IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 533 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2024 

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

AN ACT 

To amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain 

provisions of that Act. 

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


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

HR 533 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting a Resolu3 tion to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) It has been the long-standing policy of the 

7 United States to encourage meaningful and direct 

8 dialogue between representatives of the People’s Re9 public of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her rep10 resentatives, or democratically elected leaders of the 

11 Tibetan community, without preconditions, to seek a 

12 settlement that resolves differences. 

13 (2) Nine rounds of dialogue held between 2002 

14 and 2010 between the People’s Republic of China 

15 authorities and the 14th Dalai Lama’s representa16 tives failed to produce a settlement that resolved dif17 ferences, and the two sides have held no formal dia18 logue since January 2010. 

19 (3) An obstacle to further dialogue is that the 

20 Government of the People’s Republic of China con21 tinues to impose conditions on substantive dialogue 

22 with the Dalai Lama, including a demand that he 

23 say that Tibet has been part of China since ancient 

24 times, which the Dalai Lama has refused to do be25 cause it is inaccurate. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

HR 533 RFS

1 (4) Article 1 of the International Covenant on 

2 Civil and Political Rights and Article 1 of the Inter3 national Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural 

4 Rights provide that ‘‘All peoples have the right of 

5 self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely 

6 determine their political status and freely pursue 

7 their economic, social and cultural development.’’. 

8 (5) The United States Government has never 

9 taken the position that Tibet was a part of China 

10 since ancient times. 

11 (6) China signed the International Covenant on 

12 Civil and Political Rights on October 5, 1998, and 

13 ratified the International Covenant on Economic, 

14 Social and Cultural Rights on March 27, 2001. 

15 (7) Under international law, including United 

16 Nations General Assembly Resolution 2625, the 

17 right to self-determination is the right of a people to 

18 determine its own destiny and the exercise of this 

19 right can result in a variety of outcomes ranging 

20 from independence, federation, protection, some 

21 form of autonomy or full integration within a State. 

22 (8) United Nations General Assembly Resolu23 tion 1723, adopted on December 20, 1961, called for 

24 the ‘‘cessation of practices which deprive the Tibetan 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

HR 533 RFS

1 people of their fundamental human rights and free2 doms, including their right to self-determination.’’. 

3 (9) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a 

4 May 26, 2022, speech entitled ‘‘The Administra5 tion’s Approach to the People’s Republic of China,’’ 

6 said that the rules-based international order’s 

7 ‘‘founding documents include the UN Charter and 

8 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which 

9 enshrined concepts like self-determination, sov10 ereignty, the peaceful settlement of disputes. These 

11 are not Western constructs. They are reflections of 

12 the world’s shared aspirations.’’. 

13 (10) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 

14 U.S.C. 6901 note), as amended by the Tibetan Pol15 icy and Support Act of 2020, in directing the United 

16 States Government ‘‘to promote the human rights 

17 and distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and histor18 ical identity of the Tibetan people’’ acknowledges 

19 that the Tibetan people possess a distinct religious, 

20 cultural, linguistic, and historical identity. 

21 (11) Department of State reports on human 

22 rights and religious freedom have consistently docu23 mented systematic repression by the authorities of 

24 the People’s Republic of China against Tibetans as 

25 well as acts of defiance and resistance by Tibetan 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

HR 533 RFS

1 people against the People’s Republic of China poli2 cies. 

3 (12) The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 

4 U.S.C. 6901 note), as amended by the Tibetan Pol5 icy and Support Act of 2020, specifies that the cen6 tral objective of the United States Special Coordi7 nator for Tibetan Issues is to promote substantive 

8 dialogue between the Government of the People’s 

9 Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, his or her 

10 representatives, or democratically elected leaders of 

11 the Tibetan community. 

12 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

13 It is the policy of the United States— 

14 (1) that the Tibetan people are a people with a 

15 distinct religious, cultural, linguistic and historical 

16 identity; 

17 (2) that the dispute between Tibet and the Peo18 ple’s Republic of China must be resolved in accord19 ance with international law, including the United 

20 Nations Charter, by peaceful means, through dia21 logue without preconditions; 

22 (3) that the People’s Republic of China should 

23 cease its propagation of disinformation about the 

24 history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan in25 stitutions, including that of the Dalai Lama; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

HR 533 RFS

1 (4) to encourage the People’s Republic of China 

2 to uphold all its obligations under the International 

3 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the 

4 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and 

5 Cultural Rights; and 

6 (5) in accordance with the Tibetan Policy and 

7 Support Act of 2020— 

8 (A) to promote substantive dialogue with9 out pre-conditions, between the Government of 

