Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, June 18: Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party on Monday joined as a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Tibet Atrocities Determination Act, legislation that seeks a formal U.S. assessment of whether China’s treatment of Tibetans constitutes genocide or crimes against humanity.
The bill, introduced by Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-NY), directs the U.S. Secretary of State to investigate and determine whether the Chinese government’s longstanding policies and actions in Tibet amount to an “ongoing genocide” or “crimes against humanity” under international law.
“The American people will never turn a blind eye to the CCP’s oppression of innocent Tibetans who wish to live freely and follow their faith,” Moolenaar said in a statement announcing his support for the legislation. “This legislation is the first step to holding China accountable for its atrocities in Tibet.”
Introduced on April 29, 2926, as H.R. 9085, the Tibet Atrocities Determination Act serves as the House companion to Senate bill S. 4432. The legislation mandates that the Secretary of State submit a comprehensive report to Congress within one year of enactment, examining evidence of systematic abuses committed against Tibetans under Chinese rule.
The bill specifically calls for an investigation into allegations including arbitrary killings, mass detention, forced sterilization, torture, restrictions on religious freedom, and the involuntary separation of Tibetan children from their families through a network of state-run colonial boarding schools.
Lawmakers backing the measure argue that Chinese authorities have intensified efforts to erase Tibet’s distinct cultural, linguistic, and religious identity through policies aimed at the sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism and the assimilation of Tibetans into the dominant Han Chinese culture.
According to the bill’s sponsors, the legislation would also require the State Department to assess Beijing’s broader campaign against Tibetan language and culture and recommend potential U.S. policy responses, including targeted sanctions, visa restrictions, and other accountability measures against Chinese officials implicated in abuses.
Moolenaar’s endorsement adds further momentum to the bipartisan legislation as lawmakers continue to raise concerns over China’s human rights record in Tibet alongside similar congressional scrutiny of Beijing’s policies in East Turkestan (Ch. Xinjiang) and Hong Kong.
