|
Statement
of Chairman Lantos,
Under Secretary Paula J. Dobriansky
and Richard Gere
TibetNet, 16.03.07
Statement
of Chairman Lantos at Hearing
Tibet: Status of the
Sino-Tibetan Dialogue
In a world marred daily by deadly violence, the patient and peaceful
struggle of Tibetans for their religious and cultural freedom is a
powerful source of inspiration. Despite continued, brutal oppression
by Beijing, the Tibetan people and their leaders in exile maintain a
heroic commitment to non-violence and dialogue in their fight for
fundamental human rights, rights which are the birthright of all
human beings.
No one epitomizes the wisdom and power of peace more than my friend,
His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Two decades ago, when His Holiness
presented his Five Point Peace Plan for Tibet to the Human Rights
Caucus that I had the privilege of founding, no other U.S.
government body would give him an audience. Twenty years later, his
characteristically quiet plea on behalf of his people is heard loud
and clear by the President of the United States and government
leaders around the globe.
I am proud that Congress will again take the lead in recognizing His
Holiness and the ongoing plight of Tibetans, when it presents to him
the Congressional Gold Medal in October of this year. The Dalai Lama
will join the ranks of other great peace-makers who have received
this award, including Pope John Paul II; Elie Wiesel, the conscience
of the Holocaust; Nelson Mandela, the hero who conquered Apartheid,
and Mother Theresa.
The Dalai Lama has sacrificed greatly in his pursuit of Tibetan
freedom. Forced to flee his homeland, he has spent most of his life
serving the cause of his people in exile. Yet, his dedication to
peace and dialogue remains unwavering.
Through the Sino-Tibetan dialogue, the Dalai Lama has pursued a
negotiated solution to the Tibetan issue with the Chinese
government. One of our distinguished witnesses today, my friend Lodi
Gyari, is the Special Envoy to the talks. I welcome you to the
Committee, Lodi, and look forward to hearing your testimony on the
status of these important talks.
In five rounds of discussions, His Holiness has made it clear to the
Chinese government that, despite their claims to the contrary, he
does not seek Tibetan independence, but only genuine autonomy in
Tibet’s cultural, religious and economic affairs within the context
of Chinese sovereignty.
Instead of embracing the Dalai Lama’s overture for peace, Beijing
has resolutely refused to make any concessions to the Tibetans in
the five years of the talks. It takes two the tango, and the
Tibetans have been dancing alone.
Meanwhile, the human rights situation in Tibet has declined
precipitously. The Tibet section of the just-released State
Department human rights report states that in 2006 Chinese
“authorities continued to commit serious human rights abuses,
including torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, house arrest and
surveillance of dissidents, and arbitrary restrictions on free
movement.”
It is important to continue to draw attention to this matter, lest
the world forget. I am pleased that my dear friend, the
distinguished and world-renowned actor Mr. Richard Gere – a longtime
friend to Tibetans and a tireless supporter of Tibetan human rights
– is here to give our Committee his views on the current human
rights situation in Tibet.
Beijing must understand that the stalemate in the Tibetan talks is
not in China’s own interests. With each day that the Chinese
government refuses to enter into serious dialogue over the issue of
Tibet and fails to take tangible steps to provide true autonomy to
the Tibetan people within the borders of the People’s Republic of
China, the stain on the moral authority of China grows broader and
deeper.
China’s remarkable economic development over the last three decades
has brought material betterment to millions within the People’s
Republic of China, and it thrust China onto the global stage as an
emerging world power. But Beijing must understand that it will take
more than spaceships and skyscrapers for the international community
to recognize it as a global leader worthy of great power status.
China must meet the good faith efforts of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama and his envoys with good faith of its own. China states that it
is a country dedicated to peace as it develops and strengthens.
Proof of its “peaceful rise” must first come from within its own
borders.
Our own government, the U.S. government, has a moral responsibility
to promote the peaceful resolution of the problem of Tibet on terms
that are mutually acceptable to the Tibetan people and to the
Chinese government. Through the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which I
had the privilege to author, it is the law of this land that the
United States work to preserve the cultural identity of Tibetans.
I look forward to hearing from our distinguished witness, Under
Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky,
on our government’s efforts to encourage and support this critically
important dialogue that we hope will one day soon allow His Holiness
to return to his Tibet and bring peace to a people who have suffered
far too long.
