,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #hba  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,april #d1 #bjag,mr4
 ,rubio 7for himself and ,ms4 ,baldwin7 
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to promote access for ,united ,states  
officials1 journalists1 and other       
citizens to ,tibetan areas of the       
,people's ,republic of ,china1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,reciprocal    
,access to ,tibet ,act of #bjag4  #b4   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
 7#a7 ,the ,government of the ,people's 
,republic of ,china does not grant      
,united ,states officials1 journalists1 
and other citizens access to ,china on a
 basis that is reciprocal to the access 
that the ,government of the ,united     
,states grants ,chinese officials1      
journalists1 and citizens4  7#b7 ,the   
,government of ,china imposes greater   
restrictions on travel to ,tibetan areas

 than to other areas of ,china4  7#c7   
,officials of ,china have stated that   
,tibet is open to foreign visitors4     
7#d7 ,the ,government of ,china is      
promoting tourism in ,tibetan areas1 and
 at the ,sixth ,tibet ,work ,forum in   
,august #bjae1 ,premier ,li ,keqiang    
called for ,tibet to build major world  
tourism destinations4  7#e7 ,the        
,government of ,china requires          
foreigners to obtain permission from the
 ,tibet ,foreign and ,overseas ,affairs 
,office or from the ,tibet ,tourism     
,bureau to enter the ,tibet ,autonomous 
,region1 a restriction that is not      
imposed on travel to any other          
provincial-level jurisdiction in ,china4
  7#f7 ,the ,department of ,state       
reports that-- 7,a7 officials of the    
,government of the ,united ,states      
submitted #ci requests for diplomatic   
access to the ,tibet ,autonomous ,region
 between ,may #bjaa and ,july #bjae1 but
 only four were granted2 and  7,b7 when 
such requests are granted1 diplomatic   

personnel are closely supervised and    
given few opportunities to meet local   
residents not approved by authorities4  
7#g7 ,the ,government of ,china delayed 
,united ,states consular access for more
 than #dh hours after an ,october #bh1  
#bjac1 bus crash in the ,tibet          
,autonomous ,region1 in which three     
citizens of the ,united ,states died and
 more than a dozen others1 all from     
,walnut1 ,california1 were injured1     
undermining the ability of the          
,government of the ,united ,states to   
provide consular services to the victims
 and their families1 and failing to meet
 ,china's obligations under the         
,convention on ,consular ,relations1    
done at ,vienna ,april #bd1 #aifc 7#ba  
,,ust #gg74  7#h7 ,following a #bjae    
earthquake that trapped dozens of       
citizens of the ,united ,states in the  
,tibet ,autonomous ,region1 the ,united 
,states ,consulate ,general in ,chengdu 
faced significant challenges in         
providing emergency consular assistance 

due to a lack of consular access4  7#i7 
,the ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights
 ,practices for #bjae of the ,department
 of ,state stated ,with the exception of
 a few highly controlled trips1 the     
,chinese government also denied multiple
 requests by foreign diplomats for      
permission to visit the ,,tar44  7#aj7  
,tibetan-,americans1 attempting to visit
 their homeland1 report having to       
undergo a discriminatory visa           
application process1 different from what
 is typically required1 at the ,chinese 
embassy and consulates in the ,united   
,states1 and often find their requests  
to travel denied4  7#aa7 ,the ,country  
,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices   
for #bjaf of the ,department of ,state  
stated ,the few visits to the ,,tar by  
diplomats and journalists that were     
allowed were tightly controlled by local
 authorities44  7#ab7 ,a ,september     
#bjaf article in the ,washington ,post  
reported that ,the ,tibet ,autonomous   
,region ''' is harder to visit as a     

journalist than ,north ,korea44  7#ac7  
,the ,government of ,china has failed to
 respond positively to requests from the
 ,government of the ,united ,states to  
open a consulate in ,lhasa1 ,tibet      
,autonomous ,region4  7#ad7 ,the        
,foreign ,correspondents ,club of ,china
 reports that-- 7,a7 #bjjh rules prevent
 foreign reporters from visiting the    
,tibet ,autonomous ,region without prior
 permission from the ,government of such
 ,region2  7,b7 such permission has only
 rarely been granted2 and  7,c7 although
 the #bjjh rules allow journalists to   
travel freely in other parts of ,china1 
,tibetan areas outside such ,region     
remain effectively off-limits to foreign
 reporters4  7#ae7 ,the ,department of  
,state reports that in addition to      
having to obtain permission to enter the
 ,tibet ,autonomous ,region1 foreign    
tourists--  7,a7 must be accompanied at 
all times by a government-designated    
tour guide2  7,b7 are rarely granted    
permission to enter the region by road2 

