US lawmakers seek Tibet genocide determination

Washington, June 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Bipartisan lawmakers in the US House of Representatives have introduced legislation requiring the State Department to determine whether China has committed genocide or crimes against humanity against Tibetans, adding fresh congressional pressure on Beijing over its human rights record.

Representatives Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, and Tom Suozzi, a Democrat from New York, on Tuesday introduced the Tibet Atrocities Determination Act, which would require the Secretary of State to submit a report to Congress within one year of enactment assessing China's actions in Tibet.

The bill is the House companion to legislation introduced in the Senate by Republican Senator Rick Scott and Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley.

If enacted, the measure would require the State Department to investigate whether Chinese authorities have subjected Tibetans to arbitrary killings, serious bodily or psychological harm, inhumane living conditions, forced displacement, mass detentions, coercive sterilisation and abortions, and the removal of Tibetan children from their families and communities.

The legislation also calls for a review of Chinese government actions aimed at "sinicising" Tibetan Buddhism and repressing Tibetan language and culture. The report would draw on State Department findings and third-party analyses and recommend possible US responses, including sanctions, visa restrictions and diplomatic measures.

"For far too long, and with complete impunity, the Chinese Communist Party has been committing clear atrocities in Tibet against the Tibetan people," Smith said in a statement announcing the legislation.

"To marshal the clear and concrete actions needed to confront these crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable, we must disclose them by name, plainly and officially," he said.

"The United States must stand alongside them as they fight to stop the erasure of their religion, language, culture, and identity. They deserve the support of every nation committed to freedom and democracy."

Suozzi said China's treatment of Tibetans and other minority groups posed a broader challenge to democratic values.

"The Chinese Communist Party's brutal transnational repression campaign, which targets Tibetans and other ethnic minority groups, is a threat to democracy everywhere," he said.

"I continue to stand with the Tibetans who are demanding independence and the freedom simply to be Tibetan - to speak their language, to practice their religion, and to live freely in their own country."

He added: "Whether it's Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims, or democracy advocates in Hong Kong, we need to stand up to China for its failure to promote basic human rights. We must call out oppression and religious persecution around the world."

Scott, the Senate sponsor, said the international community should not ignore what he described as abuses in Tibet.

"Communist China is an evil, despicable regime, and the world can't ignore the genocide happening right now in Tibet," Scott said.

He accused Chinese authorities of carrying out "systematic killings, torture, forced sterilization, forced displacement, government sanctioned kidnapping, and a myriad of other crimes against humanity in its oppression of the Tibetan people."

The proposed legislation specifically directs the Secretary of State to examine evidence related to systematic killings, torture, psychological intimidation, forced indoctrination, mass detention, deprivation of basic necessities, enforced sterilisation, coercive abortion practices and the transfer of Tibetan children through China's "colonial boarding school system".

Tibet has long been a source of friction between China and Western governments.

Source: IANS