IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 89 
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to United States policy toward 
Tibet and that the treatment of the Tibetan people should be an impor-
tant factor in the conduct of United States relations with the People’s 
Republic of China. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 1, 2017 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. SHERMAN) 
submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to United 
States policy toward Tibet and that the treatment of 
the Tibetan people should be an important factor in 
the conduct of United States relations with the People’s 
Republic of China. 
Whereas, on October 17, 2007, His Holiness the 14th Dalai 
Lama (in this resolution referred to as the ‘‘Dalai 
Lama’’) was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 
recognition of his many enduring and outstanding con-
tributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and reli-
gious understanding; 
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•HCON 89 IH 
Whereas during his Congressional Gold Medal acceptance 
speech, Dalai Lama stated, ‘‘The time has come for our 
dialogue with the Chinese leadership to progress towards 
the successful implementation of a meaningful autonomy 
for Tibet, as guaranteed in the Chinese constitution and 
detailed in the Chinese State Council ‘White Paper on 
Regional Ethnic Autonomy of Tibet’ ’’; 
Whereas the Dalai Lama continues to advance the goal of 
greater understanding, tolerance, harmony, and respect 
among the different religious faiths of the world through 
interfaith dialogue and outreach to other religious lead-
ers; 
Whereas the Dalai Lama continues to use his moral authority 
to promote the concept of universal responsibility as a 
guiding tenet for how human beings should treat one an-
other and the planet we share; 
Whereas in the ten years since the Dalai Lama accepted the 
Congressional Gold Medal, China has implemented in-
creasingly repressive policies in Tibet, including— 
(1) travel restrictions against Tibetans and United 
States citizens; 
(2) restrictive regulations on religious affairs; 
(3) censorship of Buddhist literature and informa-
tion; 
(4) demolition of Tibetan Buddhist sites; 
(5) imprisonment of Tibetan prisoners of conscience; 
and 
(6) declarations that ‘‘Decision-making power over 
the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama and over the end of 
survival of his lineage resides with the central govern-
ment of China’’; 
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•HCON 89 IH 
Whereas, on April 15, 2015, the Chinese State Council re-
leased a white paper entitled ‘‘Tibet’s Path of Develop-
ment Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide’’, which 
stated that ‘‘there is no prospect of [a high degree of au-
tonomy for Tibet] ever coming to pass’’ and furthermore 
stated that Tibet had been part of China ‘‘since ancient 
times’’; 
Whereas in recent years, Tibetan nomads, who have lived as 
nomadic herders on the Tibetan Plateau for centuries, 
have been banned from grazing in certain areas of the 
Tibetan Plateau and hundreds of Tibetan herders have 
been forcibly relocated by Chinese government officials 
into ‘‘socialist villages’’; 
Whereas in September 2017, the Government of China adopt-
ed additional restrictive regulations on governmental con-
trol over the practice of religion and expressed an inten-
tion that the government should ‘‘actively guide religion 
to fit within socialist society’’; 
Whereas these 2017 regulations state that ‘‘religious groups, 
religious schools, religious activity sites and religious citi-
zens shall abide by the Constitution, laws, regulations 
and rules; practice the core socialist values; [and] pre-
serve the unification of the country, ethnic unity and reli-
gious harmony and social stability’’; 
Whereas these 2017 regulations, scheduled for implementa-
tion by the Chinese government beginning February 
2018, would explicitly ban unregistered religious groups 
from teaching about religion, establishing religious col-
leges, going abroad to take part in religious training or 
gatherings, or otherwise engage in activities that ‘‘endan-
ger national security’’; 
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•HCON 89 IH 
Whereas the Department of State stated in the 2016 Report 
on Tibet Negotiations that ‘‘[t]he Dalai Lama’s rep-
resentatives and Chinese officials from the United Front 
Work Department have not met directly since the ninth 
round of dialogue in January 2010’’; 
Whereas 2016 International Religious Freedom Report for 
China published by the Department of State stated, ‘‘In 
the [Tibet Autonomous Region] and other Tibetan areas, 
authorities engaged in widespread interference in reli-
gious practices, especially in Tibetan Buddhist mon-
asteries and nunneries’’; 
Whereas the 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Prac-
tices for China published by the Department of State 
stated, ‘‘Under the professed objectives of controlling bor-
der areas, maintaining social stability, combating sepa-
ratism, and extracting natural resources, the government 
engaged in the severe repression of Tibet’s unique reli-
gious, cultural, and linguistic heritage by, among other 
means, strictly curtailing the civil rights of the Tibetan 
population, including the freedoms of speech, religion, as-
sociation, assembly, and movement’’; 
Whereas since 2009, 150 Tibetans have self-immolated to 
protest against China’s rule in Tibet and most Tibetans 
publicly call for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet; 
Whereas the Chinese government has refused to allow an 
independent investigation into the causes of the self-im-
molations and has instead criminalized them, by impris-
