[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1072 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1072

 Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of March 
    10, 1959, and condemning human rights violations related to the 
             hydropower dam construction project in Derge.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 11, 2024

  Mr. McGovern (for himself and Mrs. Kim of California) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of March 
    10, 1959, and condemning human rights violations related to the 
             hydropower dam construction project in Derge.

Whereas for more than 2,000 years the people of Tibet have maintained a distinct 
        religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity;
Whereas 2024 marks the 65th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising Day of 1959, 
        ensued by the flight from Tibet to India of the spiritual and temporal 
        leader of the Tibetan people, Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai 
        Lama, who was forced to flee due to fear for his safety as the Chinese 
        Communist Party's People's Liberation Army prepared to commence an 
        assault on his residence;
Whereas, upon his arrival in India, the Dalai Lama declared that he could do 
        more to champion the rights, including the right of self-determination, 
        of the Tibetan people in exile than by remaining inside territory 
        occupied by the Armed Forces of the People's Republic of China (PRC);
Whereas in the intervening years the PRC has persistently sought to erase the 
        religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity of the Tibetan 
        people;
Whereas this attempt at erasure includes separating up to 1,000,000 Tibetan 
        children from their families and forcing them to enroll in schools that 
        teach principally in Mandarin, seeking to undermine the transmission of 
        Tibetan language and alienate Tibetan youth from their culture, which if 
        successful would contribute to the erosion of the identity of the entire 
        people;
Whereas, as a result of PRC policies, at least 1,800,000 Tibetan nomads have 
        been forced into concentrated settlements without compensation nor 
        guarantees of income or employment, contributing to their vulnerability 
        to coercive labor programs;
Whereas the Government of the PRC routinely interferes with religious practices 
        of the Tibetan people thus violating the right to freedom of religion 
        which is vital to Tibetan spiritual education and expression;
Whereas Freedom House's ``Freedom of the World 2024'' report scores Tibet as 0 
        out of 100, the worst rating in at least 8 years;
Whereas a notable and recent instance of Chinese suppression of Tibetan rights 
        is the decision of the PRC to undertake a hydropower dam construction 
        project in the eastern Tibetan area of Derge that would reportedly cause 
        the displacement of approximately 2,000 Tibetans from their homes and 
        destroy 6 historical monasteries holding numerous artifacts of religious 
        significance, including murals that date back to the 13th century, 
        prompting mass protests against the project;
Whereas in response to the protests in Derge, on February 23, 2024, Chinese 
        authorities forcibly detained more than 1,000 Tibetans;
Whereas the judiciary in the PRC is not independent;
Whereas cases of arbitrary detention, disappearance, and torture of Tibetans are 
        frequent and well-documented; and
 Whereas, over the years, Congress has consistently and strongly condemned the 
        Chinese Government's repression of the human rights of the Tibetan 
        people: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 65th anniversary of the flight from 
        Tibet of Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, in 
        response to the People's Republic of China's military 
        aggression;
            (2) confirms its longstanding support for the human rights, 
        including the right of self-determination, of the Tibetan 
        people;
            (3) condemns the People's Republic of China's persistent 
        efforts to erase the Tibetan people's distinct religious, 
        cultural, linguistic, and historical identity, most recently 
        through the proposed hydropower dam construction in the eastern 
        Tibetan area of Derge that would reportedly cause the 
        displacement of approximately 2,000 Tibetans from their homes 
        and destroy 6 historical monasteries and artifacts of religious 
        significance;
            (4) condemns the arbitrary detention on February 23, 2024, 
        of those protesting the hydropower dam construction project in 
        Derge;
            (5) expresses grave concern for the well-being of the 
        protesters and those who provided video and photographic 
        evidence of the events as they unfolded;
            (6) demands that the People's Republic of China immediately 
        release all prisoners of conscience in China, including those 
        detained in the February 2024 protests against the hydropower 
        dam construction project in Derge;
            (7) demands that the People's Republic of China publicly 
        apologize for the violations of the rights of those who 
        protested against the hydropower dam construction project in 
        Derge, provide immediate redress for physical and emotional 
        trauma, and expunge from the detainees' official records any 
        mention of the arrests or charges;
            (8) calls upon the Biden administration to urge authorities 
        of the People's Republic of China to halt the hydropower dam 
        construction project in Derge until the views of the local 
        Tibetan residents are taken into account in accordance with the 
        provisions of autonomy provided to Tibetans under People's 
        Republic of China law, and to cancel construction unless 
        authorities obtain the genuine consent of local Tibetan 
        residents;
            (9) calls on the Biden administration to insist that the 
        Government of the People's Republic of China abide by its 
        commitments to safeguard cultural heritage made at the February 
        2023 review of the United Nations Committee on Economic, 
        Social, and Cultural Rights; and
            (10) calls upon the Biden administration to fully implement 
        the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), including 
        the Tibet Project Principles which require Tibetan input into 
        development projects, to ensure that the People's Republic of 
        China fully respects all the human rights of the Tibetan 
        people.
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