(TibetanReview.net, Jun16’24) — The Resolve Tibet Act, which was passed in its final version by the US House of Representatives on Jun 12, will be an important tool to counter China’s false claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times once it is signed into law by President Joe Biden, the Sikyong (executive head) Mr Penpa Tsering of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) has said.
When it becomes a law in the US, it will become an important tool for us to reach out to other governments to counter China’s false narrative that Tibet is part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), he has said in an interview which appeared on theweek.in Jun 16.
“China has been asking every country to say that Tibet is part of PRC. That is why the law is important to explain to governments that if they keep parroting what the Chinese want them to say, then it is against (this) law because if they support negotiations between Representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government, then they cannot contradict themselves by saying Tibet is part of PRC, because that removes the very ground for negotiation,” he has explained.
Support for a negotiated settlement to the issue of Tibet exists mainly in Western democracies. Most of the global south, on the other hand, play second fiddle to Beijing’s line to include Tibet also in its so-called One China policy towards Taiwan. These countries are heavily dependent on Chinese investment, loan, aid, and market, although debt-burdening is now becoming a burgeoning issue to them.
This is not to say that a robust support for the Tibet issue does not exist in the civil society in these countries.
The Resolve Tibet Act recognizes the fact that China’s armed annexation of Tibet more than 70 years ago is illegal under international law, that the country’s legal status therefore needs to be resolved through negotiation with the Tibetan people through their leadership in exile, and that the US should gear its policy towards actively facilitating and realizing this objective.
While the CTA’s policy is to seek genuine autonomy for a historically defined Tibetan homeland through a negotiated settlement, a vociferous section of the Tibetan population remains adamant in demanding independence.