the United States to open a consulate in Lhasa, 
Tibet Autonomous Region. 
(14) The Foreign Correspondents Club of 
China reports that— 
(A) 2008 rules prevent foreign reporters 
from visiting the Tibet Autonomous Region 
without prior permission from the Government 
of such Region; 
(B) such permission has only rarely been 
granted; and 
(C) although the 2008 rules allow journal-
ists to travel freely in other parts of China, Ti-
betan areas outside such Region remain ‘‘effec-
tively off-limits to foreign reporters’’. 
(15) The Department of State reports that in 
addition to having to obtain permission to enter the 
Tibet Autonomous Region, foreign tourists— 
(A) must be accompanied at all times by a 
government-designated tour guide; 
(B) are rarely granted permission to enter 
the region by road; 
(C) are largely barred from visiting around 
the March anniversary of a 1959 Tibetan upris-
ing; and 
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(D) are banned from visiting the area 
where Larung Gar, the world’s largest center 
for the study of Tibetan Buddhism, and the site 
of a large-scale campaign to expel students and 
demolish living quarters, is located. 
(16) Foreign visitors also face restrictions in 
their ability to travel freely in Tibetan areas outside 
the Tibet Autonomous Region. 
(17) The Government of the United States gen-
erally allows journalists and other citizens of China 
to travel freely within the United States. The Gov-
ernment of the United States requires diplomats 
from China to notify the Department of State of 
their travel plans, and in certain situations, the Gov-
ernment of the United States requires such dip-
lomats to obtain approval from the Department of 
State before travel. However, where approval is re-
quired, it is almost always granted expeditiously. 
(18) The United States regularly grants visas 
to Chinese officials, scholars, and others who travel 
to the United States to discuss, promote, and dis-
play the perspective of the Government of China on 
the situation in Tibetan areas, even as the Govern-
ment of China restricts the ability of citizens of the 
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United States to travel to Tibetan areas to gain 
their own perspective. 
(19) Chinese diplomats based in the United 
States generally avail themselves of the freedom to 
travel to United States cities and lobby city councils, 
mayors, and governors to refrain from passing reso-
lutions, issuing proclamations, or making statements 
of concern on Tibet. 
(20) The Government of China characterizes 
statements made by officials of the United States 
about the situation in Tibetan areas as inappro-
priate interference in the internal affairs of China. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen-
ate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives. 
(2) 
SENIOR
LEADERSHIP
POSITIONS.—The 
term ‘‘senior leadership positions’’ means— 
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(A) at the national level, the Chairperson 
of the National Committee of the Chinese Peo-
ple’s Political Consultative Conference and the 
Head and Deputy Heads of the Communist 
Party Central Committee’s United Front Work 
Department; 
(B) at the sub-national level— 
(i) members of the Communist Party 
Standing Committee of the Tibet Autono-
mous Region; 
(ii) the Director of the Tibet Autono-
mous Region Tourism Bureau; 
(iii) the heads of United Front Work 
Departments of Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu, 
and Yunnan Provinces; and 
(iv) members of the Communist Party 
Standing Committees of the areas listed 
under paragraph (3)(B); and 
(C) any other individual determined by the 
Secretary of State to be personally and substan-
tially involved in the formulation or execution of 
policies related to access for foreigners to Ti-
betan areas. 
(3) TIBETAN
AREAS.—The term ‘‘Tibetan 
areas’’ includes— 
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(A) the Tibet Autonomous Region; and 
(B) the areas that the Chinese Government 
designates as Tibetan Autonomous, as follows: 
(i) Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autono-
mous Prefecture, and Pari (Tianzhu) Ti-
betan Autonomous County located in 
Gansu Province. 
(ii) Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan Autono-
mous Prefecture, Malho (Huangnan) Ti-
betan Autonomous Prefecture, Tsojang 
(Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 
Tsolho (Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Pre-
fecture, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongolian and Ti-
betan Autonomous Prefecture, and Yulshul 
(Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 
located in Qinghai Province. 
(iii) Garze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autono-
mous Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba) Tibetan 
and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, and 
Muli (Mili) Tibetan Autonomous County, 
located in Sichuan Province. 
(iv) Dechen (Diqing) Tibetan Autono-
mous Prefecture, located in Yunnan Prov-
ince. 
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SEC. 4. ANNUAL REPORT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report that includes— 
(1) an assessment of the level of access Chinese 
authorities granted diplomats, journalists, and tour-
ists from the United States to Tibetan areas, includ-
ing— 
(A) a comparison with the level of access 
granted to other areas of China; 
(B) a comparison between the levels of ac-
cess granted to Tibetan and non-Tibetan areas 
in relevant provinces; 
(C) a comparison of the level of access in 
the reporting year and the previous reporting 
year; and 
(D) a description of the required permits 
and other measures that impede the freedom to 
travel in Tibetan areas; and 
(2) a list of each individual who holds a senior 
leadership position. 
(b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report required 
under subsection (a) shall be made available to the public 
on the website of the Department of State. 
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