IV 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 337 
Calling for substantive dialogue, without preconditions, in order to address 
Tibetan grievances and secure a negotiated agreement for the Tibetan people. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 24, 2015 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mr. SALMON, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. PITTS, Mr. MCGOV-
ERN, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. GRAYSON, Mr. CON-
NOLLY, Mr. SIRES, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CAPUANO, Ms. JACKSON LEE, 
Mr. LEWIS, Mr. BEYER, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. 
CICILLINE, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. POLIS, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. HONDA, 
Mr. RIBBLE, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. 
CLARK of Massachusetts, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. BERA) sub-
mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling for substantive dialogue, without preconditions, in 
order to address Tibetan grievances and secure a nego-
tiated agreement for the Tibetan people. 
Whereas Tibet is the center of Tibetan Buddhism, and His 
Holiness the Dalai Lama is the most revered figure in 
Tibetan Buddhism worldwide; 
Whereas the Chinese response to the Tibetan Uprising in 
1959 led to the exile of Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the 
14th Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual and temporal leader; 
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•HRES 337 IH 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who on July 6, 
2015, celebrates his 80th birthday, has for over 50 years 
in exile significantly advanced greater understanding, tol-
erance, harmony and respect among the religious faiths 
of the world; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has led the effort 
to preserve the rich cultural, religious, historical and lin-
guistic heritage of the Tibetan people while at the same 
time promoting the safeguarding of other endangered cul-
tures throughout the world; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has personally 
promoted democratic self-government for Tibetans in 
exile and in 2011 turned over political authority to the 
democratically elected leadership of the Central Tibetan 
Administration; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has been greatly 
concerned by the state of the Tibetan environment and 
the exploitation of its natural resources, including fresh 
water—as rivers originating in the Tibetan plateau sup-
port one-third of the world’s population—and has pro-
moted environmental awareness in the region; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the 
Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 in recognition of his efforts 
to seek a peaceful resolution to the situation in Tibet, 
and to promote non-violent methods for resolving conflict; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the 
Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 in recognition of his 
promotion of democracy, freedom, and peace for the Ti-
betan people; his efforts to preserve the cultural, reli-
gious, and linguistic heritage of the Tibetan people; his 
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•HRES 337 IH 
promotion of non-violence; and his contributions to global 
religious understanding, human rights, and ecology; 
Whereas His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, as the spiritual 
leader of Tibetan Buddhism, publicly presented in 2011 
the religious process which Tibetan Buddhists should fol-
low regarding his reincarnation; 
Whereas the Chinese central government has attempted to 
interfere with the reincarnation process and the practice 
of Tibetan Buddhist religious traditions; and Chinese of-
ficials assert that the failure to secure Beijing’s approval 
on the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation would make the proc-
ess ‘‘illegal’’; 
Whereas in the words of Party official Zhu Weiqun, ‘‘Deci-
sion-making power over the reincarnation of the Dalai 
Lama and over the end or survival of his lineage, resides 
with the central government of China.’’; 
Whereas the Department of State’s International Religious 
Freedom Report for 2013 noted that in Tibetan areas of 
China ‘‘[r]epression was severe and increased around po-
litically sensitive events and religious anniversaries,’’ and 
‘‘[o]fficial interference in the practice of Tibetan Bud-
dhist religious traditions continued to generate profound 
grievances’’; 
Whereas the Department of State has designated China as a 
‘‘country of particular concern’’ (CPC) for religious free-
dom since 1999, and in its 2013 human rights report de-
tails that ‘‘under the banner of maintaining social sta-
bility and combating separatism, the [Chinese] govern-
ment has engaged in the severe repression of Tibet’s 
unique religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage by, 
among other means, strictly curtailing the civil rights of 
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•HRES 337 IH 
China’s ethnic Tibetan population, including the free-
doms of speech, religion, association, assembly, and 
