,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ecfb  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,august #g1    
#bjbf,mr4 ,merkley 7for himself1 ,mr4   
,risch1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 ,mr4 ,young1 ,ms4  
,rosen1 and ,mr4 ,scott of ,florida7    
introduced the following bill2 which was
 read twice and referred to the         
,committee on ,foreign ,relations  ,a   
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of    
,state to advocate for the inclusion and
 recognition of the ,central ,tibetan   
,administration1 and for other purposes4
  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,assuring the ,future of   
,tibet ,act of #bjbf4  #b4 ,findings    
,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the
 relationship between the ,united       
,states ,government and ,tibet began in 
#aijh1 when ,united ,states diplomat    
,william ,rockhill met the #acth ,dalai 
,lama4  7#b7 ,the relationship deepened 
over the twentieth century1 including   
,president ,franklin ,delano            
,roosevelt's #aidb outreach to the #adth

 ,dalai ,lama1 the ,dalai ,lama's first 
visit to ,capitol ,hill in #aigi and    
presentation of his ,five ,point ,peace 
,plan to ,congress in #aihg1 and the    
first meeting between a sitting ,united 
,states ,president and the ,dalai ,lama 
in #aiia4  7#c7 ,the ,dalai ,lama in    
#aiej assumed the role of head of state 
of ,tibet4 ,following his flight into   
exile in #aiei1 he continued to serve as
 the formal head of the ,tibetan        
government-in-exile1 later known as the 
,central ,tibetan ,administration1 and  
in #bjaa transferred his political      
authority to that government1 whose     
executive and legislative officials are 
chosen by democratic election and which 
vests executive power in the ,sikyong1  
the chief executive1 pursuant to an     
amendment to the ,tibetan ,charter      
adopted by the ,tibetan                 
parliament-in-exile4  7#d7 ,it has been 
the long-standing policy of the ,united 
,states to promote the internationally  
recognized human rights and distinct    

religious1 cultural1 linguistic1 and    
historical identity of the ,tibetan     
people1 as acknowledged and codified by 
the ,tibetan ,policy and ,support ,act  
of #bjbj 7subtitle ,e of title ,,iii of 
division ,,ff of ,public ,law #aaf-bfj2 
#bb ,u4,s4,c4 #fija note74  7#e7 ,the   
,promoting a ,resolution to the         
,tibet-,china ,dispute ,act 7,public    
,law #aah-gj7 characterizes the dispute 
between ,tibet and the ,people's        
,republic of ,china as unresolved1      
states the sense of ,congress that      
claims made by the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china that ,tibet has been a part of
 ,china since ancient times are         
historically inaccurate1 and states that
 it is ,united ,states policy to resolve
 the dispute in accordance with         
international law1 including the ,united
 ,nations ,charter1 by peaceful means1  
through dialogue without preconditions4 
7#f7 ,article #a of the ,international  
,covenant on ,civil and ,political      
,rights1 which the ,united ,states      

ratified in #aiib1 states1 ,all peoples 
have the right of self-determination4   
,by virtue of that right they freely    
determine their political status and    
freely pursue their economic1 social and
 cultural development44  7#g7 ,the      
,people's ,republic of ,china's ,law on 
,promoting ,ethnic ,unity and ,progress 
approved by the ,national ,people's     
,congress in ,march #bjbf contradicts   
previous statutory and constitutional   
guarantees of meaningful autonomy for   
,tibetans and other non-,han ,chinese   
populations by statutorily mandating    
that education be conducted in          
,mandarin1 mandating that written       
,chinese be given prominence over       
alternative scripts in public settings1 
and legally prioritizing national       
identity over distinct ethnic identity4 
7#h7 ,the ,government of the ,people's  
,republic of ,china has provided no     
verifiable evidence that the ,tibetan   
people were consulted on1 much less     
approved1 the diminution of their right 

to autonomy under the ,people's         
,republic of ,china's ,law on ,promoting
 ,ethnic ,unity and ,progress4  #c4     
,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of 
,congress that-- 7#a7 the ,government of
 the ,people's ,republic of ,china has  
reneged on its legal commitment under   
the ,constitution of the ,people's      
,republic of ,china1 the ,regional      
,ethnic ,autonomy ,law1 and relevant    
international law to provide a high     
degree of regional autonomy to the      
,tibetan people1 including the right to 
use and develop their own spoken and    
written languages1 through the enactment
 in #bjbf of the ,people's ,republic of 
,china's ,law on ,promoting ,ethnic     
,unity and ,progress1 which instead     
facilitates the assimilation of         
,tibetans and erosion of the right of   
the ,tibetan people to exercise their   
religious1 cultural1 and language       
rights2  7#b7 the ,people's ,republic of
 ,china has denied the ,tibetan people  
the ability to exercise their right to  

