Washington: In a message for Beijing to peacefully resolve through negotiation, not repression, an agreement on Tibet that will support Tibet’s peaceful struggle for human rights and democratic freedom, US President Joe Biden on Friday signed the Resolve Tibet Act.
The law states that it is American policy that the Tibet issue must be resolved under international law by peaceful means, through dialogue without preconditions.
The Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, popularly known as the Resolve Tibet Act, also aims to China’s lies about Tibet, calling on China to stop propagating disinformation about Tibet’s history and giving the State Department a new mandate to directly counter these false claims.
Responding to the signing of the Act, International Campaign for Tibet President Tencho Gyatso said: “The Resolve Tibet Act cuts to the heart of China’s brutal treatment of the Tibetan people.”
“To Tibetans, it is a statement of hope. To other countries, it is a clarion call to support Tibet’s peaceful struggle for human rights and democratic freedoms. And to Beijing, it is a declaration that American support for Tibet does not come with an expiration date; China must resume dialogue and find a solution that supports the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people.”
One key feature of the Act is defining the Tibetan people as a people with their own distinct religious, cultural, linguistic, and historical identity. It then states that Chinese policies are systematically suppressing the ability of the Tibetan people to preserve their way of life.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly called for China to grant genuine autonomy to the Tibetan people, and it is clear under international law that people are entitled to self-determination.
