CTA Holds Public Felicitation Event in Honour of Visiting U.S. Delegation’s Support for Tibetans

Dharamshala: Today, on 19 June 2024, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) held a public felicitation event at the Tsuglagkhang to honour the members of a high-level bipartisan congressional delegation following the visiting delegation’s special audience with His Holiness the Dalai Lama earlier in the morning.

As the delegation members arrived at the venue, Sikyong Penpa Tsering delivered a welcome address before the large conglomeration of Tibetan residents, students, monks, local people, foreign visitors, and media personnel. In his welcome speech, Sikyong introduced each member of the congressional delegation and their roles in advancing the “Resolve Tibet Act” currently at the President’s table and all other previous bills on Tibet.

“Since it is a very rare occasion for us, all of us from the Central Tibetan Administration, whether it is from the Justice Commissioner, the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers, the independent bodies, all the public here, the students from our schools, have gathered here to thank the delegates, led by Michael McCaul, for their tenacity and commitment to move the Resolve Tibet Act in the U.S. Congress”, said Sikyong, while acknowledging the significant contribution that staunch Tibet supporter and longtime friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, American actor Richard Gere, has made in advocating to advance the bill.

Following that, Sikyong succinctly apprised the gathering about the Resolve Tibet Act and its passage through both houses of the U.S. Congress, saying the bill moved in a “hotline process” with unanimous consensus of all the congressional leaders. In that regard, Sikyong extended gratitude to Senator Todd Young from the Republican side and Senator Jeff Merkley from the Democratic side for moving the bill in the Senate, along with Senator Ben Cardin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, for his instrumental role in driving the bill swiftly in the Senate.

Before concluding, Sikyong highlighted the reason behind efforts from all sides and levels in turning this bill into law, stating that the legislation promotes negotiation between Tibetans and the Chinese government without any preconditions in accordance with the CTA’s Middle Way Approach policy.

Thereafter, a group of students from Dharamshala-based Tibetan schools performed traditional dances in honour of the visiting delegation, who were then presented with thangkas and framed currency of independent Tibet as a token of appreciation for their support.

The leader of the delegation, Rep. Michael McCaul, in his address following the felicitation programme, lauded the Tibetans’ determination to uphold their “way of life for future generations” with support from the Government of India. At the same time, Rep. McCaul said, “But it is still my hope that one day, the Dalai Lama and his people will return to their home in Tibet in peace.” “Decades later, the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten the freedom of the Tibetan people, and they have even attempted to insert themselves into the succession of the Dalai Lama, but we will not let that happen”, the Representative added.

Furthermore, Rep. McCaul remarked on the greatness of democracy over tyranny and disclosed, “Just this week, our delegation received a letter from the CCP warning us not to come here. They repeated their false claim that Tibet has been a part of China since the 13th century. But we did not let the CCP intimidate us, for we are here today.“ While saying that Tibet is not a part of China, the Representative defended that the Tibetan people should also have the right to self-determination.

After Rep. Michael McCaul, Rep. Gregory Meeks said, “I am here as the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs committee. I am here with a bipartisan delegation to let you all know that in the U.S. Congress, we are together, and we are paying attention, and our support for the Tibetan people is unwavering.“

He added, “Across the United States, there are scores of Tibetan Americans and friends of Tibet working every day to ensure that your dream for a better day remains alive. Every single one of us is deeply concerned about Beijing’s growing campaign of repression against Tibetans in the PRC. We know that Beijing is separating the Tibetan Children, children that are before us, from their families through its state-run boarding school. We know that Beijing is forcibly relocating entire communities under the guise of economic development. Also, targeting and imprisoning hundreds of Tibetan Activists, writers, artists, Teachers, and clergy for simply exercising their fundamental freedoms. And we know that it is trying to cooperate and control Tibetan Buddhism, even as it restricts freedom of religion across the Tibetan autonomous region and other Tibetan areas.“ 

“We all are here to call on the government of Beijing to immediately stop its countless abuses of Tibetan human rights. It’s time for Beijing to re-engage and dialogue without preconditions with His Holiness and His Representative to reach a negotiated resolution that leads to meaningful autonomy for the Tibetan people. That’s why I am very proud to have worked with Representative McGovern, Chairman McCaul, and the State Department to pass the resolution that we passed promoting a resolution to the Tibet China Dispute Act, which passed both chambers of Congress last week in a bipartisan manner,“ the Representative concluded. 

In his speech for the function, Rep. Jim McGovern recalled his visit to Tibet back in 2015 with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. He recounted the Chinese government’s repression inside Tibet that they witnessed during the visit. “The Tibetan children living here and in diaspora communities around the world and the Tibetan children living under the repression of the PRC, they are Tibet’s future, and they give me such great hope. But the other thing that gives me hope is seeing that democracy is alive and well here in Dharamshala and in the broader Tibetan community. We met with the Sikyong and many officials of the Central Tibetan Administration, and in sharp contrast to China’s leadership, the Sikyong was elected. The entire Tibetan diaspora, spread across countries around the globe, participates in choosing their own leaders. In fact, the Central Tibetan Administration is a model of governance for people who face oppression and displacement. It is a symbol for those living in China, a symbol of what a different future could look like,“ said Rep. Jim McGovern. 