Statement of Under Secretary Paula
J. Dobriansky,
Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, House Foreign Affairs
Status of Negotiations Between the Dalai Lama’s Representatives and
the Chinese Government
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee,
I am delighted to appear before you today to testify on the status
of negotiations between the Dalai Lama Representatives and the
Chinese Government. I appreciate the interest and support Members of
this Committee have provided on this issue. I would also like to
thank Lodi Gyari, the International Campaign for Tibet, and Richard
Gere who are with us today as well as the non-governmental
organizations who are working tirelessly for the rights of the
Tibetan people.
The United States considers Tibet to be part of the People’s
Republic of China. Our goals are two-fold: to promote a substantive
dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama or his
representatives, and to help sustain Tibet’s unique religious,
linguistic, and cultural heritage.
I would like to highlight key recent developments, describe the
current circumstances in Tibet, and briefly mention actions taken by
the Administration.
Key developments
In 2002, under the leadership of Chairman Lantos and former Chairman
Hyde, the Congress passed the Tibet Policy Act which supports the
Tibetan people and safeguards their unique identity. As Special
Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, I work to ensure that the Tibet
Policy Act is fully carried out, and I remain deeply involved in all
aspects of our Tibet policy. I meet regularly with representatives
of the Dalai Lama, and the Dalai Lama himself. In fact, in November
2006, I traveled to Dharamsala, India to visit him. These candid
exchanges provide an opportunity to hear directly from the Dalai
Lama on the status of the dialogue, the human rights situation in
Tibet, and needs of Tibetan refugees.
As this Committee is aware, 2002 also marked the year that
representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese leadership
re-established contact. These meetings represent the first formal
communication between the two sides in 20 years. There have been
five meetings in all, the most recent took place in February 2006 in
China. The previous meetings occurred in September 2002, May/June
2003, September 2004, and June/July 2005. The U.S. government has
urged China, at the highest levels, to continue these discussions.
We have also encouraged China to meet directly with the Dalai Lama.
A full report of our exchanges is provided in the Congressionally
mandated Tibet Negotiations Report.
At the outset, we were greatly encouraged by the promise of these
discussions. However, recently, we have become more concerned that
they have not produced results. In the past year, the dialogue has
not advanced, and the Chinese government has ramped up negative
rhetoric concerning the Dalai Lama. In August 2006, the newly
appointed Communist Party Secretary in the Tibet Autonomous Region
(TAR), Zhang Qingli, sharply criticized the Dalai Lama, and
dismissed his “Middle Way Approach” as “splittism.” Comments like
these and others from Beijing cast doubt on the seriousness of the
negotiations.
Our bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with the Chinese, unfortunately,
also remains suspended. We have made clear to Beijing that we are
prepared to resume a formal Human Rights Dialogue under the
condition that it be results-based. We are not interested in talk
for talk’s sake. At the same time, I should emphasize that human
rights form an integral part of virtually every high-level meeting
we have with the Chinese, from the April 2006 visit of President Hu
Jintao to Washington, to Secretary Rice’s frequent discussions with
Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, to Deputy Secretary Negroponte’s
meetings in Beijing earlier this month, to Ambassador Randt’s
regular interactions with high-level Chinese officials in Beijing.
The Chinese authorities released political prisoner Nun Phutsog
Nyidrol in 2004, one-year shy of her full sentence, and permitted
her to travel to the U.S. to receive medical attention in March
2006. Later, she bravely testified before the UN Human Rights
Council that during her 15 years in prison, government authorities
severely beat and tortured her regularly. The Administration, many
Members of Congress and the International Religious Freedom
Commission had pushed for her release, and we were pleased when she
was allowed to leave. However, we continue to stress to the Chinese
that releasing one prisoner is not enough.
One of the most notable prisoners, whom we continue to inquire
about, is Gendhun Choekyi Nyima, the boy recognized by the Dalai
Lama as the Panchen Lama, and his parents. The boy was detained by
authorities in 1995 and will turn 18 years old in April. The Chinese
maintain that he is a “normal schoolboy” living in China. However,
China has refused to permit anyone from the international community
to visit the boy and his family in order to confirm his welfare and
well-being. Verbal assurances are not sufficient to allay
international concerns. Agreement to such a visit would send a very
positive signal to the world about China's intentions with regard to
religious freedom.
Current Situation in
Tibet
The situation on the ground in Tibet remains extremely serious. The
State Department’s annual Human Rights Report for 2006 states that
tight controls on religion and other fundamental freedoms remain
serious problems. The report describes in detail widespread human
rights and religious freedom abuses, including instances of
arbitrary arrest, detention, torture in prison, and official
controls over Tibetan monasteries and institutions. There are over
100 Tibetan political prisoners who are in jail for expressing their
peaceful views.
