas under Chinese control should be overseen by one US consular district, rather than by the several districts that now oversee them.
- Update the Tibetan Policy Act, landmark legislation from 2002 that made support for Tibet part of US law.
- Mandate that the State Department work with US businesses and individuals operating in Tibet to ensure their work takes into account the human rights of the Tibetan people.
- Require the secretary of state to pursue a regional framework on water security in recognition of Tibet’s role as a source of water for more than 1 billion people. The secretary will also have to engage the Chinese government and NGOs to encourage the involvement of Tibetan nomads and other Tibetans in grassland management policies to protect Tibet’s fragile environment.
- Praise the Dalai Lama for leading the democratization of the Tibetan system of government in exile and acknowledge that the Central Tibetan Administration, based in Dharamsala, India, reflects and represents the aspirations of the Tibetan people worldwide.
- Authorize ongoing US appropriations that support humanitarian projects for Tibetans in Tibet and in exile.
We the undersigned call upon the House to pass this bill and protect the human and civil rights of Tibetans.
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