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PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY FALLON
1 3 A House Concurrent Resolution expressing opposition
1 4 to repressive policies of the People's Republic of
1 5 China toward the people and culture of Tibet and
1 6 to the persecution of Mr. Ngawang Choephel.
1 7 WHEREAS, Mr. Ngawang Choephel is a Tibetan national
1 8 whose family fled Chinese oppression to live in exile
1 9 in India in 1968; and
1 10 WHEREAS, Mr. Choephel studied ethnomusicology at
1 11 Middlebury College in Vermont as a Fulbright Scholar,
1 12 and at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in
1 13 Dharamsala, India; and
1 14 WHEREAS, Mr. Choephel returned to Tibet in July
1 15 1995, to prepare a documentary film about traditional
1 16 Tibetan performing arts; and
1 17 WHEREAS, Mr. Choephel was detained in August 1995,
1 18 by the government of the People's Republic of China
1 19 and held incommunicado for over a year before Chinese
1 20 authorities admitted to holding him, and finally
1 21 charged him with espionage in October 1996; and
1 22 WHEREAS, the Chinese government sentenced Mr.
1 23 Choephel to an 18-year prison term plus four years
1 24 subsequent deprivation of his political rights on
1 25 December 26, 1996, following a secret trial; and
1 26 WHEREAS, there is no evidence that Mr. Choephel's
1 27 activities in Tibet involved anything other than
1 28 purely academic research; and
1 29 WHEREAS, the government of the People's Republic of
1 30 China denies Tibetans their fundamental human rights,
2 1 as reported in the United States State Department's
2 2 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, and by
2 3 human rights organizations, including Amnesty
2 4 International and Human Rights Watch, Asia; and
2 5 WHEREAS, the government of the People's Republic of
2 6 China is responsible for the destruction of much of
2 7 Tibetan civilization since its invasion of Tibet in
2 8 1949; and
2 9 WHEREAS, the arrest of a Tibetan scholar, such as
2 10 Mr. Choephel, who worked to preserve Tibetan culture,
2 11 reflects the systematic attempt by the government of
2 12 the People's Republic of China to repress cultural
2 13 expression in Tibet; and
2 14 WHEREAS, the government of the People's Republic of
2 15 China, through direct and indirect incentives, has
2 16 established discriminatory development programs which
2 17 have resulted in an overwhelming flow of Chinese
2 18 immigrants into Tibet, including those areas
2 19 incorporated into the Chinese provinces of Sichuan,
2 20 Ynnan, Gansu, and Qinghai, and have excluded Tibetans
2 21 from participation in important policy decisions,
2 22 which further threatens traditional Tibetan life; and
2 23 WHEREAS, the government of the People's Republic of
2 24 China withholds meaningful participation in the
2 25 governance of Tibet from Tibetans and has failed to
2 26 abide by its own constitutional guarantee of autonomy
2 27 for Tibetans; and
2 28 WHEREAS, the Dalai Lama of Tibet has stated his
2 29 willingness to enter into negotiations with the
2 30 Chinese authorities and has repeatedly accepted the
3 1 framework Chinese authorities proposed for such
3 2 negotiations in 1979; and
3 3 WHEREAS, the United States government has not
3 4 developed an effective plan to win support in
3 5 international fora, such as the United Nations
3 6 Commission on Human Rights to bring international
3 7 pressure to bear on the government of the People's
3 8 Republic of China to improve human rights and to
3 9 negotiate with the Dalai Lama; and
3 10 WHEREAS, the Chinese authorities have displayed
3 11 provocative disregard for American concerns by
3 12 arresting and sentencing prominent dissidents around
3 13 the time that senior United States government
3 14 officials have visited China; and
3 15 WHEREAS, United States government policy seeks to
3 16 foster negotiations between the government of the
3 17 People's Republic of China and the Dalai Lama, and
3 18 presses China to respect Tibet's unique religious,
3 19 linguistic, and cultural traditions; NOW THEREFORE,
3 20 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
3 21 SENATE CONCURRING, That Mr. Ngawang Choephel and other
3 22 prisoners of conscience in Tibet, as well as in the
3 23 People's Republic of China, should be released
3 24 immediately and unconditionally; and
3 25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
3 26 government is requested to establish a practice
3 27 requiring that in all official meetings with
3 28 representatives of the government of the People's
3 29 Republic of China, United States officials request Mr.
3 30 Choephel's immediate and unconditional release; and
4 1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
4 2 government is requested to take prompt action to
4 3 sponsor and promote a resolution at the United Nations
4 4 Commission on Human Rights regarding the People's
4 5 Republic of China and Tibet which specifically
4 6 addresses issues of political prisoners and
4 7 negotiations with the Dalai Lama; and
4 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
4 9 government is requested to establish an exchange
4 10 program in honor of Mr. Ngawang Choephel, involving
4 11 students of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts
4 12 and appropriate educational institutions in the United
4 13 States; and
4 14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the United States
4 15 government should seek access for internationally
4 16 recognized human rights groups to monitor human rights
4 17 in Tibet; and
4 18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the
4 19 House of Representatives send a copy of this
4 20 Resolution to the President of the United States, the
4 21 United States Secretary of State, and members of
4 22 Iowa's congressional delegation; and
4 23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chief Clerk of the
4 24 House of Representatives send a copy of this
4 25 Resolution to the Chinese Ambassador to the United
4 26 States.
4 27 LSB 2526HH 77
4 28 da/sc/14
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