The shooting incident on the Nepal border last fall was a stark
reminder of how difficult conditions can be for Tibetans. On
September 30, 2006, the People’s Armed Police (PAP) at the Nangpa La
pass shot at a group of approximately 70 Tibetans attempting to
cross into Nepal. They killed a 17-year-old nun, Kelsang Namtso and
wounded several others. While 43 members of the group arrived in
Kathmandu, many members of the group were captured by the soldiers.
A 15 year-old who later escaped to India reported that three dozen
of these were tortured and forced to do hard labor. The whereabouts
of the remaining members of the group are unknown. During my
November trip to Dharmasala, I received a first-hand account of the
chilling incident from a young Tibetan man who escaped the PAP with
the help of mountaineers. Over a candlelit map, he described for me
exactly what happened and showed me the path the refugees were
attempting to cross when the PAP began shooting.
China’s official media has asserted that the People’s Armed Police
shot in self-defense. However, eyewitness accounts and footage shot
by a Romanian film crew show that the soldiers were unprovoked and
fired directly at the Tibetans. Our Ambassador to China and others
in the U.S. Government, including many Senators and Representatives,
have repeatedly asked for an explanation. So far, none has been
provided.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. The International
Campaign for Tibet reports that in October 2005 Chinese troops fired
at a group of about 50 Tibetans attempting to cross into Nepal. In
June, border police arrested 13 Tibetans near Tingri who were
planning to cross into Nepal. There have been no reports on their
current whereabouts.
Tibet remains China’s poorest region even though China has devoted
substantial economic resources to Tibet over the past 20 years. The
rate of illiteracy is the highest in China at 47%, nearly twice that
of the second-ranked province, and malnutrition among Tibetan
children remains high.
In 2005, state media reported that Tibetans and other minority
groups make up 75% of all government employees in the Tibet
Autonomous Region. However, Han Chinese hold the key positions, and
the Tibetans holding government positions were prohibited from
worshipping at monasteries or practicing their religion.
Concern has risen over recent development projects and other central
government policies which continue to promote an influx of Han
Chinese, and other ethnic groups into Tibet. There has been great
concern about the opening of the Qinghai-TAR railroad, and increased
migration to the Plateau. On July 1, President Hu Jintao traveled to
Lhasa to inaugurate the railroad. By September, official press
reports stated that the line had carried 272,700 passengers: 40%
were tourists, 30% business people and the remaining 30% were
students, transient workers, traders, and people visiting relatives.
USG Actions
As Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, I remain engaged in all
aspects of our Tibet policy. I work closely with relevant bureaus
and agencies in our government, and maintain a wide range of
contacts in the NGO, academic and diplomatic communities to help
ensure support for the protection of Tibet’s human rights and
preservation of its unique linguistic, religious, and cultural
heritage. I also meet with former Administration officials, and
other China and Tibet experts to discuss opportunities and
challenges to advance Tibet issues.
As previously mentioned, I traveled to Dharamsala, India in
November, an important destination for most Tibetans to visit after
they arrive in India. Besides meeting with the Dalai Lama, I also
had the opportunity to visit with Tibetan refugees and saw a number
of U.S. supported programs that assist refugees and enhance
democracy efforts. I was struck by the rich culture and active
religious life. Much of our assistance supports the refugee
reception centers, health services, educational programs, and
special vocational training for Tibetans age 19-27. All of these
facilities give the Tibetans the tools to adopt to life as new
refugees in India, as well as providing them with education in their
native Tibetan language and culture, which they often have not been
able to receive inside Tibet.
The President met with the Dalai Lama during his visit to Washington
on November 9, 2005 and expressed his continued strong support for
the people of Tibet and for their religious freedom.
Later that month, the President traveled to China and met with
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. In their meetings, the
President highlighted the importance of religious freedom and human
rights and urged direct dialogue with the Dalai Lama. President Bush
said “he thought it would be wise for the Chinese Government to
invite the Dalai Lama to China so that he can tell them exactly what
he told me in the White House… that he has no desire for an
independent Tibet.” He again encouraged the continuation of the
dialogue and direct discussions with the Dalai Lama during his April
2006 meeting with President Hu. Secretary Rice reiterated this
appeal during her October 2006 trip to China and just last week,
Deputy Secretary John Negroponte also raised our concerns. While the
Chinese have yet to respond positively, we will continue to urge
them to allow the visit as a way of building trust between the two
sides.
