The Trump Administration has issued Executive Orders (EO) that reduce foreign assistance and freeze other international support programs. The broad implementation of this decision is severely affecting programs supporting Tibet and the Tibetan people. In response, the International Campaign for Tibet has been working in coordination with the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC to meet with Congressional and Administration officials reminding them about the importance of Tibet and the statutory requirement to help the Tibetan people.
For decades, the United States has been one of the Tibetan people’s staunchest friends. There is bipartisan agreement that the Tibetan people deserve self-determination, democracy, and the right to religious freedom. Our laws, including the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, the Tibet Policy and Support Act of 2020, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, the Resolve Tibet Act and numerous Congressional appropriations reflect that.
Furthermore, America’s fiscal support to Tibetans fits into their wider national security interests. Its stoppage will erode a successful investment that is combatting China’s malign influence and its further ambitions throughout the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tibet programs bolster the capacity of the Central Tibetan Administration, which provides democratic governance for Tibetans in exile, serves as a powerful counterpoint to Chinese Communist Party repression, preserves Tibetan religion and culture, and provides basic services to Tibetan refugee communities in India and Nepal. The Tibetan programming on Voice of America and Radio Free Asia provide factual information to Tibetans living under Chinese occupation enabling them to hear the truth about the US and the world.
The stability of Tibet directly impacts US interests. Tibet is the source of Asia’s major rivers which sustain the lives of 1.8 billion people in downstream nations. China’s dams and other infrastructure expansion threatens broad swaths of South and Southeast Asia, livelihoods of communities there, and by extension, US economic and trade relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
And most importantly, the Tibetan people’s nearly 70-year nonviolent resistance in the pursuit of human rights, rule of law, and freedom offers a path of peace in a world fraught with conflict.
The International Campaign for Tibet is committed to utilizing every tool in the toolbox to ensure the continuation of programs benefitting Tibet and the Tibetan people. On behalf of our 50,000 members, we look forward to working with Congress and the Administration in support of US policy and law on Tibet.