“Our presence here today is also a symbol, a sign to Chinese leaders that America will never ever waver in our support for the Tibetan people. Just last week, as you have heard, Congress passed a major bipartisan bill authored by myself and Chairman McCaul, and supported by every single member of our delegation. It was to reaffirm America’s support for Tibetan self-determination and to require the United States State Department to counter false information about Tibet. False information like the PRC claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times. That is ridiculous; it is historically inaccurate and we must correct the record.”

In addition, Rep. Jim McGovern made a statement about the enforced disappearance of His Serenity the 11th Panchen Lama and the CCP’s interference in Tibet’s religious matters, including in the succession of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.  

Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, in her address, said, “When I was a young child, my mother would tell me that faith is like the wind. You cannot see it. You cannot touch it. But it is always around you, and it lifts you up. Today, we were lifted up by the Dalai Lama. We thank the school children for reminding us of Tibetan culture and tradition and that their generation is a generation worth fighting for. That your struggle is our struggle.“

“We thank India for allowing a temporary refuge in Dharamshala, knowing it will be temporary. As the Dalai Lama said, through faith comes hope. Through hope comes courage. Through courage comes the peace of inner strength to know that one day Tibet will no longer be in exile,“ she added. 

Following Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Representative Ami Bera, an Indian-American member of Congress, said, “Today, when we met with His Holiness, he reminded us, reminded me of the deep connection of the people of India with the people of Tibet. The spiritual connection of a thousand years ago with Tibetan Buddhism.“ 

“I’m reminded of that. And when I look around at this audience, I see my brothers and sisters, my spiritual brothers and sisters. We share ancestry spiritually. So, know, brothers and sisters, that you have one of your own brothers in the United States Congress fighting for your rights, for your freedom, and for your future. We’re in this together. And as His Holiness said, we will win because it is about compassion,” the Representative assured. 

Representative Nicole Malliotakis, who is from the district of Staten Island in New York City, said, “(Staten Island) is home to the Jacques Marquis Tibetan Museum, which His Holiness visited in 1995. And many of the members that you have representing you in government have also visited it. But when His Holiness came in 1995, he said the words that it was the closest to Tibet that you could find in the West. And I’m very proud to represent that beautiful cultural gem. When we were, honoured with the meeting earlier today with His Holiness, I shared with him that when he fled Tibet in 1959, my mother also fled to escape communism in 1959, but in her homeland of Cuba. And so we share many similarities, and I have a lot of compassion and empathy for the people who are here today, who want to return to their homelands, who want to visit and have their children and grandchildren, who have never visited Tibet.”

“We believe that everyone in the world, including the 6 million people in Tibet right now, deserve to live where they have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, as we so proudly say in the United States of America,“ Representative Nicole concluded. 

In the end, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who has championed human rights in Tibet and has been Tibet’s supporter for so long, recalled her visit to Tibet in detail that Rep. Jim McGovern mentioned earlier and spoke about the Chinese government’s systematic attempts to erase Tibet’s unique identity through various means that include the transfer of large Han population into Tibet. “I don’t know that they’re (Han Chinese population) up to this, but we do know that the Chinese government is, and we do know that they must get the message, and this legislation sends the message.“

“The House and the Senate, and soon to be signed by Joe Biden, the President of the United States. Everybody has talked about the children, and that’s really what our mission is: to see these beautiful children perform the arts, the Tibetan arts. Our purpose is to make the future better for them. When we see in Tibet that they’re trying to send them to school, educate them in the Chinese way, to reduce their knowledge of the Tibetan language, to have surveillance of everything that they do and that their families do in a way that is not respectful of their dignity and worth, we just can’t let that happen,“ the longtime friend of Tibet and former U.S. House Speaker declared. 

Speaker Emerita also credited Richard Gere for his contributions in advocating for the Resolve Tibet Bill, saying, “Tibet has no better friend in the outside world, outside of government than Richard Gere.”

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi also assured that His Holiness the Dalai Lama would live long. “With his message of knowledge and tradition and compassion and purity of soul and love, he will live a long time, and his legacy will live forever.” “But to you, President of China, you’ll be gone, and nobody will give you credit for anything,“ the erstwhile Speaker added. 

Before concluding the event, Sikyong Penpa Tsering took the opportunity of the presence of a large number of journalists from various media houses and news agencies from across the globe to express his appreciation and gratitude to the government and the people of India for hosting and supporting the Tibetans for more than six decades.