The US is stepping up pressure on China over Tibet. The passage of the Resolve Tibet Bill by the House of Representatives is intended to push Beijing to negotiate with Tibetan leaders. It now remains to be passed by the Senate to become an act.
Talks between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing have been stalled since 2010. How the passage of this bill will pressure China to negotiate is not clear. It’s also unclear if the bill envisages penalties on China for refusing to negotiate with Tibet’s democratically elected leaders.
The bill dismisses Chinese claims that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times and empowers the US government to counter Chinese disinformation about Tibetan history.
“A vote for the bill is also a vote to recognise the rights of the Tibetan people and is a vote to resolve the issue peacefully through dialogue,” one of the backers of the bill, Congressman McGovern said.
Another Congressman Young Kim, said that the bill would enable the Tibetans to have a say in the future, that any resolution must be peaceful and include the voice of the Tibetan people.
Highlighting Beijing’s refusal to engage with the Dalai Lama, Congresswoman Kathy Manning said that Beijing has unleashed a disinformation campaign to mislead the world about Tibet and its history.
Representatives of the Tibetan community welcomed the passage of the bill. International Campaign for Tibet president Tencho Gyatso said the vote shows that the US support for Tiber is growing stronger even after 65 years of China’s control and occupation.
The Dalai Lama fled Tibet into exile in India in the midst of a failed 1959 uprising against rule by China. Beijing believes that the Dalai Lama wants to split off the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan-populated areas in China’s Sichuan and Qinghai provinces from the rest of the country.
Over the years, Chinese officials have urged Tibetan monks to denounce the Dalai Lama.
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