II 

Calendar No. 701 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1872 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

NOVEMBER 29, 2018 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, without amendment 

AN ACT 

To promote access for United States diplomats and other 

officials, journalists, and other citizens to Tibetan areas 

of the People’s Republic of China, 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 ‘‘Reciprocal Access to 

5 Tibet Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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

2 China does not grant United States diplomats and 

3 other officials, journalists, and other citizens access 

4 to China on a basis that is reciprocal to the access 

5 that the Government of the United States grants 

6 Chinese diplomats and other officials, journalists, 

7 and citizens. 

8 (2) The Government of China imposes greater 

9 restrictions on travel to Tibetan areas than to other 

10 areas of China. 

11 (3) Officials of China have stated that Tibet is 

12 open to foreign visitors. 

13 (4) The Government of China is promoting 

14 tourism in Tibetan areas, and at the Sixth Tibet 

15 Work Forum in August 2015, Premier Li Keqiang 

16 called for Tibet to build ‘‘major world tourism des17 tinations’’. 

18 (5) The Government of China requires for19 eigners to obtain permission from the Tibet Foreign 

20 and Overseas Affairs Office or from the Tibet Tour21 ism Bureau to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region, 

22 a restriction that is not imposed on travel to any 

23 other provincial-level jurisdiction in China. 

24 (6) The Department of State reports that— 


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1 (A) officials of the Government of the 

2 United States submitted 39 requests for diplo3 matic access to the Tibet Autonomous Region 

4 between May 2011 and July 2015, but only 

5 four were granted; and 

6 (B) when such requests are granted, diplo7 matic personnel are closely supervised and given 

8 few opportunities to meet local residents not ap9 proved by authorities. 

10 (7) The Government of China delayed United 

11 States consular access for more than 48 hours after 

12 an October 28, 2013, bus crash in the Tibet Autono13 mous Region, in which three citizens of the United 

14 States died and more than a dozen others, all from 

15 Walnut, California, were injured, undermining the 

16 ability of the Government of the United States to 

17 provide consular services to the victims and their 

18 families, and failing to meet China’s obligations 

19 under the Convention on Consular Relations, done 

20 at Vienna April 24, 1963 (21 UST 77). 

21 (8) Following a 2015 earthquake that trapped 

22 dozens of citizens of the United States in the Tibet 

23 Autonomous Region, the United States Consulate 

24 General in Chengdu faced significant challenges in 


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1 providing emergency consular assistance due to a 

2 lack of consular access. 

3 (9) The Country Reports on Human Rights 

4 Practices for 2015 of the Department of State stat5 ed ‘‘With the exception of a few highly controlled 

6 trips, the Chinese government also denied multiple 

7 requests by foreign diplomats for permission to visit 

8 the TAR.’’. 

9 (10) Tibetan-Americans, attempting to visit 

10 their homeland, report having to undergo a discrimi11 natory visa application process, different from what 

12 is typically required, at the Chinese embassy and 

13 consulates in the United States, and often find their 

14 requests to travel denied. 

15 (11) The Country Reports on Human Rights 

16 Practices for 2016 of the Department of State stat17 ed ‘‘The few visits to the TAR by diplomats and 

18 journalists that were allowed were tightly controlled 

19 by local authorities.’’. 

20 (12) A September 2016 article in the Wash21 ington Post reported that ‘‘The Tibet Autonomous 

22 Region . . . is harder to visit as a journalist than 

23 North Korea.’’. 

24 (13) The Government of China has failed to re25 spond positively to requests from the Government of 


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1 the United States to open a consulate in Lhasa, 

2 Tibet Autonomous Region. 

3 (14) The Foreign Correspondents Club of 

4 China reports that— 

5 (A) 2008 rules prevent foreign reporters 

6 from visiting the Tibet Autonomous Region 

7 without prior permission from the Government 

8 of such Region; 

9 (B) such permission has only rarely been 

10 granted; and 

11 (C) although the 2008 rules allow journal12 ists to travel freely in other parts of China, Ti13 betan areas outside such Region remain ‘‘effec14 tively off-limits to foreign reporters’’. 

15 (15) The Department of State reports that in 

16 addition to having to obtain permission to enter the 

17 Tibet Autonomous Region, foreign tourists— 

18 (A) must be accompanied at all times by a 

19 government-designated tour guide; 

20 (B) are rarely granted permission to enter 

21 the region by road; 

22 (C) are largely barred from visiting around 

23 the March anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan upris24 ing; and 


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1 (D) are banned from visiting the area 

2 where Larung Gar, the world’s largest center 

3 for the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and the site 

4 of a large-scale campaign to expel students and 

5 demolish living quarters, is located. 

6 (16) Foreign visitors also face restrictions in 

7 their ability to travel freely in Tibetan areas outside 

8 the Tibet Autonomous Region. 

9 (17) The Government of the United States gen10 erally allows journalists and other citizens of China 

11 to travel freely within the United States. The Gov12 ernment of the United States requires diplomats 

13 from China to notify the Department of State of 

14 their travel plans, and in certain situations, the Gov15 ernment of the United States requires such dip16 lomats to obtain approval from the Department of 

17 State before travel. However, where approval is re18 quired, it is almost always granted expeditiously. 

19 (18) The United States regularly grants visas 

20 to Chinese diplomats and other officials, scholars, 

21 and others who travel to the United States to dis22 cuss, promote, and display the perspective of the 

23 Government of China on the situation in Tibetan 

24 areas, even as the Government of China restricts the 


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1 ability of citizens of the United States to travel to 

2 Tibetan areas to gain their own perspective. 

3 (19) Chinese diplomats based in the United 

4 States generally avail themselves of the freedom to 

5 travel to United States cities and lobby city councils, 

6 mayors, and governors to refrain from passing reso7 lutions, issuing proclamations, or making statements 

8 of concern on Tibet. 