7,c7 are largely barred from visiting   
around the ,march anniversary of a #aiei
 ,tibetan uprising2 and  7,d7 are banned
 from visiting the area where ,larung   
,gar1 the world's largest center for the
 study of ,tibetan ,buddhism1 and the   
site of a large-scale campaign to expel 
students and demolish living quarters1  
is located4  7#af7 ,foreign visitors    
also face restrictions in their ability 
to travel freely in ,tibetan areas      
outside the ,tibet ,autonomous ,region4 
7#ag7 ,the ,government of the ,united   
,states generally allows journalists and
 other citizens of ,china to travel     
freely within the ,united ,states4 ,the 
,government of the ,united ,states      
requires diplomats from ,china to notify
 the ,department of ,state of their     
travel plans1 and in certain situations1
 the ,government of the ,united ,states 
requires such diplomats to obtain       
approval from the ,department of ,state 
before travel4 ,however1 where approval 
is required1 it is almost always granted

 expeditiously4  7#ah7 ,the ,united     
,states regularly grants visas to       
,chinese officials1 scholars1 and others
 who travel to the ,united ,states to   
discuss1 promote1 and display the       
perspective of the ,government of ,china
 on the situation in ,tibetan areas1    
even as the ,government of ,china       
restricts the ability of citizens of the
 ,united ,states to travel to ,tibetan  
areas to gain their own perspective4    
7#ai7 ,chinese diplomats based in the   
,united ,states generally avail         
themselves of the freedom to travel to  
,united ,states cities and lobby city   
councils1 mayors1 and governors to      
refrain from passing resolutions1       
issuing proclamations1 or making        
statements of concern on ,tibet4  7#bj7 
,the ,government of ,china characterizes
 statements made by officials of the    
,united ,states about the situation in  
,tibetan areas as inappropriate         
interference in the internal affairs of 
,china4  #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3

 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional        
committees ,the term appropriate        
congressional committees means--  7,a7  
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations   
and the ,committee on the ,judiciary of 
the ,senate2 and  7,b7 the ,committee on
 ,foreign ,affairs and the ,committee on
 the ,judiciary of the ,house of        
,representatives4  7#b7 ,senior         
leadership positions ,the term senior   
leadership positions means-- 7,a7 at the
 national level1 the ,chairperson of the
 ,national ,committee of the ,chinese   
,people's ,political ,consultative      
,conference and the ,head and ,deputy   
,heads of the ,communist ,party ,central
 ,committee's ,united ,front ,work      
,department2  7,b7 at the sub-national  
level-- 7i7 members of the ,communist   
,party ,standing ,committee of the      
,tibet ,autonomous ,region2  7ii7 the   
,director of the ,tibet ,autonomous     
,region ,tourism ,bureau2  7iii7 the    
heads of ,united ,front ,work           
,departments of ,sichuan1 ,qinghai1     

,gansu1 and ,yunnan ,provinces2 and     
7iv7 members of the ,communist ,party   
,standing ,committees of the areas      
listed under paragraph 7#c77;,b72 and   
7,c7 any other individual determined by 
the ,secretary of ,state to be          
personally and substantially involved in
 the formulation or execution of        
policies related to access for          
foreigners to ,tibetan areas4  7#c7     
,tibetan areas ,the term ,tibetan areas 
includes-- 7,a7 the ,tibet ,autonomous  
,region2 and  7,b7 the areas that the   
,chinese ,government designates as      
,tibetan ,autonomous1 as follows3 7i7   
,kanlho 7,gannan7 ,tibetan ,autonomous  
,prefecture1 and ,pari 7,tianzhu7       
,tibetan ,autonomous ,county located in 
,gansu ,province4  7ii7 ,golog 7,guoluo7
 ,tibetan ,autonomous ,prefecture1      
,malho 7,huangnan7 ,tibetan ,autonomous 
,prefecture1 ,tsojang 7,haibei7 ,tibetan
 ,autonomous ,prefecture1 ,tsolho       
7,hainan7 ,tibetan ,autonomous          
,prefecture1 ,tsonub 7,haixi7 ,mongolian

