Tibet Policy and Support Act
{{Short description|American federal law passed in 2020}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| name = Tibetan Policy and Support Act
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| congress = 116
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| leghisturl = https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/4331
| introducedin = House
| introducedbill = {{USBill|116|H.R.|4331}}
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| introduceddate = September 13, 2019
| committees = House Foreign Affairs
| passedbody1 = House
| passeddate1 = January 28, 2020
| passedvote1 = [https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202027 392-22]
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File:Parliament of the Central Tibetan Administration 02.jpg chamber of the Central Tibetan Administration or Tibetan Government-in-Exile in Dharamshala, India]]
The Tibetan Policy and Support Act is a federal law that outlines United States policy on Tibet.
Legislative history
On January 28, 2020, the bill passed the US House of Representatives by a vote of 392–22.{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/28/politics/house-passes-tibet-human-rights-bill/index.html|title=House passes Tibet human rights bill|website=CNN|date=28 January 2020|access-date=18 May 2020|author=Haley Byrd}}{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/china/2020/05/14/why-there-are-two-panchen-lamas-and-one-is-missing|title=Why there are two Panchen Lamas, and one is missing|date=14 May 2020|access-date=18 May 2020|newspaper=The Economist}}{{cite web|url=https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases-statements/uscirf-welcomes-passage-the-tibetan-policy-and-support-act-in|title=USCIRF Welcomes Passage of the Tibetan Policy and Support Act in House of Representatives|date=30 January 2019|access-date=18 May 2020|website=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom}}{{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/13/politics/uyghur-bill-senate-china/index.html|title=Senate approves Uyghur human rights bill|date=14 May 2020|access-date=17 May 2020|website=CNN|author=Haley Byrd}}
On December 21, 2020, the bill was approved by the U.S. Congress as an amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3114865/us-lawmakers-include-tibet-bill-must-pass-spending-legislation|title=Tibet bill passes Congress after being added to US spending bill|website=South China Morning Post|date=22 December 2020|access-date=22 December 2020|author=Owen Churchill}}
On December 27, 2020, the bill was signed into law.{{Cite news|date=2020-12-28|title=U.S. bolsters support for Taiwan and Tibet, angering China|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-china-idUSKBN2920JZ|access-date=2020-12-28}}{{Cite news|date=December 28, 2020|title=Trump signs Tibet policy to preempt Chinese move on Dalai Lama's succession|work=The Tribune|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/trump-signs-tibet-policy-to-preempt-chinese-move-on-dalai-lamas-succession-190543|access-date=December 28, 2020}}
Legislation
The Tibetan Policy and Support Act would make it official United States policy that the succession of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the succession of the Dalai Lama, be left solely to Tibetan Buddhists to decide, without interference from the Chinese government. Chinese officials that interfere in the process of selecting Tibetan Buddhist leaders would be subject to sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, including denial of entry into the United States. The bill also calls for the creation of a new US consulate in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
Reactions
=Domestic=
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) commended the US House of Representatives for passing the act, which the USCIRF had previously endorsed.
File:The Dalai Lama and Lobsang Sangay visit to Boston.jpg of Tibet with Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile visit Boston in October 2012|alt=]]
Jim McGovern, Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China commented, "We are criticizing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and not the Chinese people, who are also suffering under China’s repression,... We stand in solidarity with the Tibetan people and revere His Holiness the Dalai Lama. We all are in this together and we expect the President to sign the Tibet Policy and Support Act into law soon."{{cite web|url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/pledge-06032020191137.html|title=Top US Religious Official Pledges Support For Dalai Lama's Return to 'More Autonomous' Tibet|date=3 June 2020|access-date=8 June 2020|website=Radio Free Asia|author=Joshua Lipes}}
=Central Tibetan Administration=
Lobsang Sangay, Sisur (Former President) of the Tibetan government-in-exile and graduate of the Harvard Law School, thanked the Government of the United States and the US House for passing The Tibetan Policy and Support Act.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86R84oI9dQE|title=Press Conference on the passage of The Tibetan Policy and Support Act|date=30 January 2020|access-date=18 May 2020|publisher=TibetTV|via=YouTube}}
=China=
Hua Chunying, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said that the act severely violates the basic norms governing international relations and was the latest attempt to interfere in China's domestic affairs.{{cite web|url=https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2535_665405/t1737084.shtml|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Remarks on the US House of Representatives Passing the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019|date=29 January 2020|access-date=21 May 2020|website=Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China}}