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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 138 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.138

                     One Hundred Eighteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
         the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four

                                 An Act

 
To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of 
                                that Act.

    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 ``Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-
China Dispute Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
    Congress finds the following:
        (1) It has been the long-standing policy of the United States 
    to encourage meaningful and direct dialogue between representatives 
    of the People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her 
    representatives, or democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan 
    community, without preconditions, to seek a settlement that 
    resolves differences.
        (2) Nine rounds of dialogue held between 2002 and 2010 between 
    the People's Republic of China authorities and the 14th Dalai 
    Lama's representatives failed to produce a settlement that resolved 
    differences, and the two sides have held no formal dialogue since 
    January 2010.
        (3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the Government of 
    the People's Republic of China continues to impose conditions on 
    substantive dialogue with the Dalai Lama, including a demand that 
    he say that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, which 
    the Dalai Lama has refused to do because it is inaccurate.
        (4) Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and 
    Political Rights and Article 1 of the International Covenant on 
    Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide, ``All peoples have 
    the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they 
    freely determine their political status and freely pursue their 
    economic, social and cultural development.''.
        (5) The United States Government has never taken the position 
    that Tibet was a part of China since ancient times.
        (6) China signed the International Covenant on Civil and 
    Political Rights on October 5, 1998, and ratified the International 
    Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on March 27, 2001.
        (7) Under international law, including United Nations General 
    Assembly Resolution 2625, the right to self-determination is the 
    right of a people to determine its own destiny and the exercise of 
    this right can result in a variety of outcomes ranging from 
    independence, federation, protection, some form of autonomy, or 
    full integration within a State.
        (8) United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1723, adopted on 
    December 20, 1961, called for the ``cessation of practices which 
    deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human rights and 
    freedoms, including their right to self-determination''.
        (9) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a May 26, 2022, 
    speech entitled ``The Administration's Approach to the People's 
    Republic of China'', said that the rules-based international 
    order's ``founding documents include the UN Charter and the 
    Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which enshrined concepts 
    like self-determination, sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of 
    disputes. These are not Western constructs. They are reflections of 
    the world's shared aspirations.''.
        (10) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note), as 
    amended by the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 (subtitle E 
    of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260), in directing 
    the United States Government ``to promote the human rights and 
    distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity 
    of the Tibetan people'' acknowledges that the Tibetan people 
    possess a distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical 
    identity.
        (11) Department of State reports on human rights and religious 
    freedom have consistently documented systematic repression by the 
    authorities of the People's Republic of China against Tibetans as 
    well as acts of defiance and resistance by Tibetan people against 
    the People's Republic of China policies.
        (12) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) 
    specifies that the central objective of the United States Special 
    Coordinator for Tibetan Issues is to promote substantive dialogue 
    between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
    Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically elected 
    leaders of the Tibetan community.
SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
    It is the policy of the United States--
        (1) that the Tibetan people are a people with a distinct 
    religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity;
        (2) that the dispute between Tibet and the People's Republic of 
    China must be resolved in accordance with international law, 
    including the United Nations Charter, by peaceful means, through 
    dialogue without preconditions;
        (3) that the People's Republic of China should cease its 
    propagation of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the 
    Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the 
    Dalai Lama;
        (4) to encourage the People's Republic of China to ratify the 
    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and uphold all 
    its commitments under the International Covenant on Economic, 
    Social and Cultural Rights; and
        (5) in accordance with the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 
    2020--
            (A) to promote substantive dialogue without pre-conditions, 
        between the Government of the People's Republic of China and 
        the Dalai Lama, his or her representatives, or democratically 
        elected leaders of the Tibetan community, or explore activities 
        to improve prospects for dialogue, that leads to a negotiated 
        agreement on Tibet;
            (B) to coordinate with other governments in multilateral 
        efforts towards the goal of a negotiated agreement on Tibet; 
        and
            (C) to encourage the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China to address the aspirations of the Tibetan people with 
        regard to their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and 
        linguistic identity.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    It is the sense of Congress that--
        (1) claims made by officials of the People's Republic of China 
    and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a part of China 
    since ancient times are historically inaccurate;
        (2) the current policies of the People's Republic of China are 
    systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan people to 
    preserve their religion, culture, language, history, way of life, 
    and environment;
        (3) the Government of the People's Republic of China is failing 
    to meet the expectations of the United States to engage in 
    meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama or his representatives or 
    to reach a negotiated resolution that includes the aspirations of 
    the Tibetan people; and
        (4) United States public diplomacy efforts should counter 
    disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the People's 
    Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, including 
    disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and 
    Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai Lama.
SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 2002.
    (a) Tibet Negotiations.--Section 613(b) of the Tibetan Policy Act 
of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended--
        (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a 
    semicolon;
        (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and 
    inserting ``; and''; and
        (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
        ``(4) efforts to counter disinformation about Tibet from the 
    Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
    Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of 
    Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that 
    of the Dalai Lama.''.
    (b) United States Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues.--Section 
621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is 
amended--
        (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs 
    (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and
        (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the following new 
    paragraph:
        ``(6) work with relevant bureaus of the Department of State and 
    the United States Agency for International Development to ensure 
    that United States Government statements and documents counter, as 
    appropriate, disinformation about Tibet from the Government of the 
    People's Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party, 
    including disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan 
    people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the Dalai 
    Lama;''.
    (c) Definition.--The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 
note) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
    ``SEC. 622. DEFINITION.
    ``For purposes of this Act, the term `Tibet' refers to the 
following areas:
        ``(1) The Tibet Autonomous Region.
        ``(2) The areas that the Government of the People's Republic of 
    China designated as Tibetan Autonomous, as of 2018, as follows:
            ``(A) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and 
        Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous County located in Gansu 
        Province.
            ``(B) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Malho 
        (Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsojang (Haibei) 
        Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan 
        Autonomous Prefecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and Tibetan 
        Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous 
        Prefecture, located in Qinghai Province.
            ``(C) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Ngawa 
        (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli (Mili) 
        Tibetan Autonomous County, located in Sichuan Province.
            ``(D) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 
        located in Yunnan Province.''.
SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER DISINFORMATION ABOUT TIBET.
    Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 
under section 346 of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020 
(subtitle E of title III of division FF of Public Law 116-260) are 
authorized to be made available to counter disinformation about Tibet 
from the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
Communist Party, including disinformation about the history of Tibet, 
the Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions, including that of the 
Dalai Lama.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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