,,iii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 ,,con4 ,,res4 #cj ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #af1 #bjag,mr4 ,cruz 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,menendez1 ,mr4 ,rubio1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 ,mr4 ,gardner1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 and ,mrs4 ,feinstein7 submitted the following concurrent resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,concurrent ,,resolution ,expressing the sense of ,congress with respect to ,united ,states policy toward ,tibet and that the treatment of the ,tibetan people should be an important factor in the conduct of ,united ,states relations with the ,people's ,republic of ,china4 ,whereas1 on ,october #ag1 #bjjg1 ,his ,holiness the #adth ,dalai ,lama 7in this resolution referred to as the ,dalai ,lama7 was awarded the ,congressional ,gold ,medal in recognition of his many enduring and outstanding contributions to peace1 nonviolence1 human rights1 and religious understanding2 ,whereas1 during his ,congressional ,gold ,medal acceptance speech1 ,dalai ,lama stated1 ,the time has come for our dialogue with the ,chinese leadership to progress towards the successful implementation of a meaningful autonomy for ,tibet1 as guaranteed in the ,chinese constitution and detailed in the ,chinese ,state ,council ,white ,paper on ,regional ,ethnic ,autonomy of ,tibet42 ,whereas the ,dalai ,lama continues to advance the goal of greater understanding1 tolerance1 harmony1 and respect among the different religious faiths of the world through interfaith dialogue and outreach to other religious leaders2 ,whereas the ,dalai ,lama continues to use his moral authority to promote the concept of universal responsibility as a guiding tenet for how human beings should treat one another and the planet we share2 ,whereas1 in the ten years since the ,dalai ,lama accepted the ,congressional ,gold ,medal1 ,china has implemented increasingly repressive policies in ,tibet1 including-- 7#a7 travel restrictions against ,tibetans and ,united ,states citizens2 7#b7 restrictive regulations on religious affairs2 7#c7 censorship of ,buddhist literature and information2 7#d7 demolition of ,tibetan ,buddhist sites2 7#e7 imprisonment of ,tibetan prisoners of conscience2 and 7#f7 declarations that ,decision-making power over the reincarnation of the ,dalai ,lama and over the end of survival of his lineage resides with the central government of ,china2 ,whereas1 on ,april #ae1 #bjae1 the ,chinese ,state ,council released a white paper entitled ,tibet's ,path of ,development ,is ,driven by an ,irresistible ,historical ,tide1 which stated that there is no prospect of a high degree of autonomy for ,tibet ever coming to pass and furthermore stated that ,tibet had been part of ,china since ancient times2 ,whereas in recent years1 ,tibetan nomads1 who have lived as nomadic herders on the ,tibetan ,plateau for centuries1 have been banned from grazing in certain areas of the ,tibetan ,plateau1 and hundreds of ,tibetan herders have been forcibly relocated by ,chinese government officials into socialist villages2 ,whereas1 in ,september #bjag1 the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china adopted additional restrictive regulations on governmental control over the practice of religion and expressed an intention that the government should actively guide religion to fit within socialist society2 ,whereas these #bjag regulations state that religious groups1 religious schools1 religious activity sites and religious citizens shall abide by the ,constitution1 laws1 regulations and rules2 practice the core socialist values2 and preserve the unification of the country1 ethnic unity and religious harmony and social stability2 ,whereas these #bjag regulations1 scheduled for implementation by the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china beginning ,february #bjah1 would explicitly ban unregistered religious groups from teaching about religion1 establishing religious colleges1 going abroad to take part in religious training or gatherings1 or otherwise engage in activities that endanger national security2 ,whereas the ,department of ,state stated in the #bjaf ,report on ,tibet ,negotiations that the ,dalai ,lama's representatives and ,chinese officials from the ,united ,front ,work ,department have not met directly since the ninth round of dialogue in ,january #bjaj2 ,whereas the #bjaf ,international ,religious ,freedom ,report for ,china published by the ,department of ,state stated1 ,in the ,tibet ,autonomous ,region and other ,tibetan areas1 authorities engaged in widespread interference in religious practices1 especially in ,tibetan ,buddhist monasteries and nunneries42 ,whereas the #bjaf ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights ,practices for ,china published by the ,department of ,state stated1 ,under the professed objectives of controlling border areas1 maintaining social stability1 combating separatism1 and extracting natural resources1 the government engaged in the severe repression of ,tibet's unique religious1 cultural1 and linguistic heritage by1 among other means1 strictly curtailing the civil rights of the ,tibetan population1 including the freedoms of speech1 religion1 association1 assembly1 and movement42 ,whereas1 since #bjji1 #aej ,tibetans have self-immolated to protest against ,china's rule in ,tibet and most ,tibetans publicly call for the return of the ,dalai ,lama to ,tibet2 ,whereas the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china has refused to allow an independent investigation