[US citizens including government officials, reporters and tourists who seek to enter Tibetan areas are routinely rejected, and the few who do get in are forced to stay on strictly controlled official tours, where the true situation of the Tibetan people is hidden from them, officials said.]
Press Trust of India
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The move comes amidst Trump
administration imposing massive trade import
duties on China, the world's
second largest economy after that of America.
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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has signed a
bipartisan bill on Tibet into law that could enrage China, paving the way to
impose a visa ban on Chinese officials who deny American citizens, government
officials and journalists access to the sensitive Himalayan region, homeland of
the exiled Dalai Lama.
US citizens including government officials,
reporters and tourists who seek to enter Tibetan areas are routinely rejected,
and the few who do get in are forced to stay on strictly controlled official
tours, where the true situation of the Tibetan people is hidden from them,
officials said.
The situation is worst of all for
Tibetan-Americans, who are almost and always denied the right to make a
pilgrimage to their ancestral land and to meet their family members there,
community members said.
The Wednesday's move by President Trump came
days after China lodged a "stern" diplomatic protest with the US over
the Senate passing the legislation with Beijing asking Washington not to make
it a law.
China insists Tibet has been part of its
territory for centuries. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 amid an abortive
uprising against the Chinese rule in his Himalayan homeland.
The White House said that Trump signed into
law the 'Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018' which promotes access for
diplomats, officials, journalists and others from the United States to China's
Tibetan areas.
The bill, which was earlier passed by the
Senate and the House of Representatives, seeks to impose a visa ban on Chinese
officials who deny American citizens, government officials and journalists'
access to the remote region of Tibet.
The move also comes amidst Trump
administration imposing massive trade import duties on China, the world's
second largest economy after that of America.
However, the bill includes a national
security waiver and would require the Secretary of State to submit an
assessment to Congress of the level of access to Tibet granted to US officials,
journalists and tourists by China.
If the Secretary of State determines that
there are restrictions on travel to Tibet, the appropriate Chinese officials
will be ineligible to enter the US.
The Tibetan community described it as a
historic moment for them.
'Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act becomes law,
marking new era of American support for Tibet', said International Campaign for
Tibet (ICT).
"This is truly a turning point for
Americans, Tibetans and all who care about equality, justice and human
rights," said Matteo Mecacci, ICT president.
"By passing this impactful and
innovative law, the US has blazed a path for other countries to follow and let
the Chinese government know that it will face real consequences for its
discrimination against the Tibetan people," he said.
Congressman Jim McGovern, who introduced the
bill in the House of Representatives, said: "I'm glad that the President
signed our bill, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, into law.
"For too long, China has covered up
their human rights violations in Tibet by restricting travel. But actions have
consequences and today we are one step closer to holding the Chinese officials
who implement these restrictions accountable".
McGovern said he looks forward to watching
closely as the law is implemented, and continuing to stand with the people of
Tibet in their struggle for religious and cultural freedom.
The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act is based
on the diplomatic principle of reciprocity, which calls on countries to give
equal rights to one another's citizens.
Sponsors of the bill alleged that when it
comes to Tibet, China does not reciprocate. Although Chinese citizens travel
freely throughout the US, Chinese authorities severely restrict Americans'
ability to access Tibet.
"The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act
specifically highlights the discriminatory attitude of Chinese officials toward
Tibetan-Americans who seek to visit Tibet.
"The Chinese embassy and consulates
routinely place such Tibetan-Americans under a more stringent and non-consular
application process merely because they are of Tibetan-origin. This includes
subjecting them to vigorous interviews by United Front officials, collecting
personal and family information and eventually denying them access," ICT
vice president Bhuchung K Tsering said.
The ICT said until now, China has been able
to use its economic and military power to isolate Tibet without much resistance
from the international community. With reciprocal access to Tibet becoming law,
China will begin to feel the weight of its unfair policies.
The law requires the Secretary of State to
assess Americans' level of access to Tibet within 90 days of its enactment and
to send a report to Congress every year afterward identifying the Chinese
officials responsible for keeping Americans out of Tibet.
The Secretary will then ban those officials
from receiving visas to enter the US.