The Administration’s vision and hope for China is to be a
responsible stakeholder in the global system. Our objective is to
seek to identify those areas in which we have common interests and
where we differ. We also encourage China to understand our concerns
and alter its behavior in ways that will advance not only our
interests and those of the international community, but China’s own.
China’s positions on human rights and democracy are examples of
areas in which we do not see eye-to-eye, but continue to seek candid
and frank discussions with Chinese officials. As National Security
Advisor Stephen Hadley said on the eve of President Hu’s April visit
to Washington “If China wishes to become a responsible stakeholder,
China should match its expansion of economic freedom with the
expansion of political freedom. Chinese leaders need to see that
they cannot let their population increasingly experience the freedom
to buy, sell and produce, while denying them the right to assemble,
speak and worship.”
Conclusion
Despite a lack of progress, we remain staunchly committed to these
objectives. In recent years, we have seen a continued crackdown on
civil society in China, revealing the unease Chinese leaders have
manifested across the country, not just in Tibet. Officials in
Beijing have expressed concern about possible unrest in China, and
their Tibet policy is just part of their broader concern.
As China’s role on the international stage grows and as the 2008
Beijing Olympic games approach, China should begin to live up to the
obligations expected of a responsible global stakeholder and
international leader. Beijing may find that a more enlightened
policy toward Tibet would be an important step toward enhancing and
complementing
the respect it has earned from its economic transformation.
As President Bush has said, “China’s leaders will discover that
freedom is indivisible – that social and religious freedom is also
essential to national greatness and national dignity.” It is in
China’s self-interest to defuse tensions in Tibet by moderating
their repressive and assimilationist policies; by substantively
engaging the Dalai Lama or his representatives; and by inviting the
Dalai Lama to China.
The Dalai Lama seeks to resolve longstanding differences with the
Chinese. His position has been consistent and clear, he wants
genuine autonomy for Tibet, not independence. Moreover, he can be an
asset to the difficult challenge of regional and national stability.
He indisputably represents the opinion of most Tibetans, and his
moral authority transcends Tibetan interests.
In March 1959, forty-eight years ago this month, the Dalai Lama fled
Tibet. It is my great hope that Chinese leaders take this
opportunity to pursue a negotiated settlement with the Dalai Lama
that provides the next generation with peace, prosperity, and
stability.
Hearing
on Tibet: Statement by Richard Gere
Comittee on Foreign Affairs, US House of Representatives
 Chairman
Lantos, Representative Ros-Lehtinen, Members of the Committee:
As Chairman of the Board of the International Campaign for Tibet, I
would like to thank you for this opportunity to address the
Committee. I also wish to compliment the Chairman Lantos and
Representative Ros-Lehtinen for beginning their examination of China
with the Tibet issue and say how gratifying it is to know that
today's hearing signals a return to the rigorous examination of
China and US China policy that Congress used to conduct more
regularly.
The time has come for an intensified public discourse on China.
China's global role is significant and developing, and Americans
expect and need solid analysis of China's issues from our
politicians. We have recently entered a politically charged
presidential campaign season. Soon after the Democratic and
Republican nominating conventions take place, the 2008 Olympics will
open in Beijing undoubtedly intensifying the American people's focus
on China. In light of major US manufacturing losses, Shanghai's
economic instability, religious persecution, human rights abuses,
military build-up and the defilement of the environment, Americans
want to understand what is happening inside China and how it will
impact us and our world.
We are repeatedly asked to weigh the costs of the US-led war on
terror, but there is a virtual silence from our political leaders on
China and its 1.3 billion people.
As China rises to accept its very public role as host to the 2008
games, our political leaders have a responsibility to help us
understand China and prepare us for the sure-to-be-radically changed
post-Olympics China that will follow. Instinctively, Americans
realize that China will emerge as either our greatest partner or
greatest competitor and in the weeks and months ahead this must be
addressed in both parties' platforms and clearly articulated in the
upcoming presidential campaigns.
Among the many areas where congressional leadership has shaped US
China policy, Tibet stands out. Mr. Chairman, for twenty years, you
and I have been meeting to discuss Tibet, mostly with heavy hearts.
I have listened with appreciation and admiration as you and your
colleagues register outrage over human rights abuses and urge
strategies to move China towards genuine, systematic reform but we
still face an uphill battle and the human rights situation for
Tibetans has not improved.