10 the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai 

11 Lama, his or her representatives, or democrat12 ically elected leaders of the Tibetan community, 

13 or explore activities to improve prospects for 

14 dialogue, that leads to a negotiated agreement 

15 on Tibet; 

16 (B) to coordinate with other governments 

17 in multilateral efforts towards the goal of a ne18 gotiated agreement on Tibet; and 

19 (C) to encourage the Government of the 

20 People’s Republic of China to address the aspi21 rations of the Tibetan people with regard to 

22 their distinct historical, cultural, religious, and 

23 linguistic identity. 

24 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

25 It is the sense of Congress that— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

HR 533 RFS

1 (1) claims made by officials of the People’s Re2 public of China and the Chinese Communist Party 

3 that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient 

4 times are historically inaccurate; 

5 (2) the current policies of the People’s Republic 

6 of China are systematically suppressing the ability of 

7 the Tibetan people to preserve their religion, culture, 

8 language, history, way of life and environment; 

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

10 China is failing to meet the expectations of the 

11 United States to engage in meaningful dialogue with 

12 the Dalai Lama or his representatives or to reach a 

13 negotiated resolution that includes the aspirations of 

14 the Tibetan people; and 

15 (4) United States public diplomacy efforts 

16 should counter disinformation about Tibet from the 

17 Government of the People’s Republic of China and 

18 the Chinese Communist Party, including 

19 disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Ti20 betan people, and Tibetan institutions including that 

21 of the Dalai Lama. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

HR 533 RFS

1 SEC. 5. MODIFICATIONS TO THE TIBETAN POLICY ACT OF 

2 2002. 

3 (a) TIBET NEGOTIATIONS.—Section 613(b) of the 

4 Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

9 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) efforts to counter disinformation about 

12 Tibet from the Government of the People’s Republic 

13 of China and the Chinese Communist Party, includ14 ing disinformation about the history of Tibet, the 

15 Tibetan people, and Tibetan institutions including 

16 that of the Dalai Lama.’’. 

17 (b) UNITED STATES SPECIAL COORDINATOR FOR TI18 BETAN ISSUES.—Section 621(d) of the Tibetan Policy Act 

19 of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), and 

21 (8) as paragraphs (7), (8), and (9), respectively; and 

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(6) work with relevant bureaus of the Depart25 ment of State and the United States Agency for 

26 International Development to ensure that United 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

HR 533 RFS

1 States Government statements and documents 

2 counter, as appropriate, disinformation about Tibet 

3 from the Government of the People’s Republic of 

4 China and the Chinese Communist Party, including 

5 disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Ti6 betan people, and Tibetan institutions including that 

7 of the Dalai Lama;’’. 

8 (c) DEFINITION.—The Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 

9 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 622. DEFINITION. 

12 ‘‘For purposes of this Act, the term ‘Tibet’ refers to 

13 the following areas: 

14 ‘‘(1) The Tibet Autonomous Region. 

15 ‘‘(2) The areas that the Government of the Peo16 ple’s Republic of China designated as Tibetan Au17 tonomous, as of 2018, as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autono19 mous Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Tibetan 

20 Autonomous County located in Gansu Province. 

21 ‘‘(B) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous 

22 Prefecture, Malho (Huangnan) Tibetan Autono23 mous Prefecture, Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan Au24 tonomous Prefecture, Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan 

25 Autonomous Prefecture, Tsonub (Haixi) MonVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:29 Feb 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H533.RFS H533

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

HR 533 RFS

1 golian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and 

2 Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefec3 ture, located in Qinghai Province. 

4 ‘‘(C) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous 

5 Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan and Qiang 

6 Autonomous Prefecture, and Muli (Mili) Ti7 betan Autonomous County, located in Sichuan 

8 Province. 

9 ‘‘(D) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autono10 mous Prefecture, located in Yunnan Province.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS TO COUNTER 

12 DISINFORMATION ABOUT TIBET. 

13 Amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise 

14 made available under section 346 of subtitle E of title III 

15 of division FF of Public Law 116–260 (‘‘Tibetan Policy 

16 and Support Act of 2020’’) are authorized to be made 

17 available to counter disinformation about Tibet from the 

18 Government of the People’s Republic of China and the 

19 Chinese Communist Party, including disinformation about 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

HR 533 RFS

1 the history of Tibet, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan insti2 tutions including that of the Dalai Lama. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 15, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB