Following the exercise of their democratic rights, the American people have chosen a new Congress, which will assume office in January 2023. The International Campaign for Tibet looks forward to working with this Congress to build on the US’ longstanding programmatic and political support for Tibetans, both in exile and inside Tibet.
The bipartisan support of the US Congress for Tibet has been the international standard bearer for decades. We look forward to the new Congress continuing this tradition.
Congress has identified China’s repressive policies toward Tibet as a serious problem that must be confronted. Administrations of both parties and Congress have long supported the Dalai Lama’s call for meaningful dialogue to end the oppression in Tibet and have repeatedly urged Chinese authorities to respect the fundamental human rights and religious freedoms of the Tibetan people.
US official policy on Tibet is codified in multiple laws, including the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2006, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 and the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020, all of which support the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people’s quest for human rights and dignity.
Recently, a new bill, the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act, was introduced in the House of Representatives. The bill will push for a resolution to China’s decades-long, illegal occupation of Tibet by pressuring the Chinese government to resume negotiations with the envoys of the Dalai Lama. Like all the previous legislation, the bill is bipartisan.
As Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to hand over the gavel to a new Republican Speaker as part of this democratic process, ICT expresses its heartfelt gratitude for her deep commitment to the Tibetan people and her leadership in solidifying the US’ decades-long bipartisan support for Tibet in Congress and the institutionalization of the same within the US government’s foreign policy.
As the new Congress prepares to take office, ICT looks forward to the Congress working to ensure the implementation of current law and enacting new ones to strengthen US support to the Tibetan people.