Nonetheless, the tremendous outpouring of international support for
Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, including and I believe
most-significantly, congressional actions, have had a bearing on
Beijing, so much so that we have come to believe the Tibet issue we
are facing can be resolved.
Confidence in this premise has inspired legislation crafted in this
Committee and in its Senate counterpart to mandate the appointment
of a Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues with the responsibility
to promote a negotiated solution for Tibet. Three successive
appointments of high level officials to this position by US
Secretaries of State have been committed to the engagement of
Chinese officials and the envoys of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a
process of dialogue.
You have heard from Under Secretary Dobriansky on the initiatives
taken by President Bush and his administration and from Lodi Gyari
on his discussions with the Chinese. Their testimonies suggest a way
forward, given sufficient political will in Beijing which thus far
has been sadly lacking. I think it is fair to say that all parties
are considering when and how the direct participation of His
Holiness the Dalai Lama can be engaged to achieve a positive
resolution for both parties. A win-win is possible. For those of us
who know His Holiness, it is impossible to conceive that his
involvement would be an impediment or a stumbling block. In fact,
the Nobel Peace Laureate is the perfect partner for an equitable
solution. So why has Beijing been so unwilling to embrace this
simple truth'
China craves success and respectability. Its economic success is in
most ways indisputable and certainly hosting the Olympics is a
high-prestige occasion. But what concerns me and other Americans is
how China is winning respectability and extending its influence as a
global player. And at what cost to us'
However, with regard to Tibet, respectability rests on legitimacy,
and China has come to its claim on Tibet by invasion and occupation
and not through the Communist revolution that provided the
legitimacy for that party's rule in China.
The Dalai Lama embodies China's lack of legitimacy and it is
therefore reasonable to assume that Chinese leaders fear that a
return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and the emotional welcome that
would greet him, would only underscore this point. But that's
clearly a short sighted point of view that belies President Hu
Jintao's commitment to a 'harmonious society' which is inclusive of
Tibetans and all other ethnic minorities in China. Ironically, the
Dalai Lama actually affords China the opportunity for a lasting and
peaceful solution with the Tibetan people that would otherwise be
impossible. The stability and legitimacy the Dalai Lama would bring
is very good indeed for China's short and long term interests.
Unfortunately, nothing illustrates China's failure of respectability
more vividly than its current policies and actions in Tibet. Since
the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1949-50, Tibetans who did not
escape into exile with the Dalai Lama have been systematically
brutalized and increasingly marginalized. China's breakneck economic
success has, in Tibet, led to inappropriate economic and social
policies that make certain the even-further and perhaps permanent
marginalization of Tibetans. These policies, which are rapidly
transforming Tibet, are based on an urban, technocratic model that
favors Chinese settlers and does not take into account Tibetans'
needs, views or the way of life that has sustained them successfully
on the highest plateau of Asia for centuries. These policies present
the most serious threat by the Chinese yet to the survival of
Tibet's unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity.
The chilling reality of China's treatment of Tibetans was exposed in
a short film shot by a Sergiu Matei, a Romanian mountain climber and
cameraman, who himself lived through oppression and hardship. I
recently had the privilege of meeting Sergiu in Berlin. He told me
of his climbing near the Tibet-Nepal border as he and his companions
witnessed Chinese border police open fire on a group of Tibetan
refugees, mostly nuns, monks and small children, who were making the
impossible crossing into Nepal through the Nang Pa mountain pass.
After twenty-two days of walking, they were a half hour from
freedom. In Sergiu's film, the sharp crack of gunfire is heard and
Kelsang Namtso, a 17-year old Tibetan Buddhist nun falls dead in the
deep snow. She was shot like an animal.
Kelsang Namtso was escaping from Tibet in order to practice her
religion in freedom and to seek a blessing from the Dalai Lama. The
reasons for her dangerous journey into exile, which ultimately led
to her death, were similar to many of the thousands of Tibetans who
risk their lives escaping from Tibet each year. I must note here
that since 1991 Congress has provided humanitarian assistance,
administered through the UNHCR and the Central Tibetan
Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, for the care of
Tibetan refugees. I myself have been to these refugee centers,
without which many of those Tibetans who do cross safely into Nepal
and onwards into India would not survive.
China's initial response to international news of the shooting of
Kelsang Namtso was to say that its police fired on the Tibetans in
self-defense. After Sergiu's film was shown on the BBC, NBC, CNN and
U-tube, China adjusted its explanation claiming that the murder of
Kelsang Namtso reflected 'normal border management', hardly the
response of a country that is seeking respectability.
