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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5305 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5305

 To support and promote the human rights of Southern Mongolians in the 
          People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 13, 2024

  Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following 
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To support and promote the human rights of Southern Mongolians in the 
          People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Southern Mongolian Human Rights 
Policy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the China Statistical Yearbook for 2021, 
        more than 6,000,000 ethnic Mongolians live in the People's 
        Republic of China, of which some two-thirds live in the Inner 
        Mongolia Autonomous Region, and many others in three 
        prefectures and eight counties designated as autonomous for 
        Mongolians by the Government of the People's Republic of China.
            (2) Over the centuries, successive central Chinese 
        governments have promoted the migration of Chinese people into 
        the area currently administered as the Inner Mongolia 
        Autonomous Region, and today only about 18 percent of the 
        population of the Region is counted as ethnically Mongolian.
            (3) In 2020, officials in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous 
        Region announced a new policy to effectively replace Mongolian 
        as the principal language of instruction with Chinese, in the 
        subjects of history, politics, and literature, and shut down 
        Bainu, the only Mongolian-language-based social media website 
        based in the country. Beginning in September 2023, schools 
        across the region largely removed Mongolian-language 
        instruction from elementary and secondary schools throughout 
        the region. Reports indicate that high school and college 
        entrance exams will be conducted in Chinese exclusively 
        starting in 2025 and 2028, respectively. The People's Republic 
        of China authorities have banned Mongolian language books from 
        bookstores and removed signs in the unique, vertically-written 
        Mongolian script from schools, buildings, streets, and parks.
            (4) The People's Republic of China officials launched 
        ``patriotic education'' campaigns at schools and universities 
        throughout the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, designed to 
        suppress manifestations of Mongolian identity in favor of the 
        common ``Chinese national identity'' and encourage ``all ethnic 
        groups to accept the great mother country, Chinese nationality, 
        Chinese culture, [and the] Chinese Communist Party.'' In 
        response to the new education policy, tens of thousands of 
        Southern Mongolians in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 
        launched protests, in which some 300,000 Southern Mongolian 
        students boycotted school and teachers went on strike, and some 
        individuals reportedly committed suicide in protest. Security 
        authorities responded harshly by arresting, beating, detaining, 
        jailing, and placing under home confinement some estimated 
        8,000 to 10,000 Southern Mongolians.
            (5) Chinese authorities now fully control all activities of 
        the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous 
        Region, including the schedule, scale, and ticketing of ritual 
        ceremonies and approval and monitoring of gatherings, denying 
        Southern Mongolians the ability to carry out traditional 
        rituals and observances free of government interference and 
        profiteering. This has broken an eight-century-long memorial 
        tradition at the site, which has served as an historical and 
        cultural representation of the Mongolian identity.
            (6) The People's Republic of China policies have undermined 
        the religious heritage of Southern Mongolians, many of whom 
        follow Tibetan Buddhism, including through the destruction of 
        monasteries and temples during the Cultural Revolution, and 
        interference in the ability to choose their own religious 
        leaders. Restrictions on travel and freedom of religion or 
        belief inhibit the ability of Southern Mongolians to affiliate, 
        engage, and communicate with Mongol communities around the 
        world, especially those with cultural, linguistic and religious 
        links to people in the country of Mongolia and the Buryatia, 