 and ,tibetan ,autonomous ,prefecture1  
and ,yulshul 7,yushu7 ,tibetan          
,autonomous ,prefecture1 located in     
,qinghai ,province4  7iii7 ,garze       
7,ganzi7 ,tibetan ,autonomous           
,prefecture1 ,ngawa 7,aba7 ,tibetan and 
,qiang ,autonomous ,prefecture1 and     
,muli 7,mili7 ,tibetan ,autonomous      
,county1 located in ,sichuan ,province4 
7iv7 ,dechen 7,diqing7 ,tibetan         
,autonomous ,prefecture1 located in     
,yunnan ,province4  #d4 ,annual report  
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days
 after the date of the enactment of this
 ,act1 and annually thereafter1 the     
,secretary of ,state shall submit to the
 appropriate congressional committees a 
report that includes--  7#a7 an         
assessment of the level of access       
,chinese authorities granted diplomats1 
journalists1 and tourists from the      
,united ,states to ,tibetan areas1      
including--  7,a7 a comparison with the 
level of access granted to other areas  
of ,china2  7,b7 a comparison between   

the levels of access granted to ,tibetan
 and non-,tibetan areas in relevant     
provinces2  7,c7 a comparison of the    
level of access in the reporting year   
and the previous reporting year2 and    
7,d7 a description of the required      
permits and other measures that impede  
the freedom to travel in ,tibetan areas2
 and  7#b7 a list of each individual who
 holds a senior leadership position4    
7b7 ,public availability ,the report    
required under subsection 7a7 shall be  
made available to the public on the     
website of the ,department of ,state4   
#e4 ,inadmissibility of certain aliens  
7a7 ,ineligibility for visas ,no        
individual who is included on the most  
recent list required under section      
#d7;a77#b7 may be eligible to receive a 
visa to enter the ,united ,states or be 
admitted to the ,united ,states if the  
,secretary of ,state determines that--  
7#a7 7,a7 the requirement for specific  
official permission for foreigners to   
enter the ,tibetan ,autonomous ,region  

remains in effect2 or  7,b7 such        
requirement has been replaced by a      
regulation that has a similar effect and
 requires foreign travelers to gain a   
level of permission to enter the ,tibet 
,autonomous ,region that is not required
 for travel to other provinces in       
,china2 and  7#b7 restrictions on travel
 by officials1 journalists1 and citizens
 of the ,united ,states to areas        
designated as ,tibetan ,autonomous in   
the provinces of ,sichuan1 ,qinghai1    
,yunnan1 and ,gansu of ,china are       
greater than any restrictions on travel 
by such officials and citizens to areas 
in such provinces that are not so       
designated4  7b7 ,current visas revoked 
,the ,secretary of ,state shall revoke1 
in accordance with section #bba7;i7 of  
the ,immigration and ,nationality ,act  
7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #abja7;i771 the visa or   
other documentation to enter or be      
present in the ,united ,states issued   
for an alien who would be ineligible to 
receive such a visa or documentation    

under subsection 7a74  7c7 ,waiver for  
national interests  7#a7 ,in general    
,the ,secretary of ,state may waive the 
application of subsection 7a7 or 7b7 in 
the case of an alien if the ,secretary  
determines that such a waiver--  7,a7 is
 necessary to permit the ,united ,states
 to comply with the ,agreement          
,regarding the ,headquarters of the     
,united ,nations1 signed at ,lake       
,success ,june #bf1 #aidg1 and entered  
into force ,november #ba1 #aidg 7,,tias 
#afgf71 or any other applicable         
international obligation of the ,united 
,states2 or  7,b7 is in the national    
security interests of the ,united       
,states4  7#b7 ,notification ,upon      
granting a waiver under paragraph 7#a71 
the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to
 the appropriate congressional          
committees a document detailing the     
evidence and justification for the      
necessity of such waiver1 including1 if 
such waiver is granted pursuant to      
paragraph 7#a77;,b71 how such waiver    

relates to the national security        
interests of the ,united ,states4  #f4  
,sense of ,congress on visa policy  7a7 
,finding ,congress finds that           
reciprocity forms the basis of          
diplomatic law and the practice of      
mutual exchanges between countries4  7b7
 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of
 ,congress that-- 7#a7 a country should 
give equivalent consular access to the  
nationals of a foreign country in a     
manner that is reciprocal to the        
consular access granted by such foreign 
country to citizens of the country2 and 
7#b7 the ,secretary of ,state1 when     
granting diplomats from ,china access to
 parts of the ,united ,states1 should   
take into account the extent to which   
the ,government of ,china grants        
diplomats from the ,united ,states      
access to parts of ,china1 including the
 level of access afforded to such       
diplomats to ,tibetan areas4