into the causes of the self-immolations and has instead criminalized them1 by imprisoning the survivors and collectively punishing the relatives1 friends1 and villagers of the self-immolators1 as documented by the ,international ,campaign for ,tibet2 ,whereas ,congress has a long history of support for ,tibet1 including-- 7#a7 declaring that the ,united ,states should make the ,tibet issue a higher policy priority2 7#b7 declaring that the ,united ,states should urge ,china to establish a constructive dialogue with the ,dalai ,lama2 7#c7 requiring ,voice of ,america and ,radio ,free ,asia to begin broadcasts in the ,tibetan language2 7#d7 mandating that ,tibet be listed separately in the annual ,country ,reports on ,human ,rights published by the ,department of ,state2 7#e7 requiring a report from the ,department of ,state on the state of negotiations between the representatives of the ,tibetan people and the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 7#f7 establishing educational and cultural exchange programs with ,tibet2 7#g7 providing humanitarian1 food1 medical1 vocational training1 primary and secondary education1 and other assistance to ,tibetan refugees2 7#h7 funding programs to promote and preserve ,tibetan culture and the resilience of ,tibetan communities in ,india and ,nepal2 7#i7 funding a scholarship program for ,tibetan refugees to study in the ,united ,states2 7#aj7 providing assistance to nongovernmental organizations working to preserve the ,tibetan environment and cultural traditions2 and 7#aa7 appropriating funds for ,national ,endowment for ,democracy programs related to ,tibet2 ,whereas section #ija7;b77#f7 of the ,foreign ,relations ,authorization ,act1 ,fiscal ,years #aiij and #aiia 7,public ,law #aja-bdf2 #ajd ,stat4 #hj7 stated that ,united ,states policy toward ,china should be explicitly linked with the situation in ,tibet1 specifically including-- 7#a7 lifting martial law in ,lhasa and other parts of ,tibet2 7#b7 opening ,tibet to foreigners1 including the press and international human rights organizations2 7#c7 releasing ,tibetan political prisoners2 and 7#d7 conducting negotiations between representatives of ,his ,holiness the ,dalai ,lama and the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 ,whereas the ,tibetan ,policy ,act of #bjjb 7subtitle ,b of title ,,vi of ,public ,law #ajg-bbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fija note71 signed into law on ,september #cj1 #bjjb-- 7#a7 established ,united ,states principles with respect to human rights1 religious freedom1 political prisoners1 and economic development projects in ,tibet2 7#b7 established in statute the position of the ,special ,coordinator for ,tibetan ,issues in the ,department of ,state2 7#c7 established annual reporting requirements on ,sino-,tibetan negotiations and safeguarding ,tibet's distinct cultural identity1 both by the ,secretary of ,state and by the congressionally established ,congressional-,executive ,commission on ,china2 7#d7 mandated the provision of ,tibetan language training to interested foreign service officers2 7#e7 required ,federal officials to raise issues of religious freedom and political prisoners2 and 7#f7 urged the ,secretary of ,state to seek establishment of an office in ,lhasa2 and ,whereas it is in line with ,united ,states national security interests and values to oppose ,china's increasingly repressive policies toward ,tibet and work towards a negotiated solution3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that it is the sense of ,congress that it should be the policy of the ,united ,states to-- 7#a7 make the treatment of the ,tibetan people an important factor in the conduct of ,united ,states relations with the ,people's ,republic of ,china2 7#b7 consistent with the ,tibetan ,policy ,act of #bjjb 7subtitle ,b of title ,,vi of ,public ,law #ajg-bbh2 #bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fija note7-- 7,a7 encourage the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to enter into a dialogue with the ,dalai ,lama or his representatives leading to a negotiated agreement with respect to ,tibet2 7,b7 publicly call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those held prisoner for expressing their political or religious views in the ,tibet ,autonomous ,region and other ,tibetan areas2 and 7,c7 establish an office in ,lhasa1 ,tibet1 to assist visiting ,united ,states citizens and to monitor political1 economic1 and cultural developments in ,tibet2 7#c7 appoint the ,special ,coordinator for ,tibetan ,issues at the rank of ,under ,secretary of ,state2 7#d7 revoke appropriate privileges of any ,chinese official found to be responsible for impeding access of ,united ,states citizens1 including ,tibetan-,americans1 to ,tibet and ensure that reciprocal visa processing measures are occurring in accordance with the rules and regulations of the ,department of ,state2 7#e7 continue to designate ,china as a country of particular concern pursuant to section #djb of the ,international ,religious ,freedom ,act of #aiih 7#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fddb7;b772 and 7#f7 engage with appropriate officials of the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china to-- 7,a7 stop the demolition of ,tibetan ,buddhist religious institutions2 7,b7 revise religious and travel regulations to conform with international human rights standards2 and 7,c7 ensure that ,tibetan nomads are allowed to continue their way of life on the ,tibetan ,plateau1 which they have helped to preserve for centuries1 and are not forcibly relocated into socialist villages4