        Kamykia, and Tuvan regions of the Russian Federation, resulting 
        in a diminution of their common cultural heritage.
            (7) The People's Republic of China policies have 
        effectively ended the traditional Southern Mongolian economic 
        livelihood of pastoralism, a key marker of Mongol identity, by 
        forcibly resettling more than 246,000 nomadic households to 
        urban and agricultural areas where Mandarin language and 
        Chinese cultural elements dominate. These policies have cut off 
        Southern Mongolians from their ancestral lands and increased 
        their economic dependence on the state, eroding their social 
        cohesion. This has led to severe social and psychological 
        impacts, including mental illness and economic deprivation.
            (8) The environment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 
        has degraded under the People's Republic of China policies that 
        have removed nomads, ending traditional stewardship of grazing 
        lands, and exploited natural resources through mining and heavy 
        industry without sufficient stakeholder input from local 
        inhabitants, resulting in air and water pollution and severe 
        health problems among local Southern Mongolians. Bayan Obo, the 
        largest rare earth mine in the world, is the source of toxic 
        waste, including radioactive thorium that has been seeping into 
        groundwater.
            (9) Southern Mongolian dissidents, activists, writers, 
        bloggers, lawyers, and their family members who have attempted 
        to exercise their freedom of expression and defend their legal 
        rights have been detained, arrested, imprisoned, and placed 
        under home confinement by the People's Republic of China 
        authorities. Activist Yanjindulam remains under home 
        confinement after being released from prison, artist Ashidaa is 
        still under home confinement, lawyer Huhbulag has been detained 
        multiple times, and dissident Almaz has been frequently 
        harassed and detained by the authorities.
            (10) Authorities detained rights activist Hada, who 
        promoted self-determination and democracy for Southern 
        Mongolians, in 1995 and sentenced him to 15 years in 1996. He 
        was held without legal basis for an additional four years 
        following the expiration of his sentence. Hada was subsequently 
        placed under home confinement until his disappearance in 
        September 2020. In 2011, Hada's wife Xinna, an outspoken critic 
        of human rights violations in Southern Mongolia, was arrested 
        before being sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for 
        five years. Their son Uiles was sentenced at the age of 17 to 
        two years in prison on the basis of multiple fabricated 
        charges. The family's welfare and whereabouts have been unknown 
        since September 2020.
            (11) Chinese authorities have subjected Southern Mongolians 
        to transnational repression. Since 2009, at least five Southern 
        Mongolian dissidents in exile have been forcibly returned to 
        China, including from Mongolia. On May 3, 2023, Chinese police 
        officers detained Lhamjab Borjigin, a long-time dissident 
        writer and historian, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and forcibly 
        returned him to China on the same day. Lhamjab Borjigin had 
        escaped from home confinement on March 6, 2023, after he was 
        sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for 
        writing a book entitled ``China's Cultural Revolution''.
            (12) The Congressional-Executive Commission on China 
        reported that ``[d]uring the Commission's 2023 reporting year, 
        Chinese Communist Party and government authorities implemented 
        policies that limited the freedom of ethnic minority groups to 
        express their cultural and religious identities in 
        contravention of the PRC Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law and 
        international human rights treaties, including the 
        International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights''.
            (13) The Government of the People's Republic of China's 
        policies have undermined the ability of Southern Mongolians to 
        exercise their rights under international law to safeguard and 
        develop their own language, culture, religion or belief, and 
        economic livelihoods, as part of a deliberate effort to erase 
        their distinct Mongolian culture and Sinicize the Southern 
        Mongolian people.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