movement’’; 
Whereas access to Tibetan areas of China for United States 
officials, journalists, and other United States citizens, is 
restricted by the Government of the People’s Republic of 
China, obscuring the full impact of the Chinese Govern-
ment’s policies, including the disappearance of Tibetans 
who sought to share information about human rights 
abuses on the Tibetan Plateau; 
Whereas the Department of State’s 2014 Report on Tibet 
Negotiations noted that ‘‘The Dalai Lama’s representa-
tives and Chinese officials have not met directly since the 
ninth round of dialogue in January 2010.’’; 
Whereas, on March 10, 2015, the elected Tibetan leader 
Sikyong Dr. Lobsang Sangay publicly stated ‘‘The En-
voys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are ready to engage 
in dialogue with their Chinese counterpart any time and 
any place.’’; 
Whereas it is the objective of the United States Government, 
consistent across administrations of different political 
parties and as articulated in the Tibetan Policy Act of 
2002 (subtitle B of title VI of Public Law 107–228; 22 
U.S.C. 6901 note) to promote dialogue between the Gov-
ernment of the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai 
Lama or his representatives to reach a negotiated agree-
ment on Tibet; 
Whereas China may be considering convening a Sixth Tibet 
Work Forum to set policy on Tibet for the next five years 
or so, with the last such work forum having been held in 
2010; and 
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•HRES 337 IH 
Whereas the American people have a long-held concern for 
and interest in the plight of the Tibetan people: Now, 
therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) calls on the United States Government to 
fully implement sections 613(a) and 621(c) of the 
Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 by strongly encouraging 
representatives of the Government of the People’s 
Republic of China and His Holiness the Dalai Lama 
to hold substantive dialogue, in keeping with the Ti-
betan Policy Act of 2002 and without preconditions, 
in order to address Tibetan grievances and secure a 
negotiated agreement for the Tibetan people; 
(2) calls on the United States Government to 
fully implement section 618 of the Tibetan Policy 
Act of 2002 in regard to the establishment of an of-
fice in Lhasa, Tibet, to monitor political, economic 
and cultural developments in Tibet, and to provide 
consular protection and citizen services; 
(3) urges the United States Government— 
(A) to consistently raise Tibetan human 
rights and political and religious freedom con-
cerns at the United States-China Strategic and 
Economic Dialogue and other high-level bilat-
eral meetings; 
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•HRES 337 IH 
(B) and the Special Coordinator for Ti-
betan Issues to offer their assistance to China 
in its preparations for a potential future Sixth 
Tibet Work Form; and 
(C) to call for the immediate and uncondi-
tional release of Tibetan political prisoners, in-
cluding Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Pan-
chen Lama, who was taken into custody by the 
Chinese authorities and has been missing since 
1995, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, and Khenpo 
Kartse (Khenpo Karma Tsewang); 
(4) calls on the United States Government to 
underscore that government interference in the Ti-
betan reincarnation process is a violation of the 
internationally recognized right to religious freedom 
and to highlight the fact that other countries besides 
China have long Tibetan Buddhist traditions, and 
that matters related to reincarnations in Tibetan 
Buddhism are of keen interest to Tibetan Buddhist 
populations worldwide; 
(5) calls on the United States Government to 
recognize and increase global public awareness and 
monitoring of the upcoming electoral process 
through which the Tibetan people in exile will choose 
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the next democratically elected leader of the Central 
Tibetan Administration, the Sikyong; 
(6) calls on the United States Government to 
fully implement section 616 of the Tibetan Policy 
Act of 2002 by using its voice and vote to encourage 
development organizations and agencies to design 
and implement development projects that fully com-
ply with the Tibet Project Principles; 
(7) calls on United States and international 
governments, organizations, and civil society to 
renew and reinforce initiatives to promote the pres-
ervation of the distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, 
and national identity of the Tibetan people; 
(8) calls on the Government of the People’s Re-
public of China to allow unrestricted access to the 
Tibetan areas of China to United States officials, 
journalists, and other United States citizens; 
(9) affirms the Dalai Lama’s desire for a nego-
tiated agreement for the Tibetan people, and urges 
the Chinese government to enter into negotiations 
with the Dalai Lama and his representatives; and 
(10) reaffirms the unwavering friendship be-
tween the people of the United States and the people 
of Tibet. 
Æ 
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