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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H.R. 5254

To establish the position of United States Special Envoy for Tibet, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 7, 1994

Mr. BERMAN (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. ROSE, Mr. PORTER, Mr. LANTOS,

Mrs. UNSOELD, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Ms. PELOSI)

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on

Foreign Affairs

A BILL

To establish the position of United States Special Envoy

for Tibet, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Special Envoy for

5 Tibet Act of 1994’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Government of the People’s Republic of

9 China withholds meaningful participation in the gov-
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1 ernance of Tibet from Tibetans and has failed to

2 abide by its own constitutional guarantee of auton3 omy for Tibetans;

4 (2) the Government of the People’s Republic of

5 China is responsible for the destruction of much of

6 Tibet’s cultural and religious heritage since 1959

7 and continues to threaten the survival of Tibetan

8 culture and religion;

9 (3) the Government of the People’s Republic of

10 China, through direct and indirect incentives, has es11 tablished discriminatory development programs

12 which have resulted in an overwhelming flow of Chi13 nese immigrants into Tibet, including those areas in14 corporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan,

15 Yunnan, Gansu, and Quinghai in recent years, and

16 have excluded Tibetans from participation in impor17 tant policy decisions, further threatening traditional

18 Tibetan life;

19 (4) the Government of the People’s Republic of

20 China denies Tibetans their fundamental human

21 rights, as reported in the Department of State’s

22 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for

23 1993;

24 (5) the President and the Congress have deter25 mined that the promotion of human rights in Tibet
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1 and the protection of Tibet’s religion and culture are

2 important elements in United States-China relations

3 and have urged senior members of the Government

4 of the People’s Republic of China to enter into sub5 stantive negotiations on these matters with the Dalai

6 Lama or his representative;

7 (6) the Dalai Lama has repeatedly stated his

8 willingness to begin substantive negotiations without

9 preconditions; and

10 (7) the Government of the People’s Republic of

11 China has failed to respond in a good faith manner

12 by reciprocating a willingness to begin negotiations

13 without preconditions, and no substantive negotia14 tions have begun.

15 SEC. 3. POSITION OF UNITED STATES SPECIAL ENVOY FOR

16 TIBET.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF POSITION.—There shall be

18 within the Department of State a United States Special

19 Envoy for Tibet, who shall be appointed by the President,

20 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The

21 United States Special Envoy for Tibet shall hold office at

22 the pleasure of the President.

23 (b) RANK OF AMBASSADOR.—The United States Spe24 cial Envoy for Tibet shall have the personal rank of am25 bassador.
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1 SEC. 4. RESPONSIBILITIES.

2 (a) AUTHORITIES.—The United States Special Envoy

3 for Tibet is authorized and encouraged—

4 (1) to promote substantive negotiations between

5 the Dalai Lama or his representatives and senior

6 members of the Government of the People’s Republic

7 of China;

8 (2) to promote good relations between the Dalai

9 Lama and his representatives and the United States

10 Government, including meeting with members or

11 representatives of the Tibetan government-in-exile;

12 and

13 (3) to travel regularly throughout Tibet and Ti14 betan refugee settlements.

15 (b) DUTIES.—The United States Special Envoy for

16 Tibet shall—

17 (1) consult with the Congress on policies rel18 evant to Tibet and the future and welfare of all Ti19 betan people;

20 (2) coordinate United States Government poli21 cies, programs, and projects concerning Tibet; and

22 (3) report to the Secretary of State regarding

23 the matters described in section 536(a)(2) of the

24 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years

25 1994 and 1995 (Public Law 103–236).

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