     It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support and promote human rights of Southern 
        Mongolians in the People's Republic of China, including the 
        fundamental freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and 
        religion or belief, and rights related to arbitrary detention, 
        discrimination, and other abuses;
            (2) to support the aspirations of the Southern Mongolian 
        people to safeguard their cultural and linguistic heritage, 
        including the ability to use and promote their own spoken and 
        written language, and protect their traditional pastoralist way 
        of life that they have maintained for thousands of years; and
            (3) to press the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to allow the Southern Mongolian people the ability to 
        enjoy autonomy promised them.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

     It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the United States supports the liberty and legitimate 
        aspirations of the Southern Mongolian people to safeguard their 
        cultural and linguistic heritage and practice their traditional 
        way of life without threat of forced assimilation policies of 
        the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
        Chinese Communist Party;
            (2) the President should--
                    (A) condemn human rights abuses against Southern 
                Mongolians by authorities of the People's Republic of 
                China; and
                    (B) call on such authorities to allow Southern 
                Mongolians the ability to exercise the autonomy 
                guaranteed by the People's Republic of China, including 
                to conduct their affairs and receive education in their 
                own spoken and written language;
            (3) the Secretary of State should--
                    (A) work with United States allies and partners and 
                through multilateral institutions to advocate for the 
                human rights of Southern Mongolians;
                    (B) urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to 
                prioritize assessment of the human rights of Southern 
                Mongolians in its reviews of the People's Republic of 
                China compliance with international human rights law, 
                including through the Universal Periodic Review 
                process, and to request travel by United Nations 
                officials to assess conditions of Southern Mongolians 
                in the People's Republic of China;
                    (C) promote the right of Southern Mongolians to 
                protect their spoken and written language;
                    (D) promote the freedom of religion or belief of 
                Southern Mongolians;
                    (E) work with the United Nations Educational, 
                Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to 
                identify and protect world heritage sites in areas of 
                traditional Mongolian culture in the People's Republic 
                of China; and
                    (F) coordinate closely with the international 
                community on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions;
            (4) the United States companies and individuals operating 
        in areas designated as autonomous for Mongolians in the 
        People's Republic of China should take steps to ensure that 
        their commercial activities do not contribute to human rights 
        violations, undermine the autonomous rights of Southern 
        Mongolians, or contribute to the environmental degradation or 
        resettlement of nomads in those areas; and
            (5) the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic 
        of China should expeditiously seek to meet with Hada and his 
        family members, as well as other Southern Mongolian dissidents, 
        activists, writers, and lawyers who are either in prison or 
        under detention or home confinement.

SEC. 5. DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR MATTERS.

    (a) Inner Mongolia Section in United States Embassy in Beijing, 
China.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State should consider 
        establishing an Inner Mongolian team within the United States 
        Embassy in Beijing, China, to follow political, economic, and 
        social developments in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 
        other areas designated by the People's Republic of China as 
        autonomous for Mongolians, with due consideration given to 
        hiring Southern Mongolians as Locally Employed Staff.
            (2) Responsibilities.--Responsibilities of a team devoted 
        to Inner Mongolia should include reporting on human rights 
        issues and access to areas designated as autonomous for 
        Mongolians by United States Government officials, journalists, 
        nongovernmental organizations, and the Southern Mongolian 
        diaspora.
            (3) Language requirements.--The Secretary of State should 
        ensure that the Department of State has sufficient proficiency 
        in Mongolian language in order to carry out paragraph (1), and 
        that the United States Embassy in Beijing, China, has 
        sufficient resources to hire Local Employed Staff proficient in 
        the Mongolian language, as appropriate.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
staffing described in subsection (a).

SEC. 6. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

    (a) Human Rights Reports.--The Ambassador at Large for 
International Religious Freedom shall, consistent with the duties under 
sections 101(c) and 102(a) of the International Religious Freedom Act 
of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(c), 6412(a)), assist the Secretary of State to 
assess the impact of the restrictions on Tibetan Buddhism by the 
Government of the People's Republic of China on the religious freedom 
of--
            (1) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in the People's 
        Republic of China who are not Tibetan; and
            (2) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism outside the People's 
        Republic of China, including their ability to travel to and 
        share information with practitioners inside the People's 
        Republic of China.
    (b) Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.--The 
Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large for 
International Religious Freedom, shall ensure that the report required 
under sections 101(c) and 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411(c), 6412(b)) assesses, as appropriate, the 
impact of the restrictions on Tibetan Buddhism by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China on the religious freedom of--
            (1) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in the People's 
        Republic of China who are not Tibetan; and
            (2) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism outside the People's 
        Republic of China, including their ability to travel to and 
        share information with practitioners inside the People's 
        Republic of China.