Even as Chinese leaders may be weighing the pros and cons of
genuinely engaging the Dalai Lama as a partner, there is a growing
interest among the Chinese people themselves in Tibet's culture,
religion, and still largely pristine lands. The Chinese people are
hungry for spiritual sustenance after sixty-years of official and
enforced atheism. They are rediscovering deep Buddhist roots in
China and are finding them compatible with their modern lives and
future aspirations. Today, it is not uncommon to see Chinese on
pilgrimage to Tibet's holy places and Chinese monks are known to
study the timeless Buddhist principles of wisdom and compassion with
Tibetan Buddhist masters.
Well-to-do Chinese tourists, arriving in Lhasa by the hundreds of
thousands on the new train from Beijing, cross thousands of miles of
magnificent landscape. One can only imagine the impact of these wide
open spaces on people who mostly experience daily life in China's
environmentally ravaged urban centers. Five of the ten most-polluted
cities in the world are in China. An urgency to protect the
environment is building within China, and many Chinese see Tibet as
a natural treasure that must be protected. We need to encourage
this. Many of us see the possibility of Tibet becoming an enormous
environmental reserve, an area that China can claim with pride.
It is imperative that Congress encourage and convince China that the
survival of Tibet's spiritual and cultural heritage is vital not
only for the Tibetan people but also congruent with its own
ambitions for success and respectability. China's journey towards
greatness will only be enhanced by embracing and preserving Tibet's
unique culture and pristine land.
Mr. Chairman, the Dalai Lama is willing to make a visit to China. I
strongly believe such a visit would build confidence and trust
between the two parties and would certainly allay Chinese fears
concerning the Dalai Lama and what his presence in Tibet would
portend. Those of us who know His Holiness could never doubt his
sincerity. We must use every opportunity available to us to impress
upon President Hu Jintao and other Chinese officials the importance
of extending an invitation for this visit. It is imperative for the
human rights of the Tibetan people, for the survival of their unique
identity, and for the legitimacy of China that the Dalai Lama is
meaningfully involved in decision making on Tibet's future. China
could have no better friend.
The award of the Congressional Gold Medal to His Holiness the Dalai
Lama will occur this October and all Americans applaud this as a
clear statement of the United States' support for a peaceful
resolution in Tibet. Prior to that, China's National Party Congress
will convene which offers an important opportunity for it to rethink
its Tibet policy based not on the past but on China's maturing
stature in the world today.
It is my hope that China will generate a creative atmosphere of
openness and possibility that sets the stage for an invitation to
and an acceptance by His Holiness to visit China. It is important
that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is able to continue to speak with
confidence about the path he has committed to pursue with China. And
let us be absolutely clear again, that path leads to a genuinely
autonomous Tibet within the People's Republic of China. And with it,
all the national harmony and goodwill that relationship would
imply.
As I conclude my time before the Committee, I would like to return
to the issue of US programmatic support for Tibet and urge this, the
authorizing Committee, to renew its commitment and secure full
funding for programs that:
-
preserve
cultural tradition
-
promote sustainable development and environmental conservation in
Tibet
-
promote democracy and human rights documentation
-
provide humanitarian assistance for Tibetan refugees;
-
continue
-
the Tibetan
Scholarship Program,
-
the Tibetan
Cultural Exchange
-
Program, and the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia Tibetan
broadcasts.
These programs have been the life blood of the Tibetan Diaspora and
most importantly, they have provided hope and confidence to Tibetans
inside Tibet. They indicate the strong support of our government for
Tibet, and they express the will of the American people.
Finally and personally, for President Hu Jintao, this is an
extraordinary opportunity to secure his position as a great modern
Chinese leader, to enjoy the embrace of the rest of the world and
set a precedence of trustworthiness for the solution of the far
more-complex issues facing China. A creative and peaceful resolution
in Tibet would surely be the foundation of the 'harmonious society'
President Hu so envisions.
To be honest, there is an extraordinary yet narrow window of
opportunity between China's National Party Congress and the 2008
Olympics in Beijing. President Hu is presented with a unique moment
in history to define his legacy. Let us hope and pray he takes
advantage of it.
I will offer a final observation. An equitable solution in Tibet is
good for Tibet, good for China, good for Asia, good for America,
good for the world and an unmistakable demonstration of China's
evolution as a responsible nation and people'.and quite simply, it's
the right thing to do.
Thank you.
(www.tibet.net is the official website of the Central Tibetan
Administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.) |