oning the survivors and collectively punishing the rel-
atives, friends and villagers of the self-immolators, as 
documented by the International Campaign for Tibet; 
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•HCON 89 IH 
Whereas Congress has a long history of support for Tibet, in-
cluding— 
(1) declaring that the United States should make 
Tibet issue a higher policy priority; 
(2) declaring that the United States should urge 
China to establish a constructive dialogue with the Dalai 
Lama; 
(3) requiring Voice of America and Radio Free Asia 
to begin broadcasts in the Tibetan language; 
(4) mandating that Tibet be listed separately in the 
annual Country Reports on Human Rights published by 
the Department of State; 
(5) requiring a report from the Department of State 
on the state of negotiations between the representatives 
of the Tibetan people and the Chinese government; 
(6) establishing educational and cultural exchange 
programs with Tibet; 
(7) providing humanitarian, food, medical, vocational 
training, primary and secondary education, and other as-
sistance to Tibetan refugees; 
(8) funding programs to promote and preserve Ti-
betan culture and the resilience of Tibetan communities 
in India and Nepal; 
(9) funding a scholarship program for Tibetan refu-
gees to study in the United States; 
(10) providing assistance to nongovernmental orga-
nizations working to preserve the Tibetan environment 
and cultural traditions; and 
(11) appropriating funds for National Endowment 
for Democracy programs related to Tibet; 
Whereas section 901(b)(6) of the Foreign Relations Author-
ization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 (Public Law 
101–246; 22 U.S.C. 2651 note) stated that United 
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•HCON 89 IH 
States policy toward China should be explicitly linked 
with the situation in Tibet, specifically including— 
(1) lifting martial law in Lhasa and other parts of 
Tibet; 
(2) opening Tibet to foreigners, including the press 
and international human rights organizations; 
(3) releasing Tibetan political prisoners; and 
(4) conducting negotiations between representatives 
of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese govern-
ment; 
Whereas the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 
note), signed into law on September 30, 2002— 
(1) established United States principles with respect 
to human rights, religious freedom, political prisoners, 
and economic development projects in Tibet; 
(2) established in statute the position of the Special 
Coordinator for Tibetan Issues in the Department of 
State; 
(3) established annual reporting requirements on 
Sino-Tibetan negotiations and safeguarding Tibet’s dis-
tinct cultural identity, both by the Secretary of State and 
by the congressionally established Congressional-Execu-
tive Commission on China; 
(4) mandated the provision of Tibetan language 
training to interested foreign service officers; 
(5) required Federal officials to raise issues of reli-
gious freedom and political prisoners; and 
(6) urged the Secretary of State to seek establish-
ment of an office in Lhasa; 
Whereas the President will visit China on November 8, 2017, 
for a series of bilateral, commercial, and cultural events 
including meetings with President Xi Jinping, who has 
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•HCON 89 IH 
been reappointed as the Chinese Communist Party Lead-
er by the 19th Congress held from October 18 through 
24, 2017; and 
Whereas it is in line with United States national security in-
terests and values to oppose China’s increasingly repres-
sive policies toward Tibet and work towards a negotiated 
solution: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that it should 
be the policy of the United States to— 
(1) make the treatment of the Tibetan people 
an important factor in the conduct of United States 
relations with the People’s Republic of China; 
(2) consistent with the Tibetan Policy Act of 
2002 (22 U.S.C. 6901 note)— 
(A) encourage the Government of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China to enter into a dialogue 
with the Dalai Lama or his representatives 
leading to a negotiated agreement with respect 
to Tibet; 
(B) publicly call for the immediate and un-
conditional release of all those held prisoner for 
expressing their political or religious views in 
the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Ti-
betan areas; and 
(C) establish an office in Lhasa, Tibet, to 
assist visiting United States citizens and to 
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•HCON 89 IH 
monitor political, economic, and cultural devel-
opments in Tibet; 
(3) appoint the Special Coordinator for Tibetan 
Issues at the highest levels of government; 
(4) revoke appropriate privileges of any Chinese 
official found to be responsible for impeding access 
of United States citizens, including Tibetan-Ameri-
cans, to Tibet and ensure that reciprocal visa proc-
essing measures are occurring in accordance with 
the rules and regulations of the Department of 
State; 
(5) continue to designate China as a country of 
particular concern pursuant to section 402 of the 
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (22 
U.S.C. 6442(b)); 
(6) engage with appropriate officials of the Chi-
nese government to— 
(A) stop the demolition of Tibetan Bud-
dhist religious institutions; 
(B) revise religious and travel regulations 
to conform with international human rights 
standards; and 
(C) ensure that Tibetan nomads are al-
lowed to continue their way of life on the Ti-
betan Plateau, which they have helped to pre-
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•HCON 89 IH 
serve for centuries, and are not forcibly relo-
cated into ‘‘socialist villages’’. 
Æ 
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