SEC. 7. IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 
              AGAINST SOUTHERN MONGOLIANS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
              CHINA; IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Report Required.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
        President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
        committees a report that identifies each foreign person, 
        including any official of the Government of the People's 
        Republic of China, that the President determines is responsible 
        for any of the following with respect to Southern Mongolians in 
        the People's Republic of China:
                    (A) Torture.
                    (B) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or 
                punishment.
                    (C) Prolonged or arbitrary detention without 
                charges and trial.
                    (D) Causing the disappearance of persons by the 
                abduction and clandestine detention of those persons.
                    (E) Other flagrant denial of the right to life, 
                liberty, or the security of persons.
                    (F) Other gross violations of internationally 
                recognized human rights committed against Southern 
                Mongolians.
            (2) Form.--The report required by paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
        annex.
    (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President should impose sanctions 
pursuant to one or more of the following authorities with respect to 
each foreign person identified in the report required by subsection 
(a):
            (1) The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 
        (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.).
            (2) Section 7031(c)(1)(A) of the Department of State, 
        Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 
        2024 (division F of Public Law 118-47; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note).
            (3) Section 212(a)(2)(G) of the Immigration and Nationality 
        Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(G)).
    (c) Sunset.--This section, and any sanctions imposed under this 
section, shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
        individual or entity that is not a United States person.
            (3) United states person.--The term ``United States 
        person'' means--
                    (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
                admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
                    (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
                United States or of any jurisdiction within the United 
                States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
                or
                    (C) any person in the United States.

SEC. 8. VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTS IN THE MONGOLIAN LANGUAGE.

    (a) Establishment of Service.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the 
United States Agency for Global Media shall establish, through the 
Voice of America, a service to provide Voice of America Mongolian 
language programming to Mongolian language speakers in Mongolia, the 
People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States 
Agency for Global Media shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives a report detailing the implementation of this 
section, including a description of programming and broadcast hours.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Voice of America for purposes of carrying out this 
section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

SEC. 9. SUPPORT FOR SOUTHERN MONGOLIAN CULTURE.

    (a) Repressed Cultures Preservation.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Smithsonian Institution should fund activities to help 
        preserve cultures endangered by the repressive policies of the 
        People's Republic of China, including those of Southern 
        Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers, through the 
        World Cultures Center and other programs designed to promote 
        preservation efforts, as well as research, exhibitions, and 
        education programming.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
        Institution shall submit to the Committee on Rules and 
        Administration of the Senate and the Committee on House 
        Administration of the House of Representatives a report on its 
        plans to help preserve cultures endangered by the policies of 
        the People's Republic of China, including those of Southern 
        Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers.
    (b) Assistance for Cultural Organizations, Museums, and 
Libraries.--
            (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
        the Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences 
        should establish a grant program, or make available grants 
        through an existing program, to support efforts by diaspora 
        communities in the United States to preserve their cultural 
        heritage that is threatened by the repressive policies of the 
        People's Republic of China, including the efforts of Southern 
        Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Director of the Institute for Museum 
        and Library Sciences shall submit to the Committee on Health, 
        Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
        on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives 
        a report on the feasibility of establishing a grant program, or 
        to otherwise make available grants through an existing program, 
        to support efforts by diaspora communities in the United States 
        to preserve their cultural heritage that is threatened by the 
        repressive policies of the People's Republic of China, 
        including those of Southern Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and 
        Hong Kongers, including efforts to engage with such diaspora 
        communities.

SEC. 10. SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS IN SOUTHERN MONGOLIA.

    (a) Declaration of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States 
to support the right of Southern Mongolians to make decisions in 
accordance with principles of autonomy regarding their economic 
development, including the ability to maintain traditional livelihoods, 
such as pastoralism, as well as cultural preservation, environmental 
sustainability, and resource extraction, in areas designated as 
autonomous for Southern Mongolians in the People's Republic of China.
    (b) International Financial Institutions.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury should instruct the United States executive director of each 
international financial institution to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to support financing of projects in areas designated as 
autonomous for Southern Mongolians in the People's Republic of China if 
such projects do not provide incentives for the migration and 
settlement of non-Mongolians into Southern Mongolian areas or 
facilitate the transfer of ownership of Southern Mongolian land and 
natural resources to non-Mongolians, are based on a thorough needs-
assessment, foster self-sufficiency of the Southern Mongolian people, 
respect Mongolian culture, traditions, and traditional livelihoods, and 
are subject to effective monitoring.
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