9 (20) The Government of China characterizes 

10 statements made by officials of the United States 

11 about the situation in Tibetan areas as inappro12 priate interference in the internal affairs of China. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT16 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com17 mittees’’ means— 

18 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

19 and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen20 ate; and 

21 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

23 Representatives. 

24 (2) TIBETAN AREAS.—The term ‘‘Tibetan 

25 areas’’ includes— 


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1 (A) the Tibet Autonomous Region; and 

2 (B) the areas that the Chinese Government 

3 designates as Tibetan Autonomous, as follows: 

4 (i) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autono5 mous Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Ti6 betan Autonomous County located in 

7 Gansu Province. 

8 (ii) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autono9 mous Prefecture, Malho (Huangnan) Ti10 betan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsojang 

11 (Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 

12 Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Pre13 fecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and Ti14 betan Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul 

15 (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 

16 located in Qinghai Province. 

17 (iii) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autono18 mous Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan 

19 and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and 

20 Muli (Mili) Tibetan Autonomous County, 

21 located in Sichuan Province. 

22 (iv) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autono23 mous Prefecture, located in Yunnan Prov24 ince. 


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1 SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT ON ACCESS TO TIBETAN AREAS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

3 date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 

4 for the following five years, the Secretary of State shall 

5 submit to the appropriate congressional committees, and 

6 make available to the public on the website of the Depart7 ment of State, a report that includes an assessment of 

8 the level of access Chinese authorities granted diplomats 

9 and other officials, journalists, and tourists from the 

10 United States to Tibetan areas, including— 

11 (1) a comparison with the level of access grant12 ed to other areas of China; 

13 (2) a comparison between the levels of access 

14 granted to Tibetan and non-Tibetan areas in rel15 evant provinces; 

16 (3) a comparison of the level of access in the 

17 reporting year and the previous reporting year; and 

18 (4) a description of the required permits and 

19 other measures that impede the freedom to travel in 

20 Tibetan areas. 

21 (b) CONSOLIDATION.—After the issuance of the first 

22 report required by subsection (a), the Secretary of State 

23 is authorized to incorporate subsequent reports required 

24 by subsection (a) into other publicly available, annual re25 ports produced by the Department of State, provided they 

26 are submitted to the appropriate congressional committees 


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1 in a manner specifying that they are being submitted in 

2 fulfillment of the requirements of this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS. 

4 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS.—No individual whom 

5 the Secretary of State has determined to be substantially 

6 involved in the formulation or execution of policies related 

7 to access for foreigners to Tibetan areas may be eligible 

8 to receive a visa to enter the United States or be admitted 

9 to the United States if the Secretary of State determines 

10 that— 

11 (1)(A) the requirement for specific official per12 mission for foreigners to enter the Tibetan Autono13 mous Region remains in effect; or 

14 (B) such requirement has been replaced by 

15 a regulation that has a similar effect and re16 quires foreign travelers to gain a level of per17 mission to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region 

18 that is not required for travel to other provinces 

19 in China; and 

20 (2) restrictions on travel by diplomats and 

21 other officials, journalists, and citizens of the United 

22 States to areas designated as ‘‘Tibetan Autono23 mous’’ in the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, 

24 Yunnan, and Gansu of China are greater than any 


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1 restrictions on travel by such officials and citizens to 

2 areas in such provinces that are not so designated. 

3 (b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—The Secretary of 

4 State shall revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of 

5 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 

6 the visa or other documentation to enter or be present in 

7 the United States issued for an alien who would be ineli8 gible to receive such a visa or documentation under sub9 section (a). 

10 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter for the following five years, the Secretary of 

13 State shall provide to the appropriate congressional com14 mittees a report identifying the individuals who have had 

15 visas denied or revoked pursuant to this section during 

16 the preceding year and, to the extent practicable, a list 

17 of Chinese officials who were substantially involved in the 

18 formulation or execution of policies to restrict access of 

19 United States diplomats and other officials, journalists, 

20 and citizens of the United States to Tibetan areas. The 

21 report required by this subsection shall be submitted in 

22 unclassified form, but may include a classified annex. 

23 (d) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL INTEREST.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may 

25 waive the application of subsection (a) or (b) in the 


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1 case of an alien if the Secretary determines that 

2 such a waiver— 

3 (A) is necessary to permit the United 

4 States to comply with the Agreement Regarding 

5 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

6 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 

7 into force November 21, 1947 (TIAS 1676), or 

8 any other applicable international obligation of 

9 the United States; or 

10 (B) is in the national interest of the 

11 United States. 

12 (2) NOTIFICATION.—Upon granting a waiver 

13 under paragraph (1), the Secretary of State shall 

14 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

15 a document detailing the evidence and justification 

16 for the necessity of such waiver, including, if such 

17 waiver is granted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), 

18 how such waiver relates to the national interest of 

19 the United States. 

20 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

21 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of 

22 State, when granting diplomats and other officials from 

23 China access to parts of the United States, including con24 sular access, should take into account the extent to which 

25 the Government of China grants diplomats and other offiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:20 Nov 30, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1872.RS H1872

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1 cials from the United States access to parts of China, in2 cluding the level of access afforded to such diplomats and 

3 other officials to Tibetan areas. 


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Calendar No. 701 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1872 

AN ACT 

To promote access for United States diplomats and 

and for other purposes. Tibetan areas of the People’s Republic of China, other officials, journalists, and other citizens to 

NOVEMBER 29, 2018 

Reported without amendment 


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