self-determination as provided by       
international law2  7#c7 the ,united    
,states has expressed support for the   
,dalai ,lama's vision of a negotiated   
agreement through dialogue without      
preconditions between the ,government of
 the ,people's ,republic of ,china and  
the ,dalai ,lama or his representatives 
or democratically elected leaders of the
 ,tibetan community as one means of     
allowing the ,tibetan people to exercise
 their right to self-determination2     
7#d7 the ,government of the ,people's   
,republic of ,china has not demonstrated
 sincerity or seriousness in its        
approach to engaging in meaningful      
dialogue with the ,dalai ,lama or his   
representatives or to reach a negotiated
 resolution that includes the           
aspirations of the ,tibetan people2     
7#e7 the ,gaden ,phodrang ,trust serves 
as the legitimate and sole authority to 
identify and recognize ,dalai ,lamas2   
and  7#f7 the ,central ,tibetan         
,administration is the legitimate       

representative of the ,tibetan people4  
#d4 ,statement of policy ,it is the     
policy of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to 
affirm the commitment of the ,united    
,states to a resolution of the dispute  
between ,tibet and the ,people's        
,republic of ,china as a matter of      
strategic interest to the ,united       
,states2  7#b7 to encourage the         
,government of the ,people's ,republic  
of ,china to address the aspirations of 
the ,tibetan people with regard to their
 distinct historical1 cultural1         
religious1 and linguistic identity2     
7#c7 to support the ,tibetan people's   
free exercise of their internationally  
recognized human rights1 including the  
right to self-determination2  7#d7 that 
the ,central ,tibetan ,administration   
represents continuity of governance of  
the ,tibetan people as established by   
the ,dalai ,lama2 and  7#e7 to support  
the ,central ,tibetan ,administration in
 its effort to carry out the            
responsibilities for which it has been  

empowered by the ,dalai ,lama and       
legitimized by the ,tibetan people      
through their exercise of a genuine     
democratic process4  #e4 ,advocacy ,in  
order to carry out the policy under     
section #d-- 7#a7 the ,president should 
direct the ,united ,states ,permanent   
,representative to the ,united ,nations 
to use the voice1 vote1 and influence of
 the ,united ,states at the ,united     
,nations to advocate for the ,central   
,tibetan ,administration's observer     
status within the ,united ,nations      
,general ,assembly and relevant agencies
 of the ,united ,nations2 and  7#b7 the 
,secretary of ,state should-- 7,a7      
advocate for the inclusion of the       
,central ,tibetan ,administration in    
relevant international bodies and       
groupings2  7,b7 organize like-minded   
partners to support greater             
international recognition of the        
,central ,tibetan ,administration within
 bodies of the ,united ,nations and     
other multilateral fora2 and  7,c7      

ensure the ,central ,tibetan            
,administration has equal access and    
opportunity to participate across the   
,united ,nations system1 including in   
specialized and technical bodies of     
strategic importance1 funds1 entities1  
and other bodies as appropriate4  #f4   
,high-level engagement and diplomatic   
protocol ,in order to carry out the     
policy under section #d1 the ,secretary 
of ,state or their designee shall-- 7#a7
 lead interagency efforts to directly   
engage at the most senior levels with   
,central ,tibetan ,administration       
officials1 including the ,sikyong and   
the designated representatives of the   
,sikyong2  7#b7 take steps to ensure the
 ,sikyong of the ,central ,tibetan      
,administration is extended appropriate 
diplomatic courtesies1 including the    
provision of appropriate security       
details during visits to the ,united    
,states2  7#c7 consider the             
applicability of diplomatic privileges  
and immunities to officials of the      

,central ,tibetan ,administration2 and  
7#d7 urge partners and allies of the    
,united ,states to engage with and      
support the ,central ,tibetan           
,administration at senior levels4  #g4  
,report  7a7 ,in general ,not later than
 #a year after the date of the enactment
 of this ,act1 and annually thereafter  
for ten years1 the ,secretary of ,state 
shall submit to the ,committee on       
,foreign ,relations of the ,senate and  
the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representatives a report 
that describes the steps taken to       
implement section #e and section #f4    
7b7 ,consolidation ,after the issuance  
of the first report required under      
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of ,state
 is authorized to incorporate subsequent
 reports under such subsection into     
other publicly available annual reports 
produced by the ,department of ,state1  
provided they are submitted to the      
,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the
 ,senate and the ,committee on ,foreign 

,affairs of the ,house of               
,representatives in a manner specifying 
that they are being submitted in        
fulfillment of the requirements of this 
,act4