President Biden Signs Resolve Tibet Act into Law, but with a Caveat

DHARAMSALA, 13 July: US President Joe Biden has signed into law the ‘‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act,’’ a bill “to amend the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to modify certain provisions of that Act,” which seeks to resolve the Tibet-China conflict by pressuring Beijing to resume negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s envoys or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people, meaning the leaders of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the Tibetan government in exile.

However, the development came with a caveat as the US President’s statement after signing the bill stated that “The Act does not change longstanding bipartisan United States policy to recognize the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas of China as part of the People’s Republic of China” – a policy decision that falls within my authority to recognize foreign states and the territorial bounds of such states,” despite the bill clearly stating that Congress found the claims made by officials of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party that Tibet has been a part of China since ancient times to be historically inaccurate.

The disappointment following the development was evident as many individual Tibetans and organizations alike shared the statement of the US President announcing putting pen to the paper on the bill without his reiteration of the “longstanding bipartisan United States policy to recognize the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas of China as part of the People’s Republic of China.”

A Tibetan Nitezin said in an Instagram post, “I don’t know how to greet or celebrate this development,” in an apparent disappointment as the bill was lauded as a game changer before it went to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Another Tibetan nitezin declared it a great achievement and, in a post on Facebook, thanked all the individuals and organizations for working tirelessly, as well as the bipartisan support from the US Congress. However, he called out President Biden for “his unnecessary comments in the press statement, seemingly to appease China,” saying it “unfortunately discredited the new law.”

The President of the Central Tibetan Administration, Penpa Tsering, who is currently in Ladakh for an official visit from 8 to 16 July, welcomed the development as a historic moment and said in a tweet on X (formerly Twitter), “I am rejoiced to hear that President Joe Biden has signed the Resolve Tibet Act into law. On the final day of my Jangthang tour, overlooking Tibet across the border, this news fills me with renewed hope. Heartfelt thanks to @POTUS for this significant step forward in solidifying the US’s stance on Tibet’s historical status & its commitment to a lasting, negotiated solution to the Tibet-China conflict through nonviolent means based on international law.” He concluded by conveying gratitude from the Tibetan people, particularly those in occupied Tibet, while declaring that they “will rejoice in the renewed hope and inspiration that today’s victory brings to their hearts.”

The CTA President, addressing concerns over President Biden’s reiteration that “The Act does not change longstanding bipartisan United States policy to recognise the Tibet Autonomous Region and other Tibetan areas of China as part of the People’s Republic of China,” in statement on CTA’s Tibet TV, says that what’s written in the bill that has now become law carries legal weight and authority, hinting that it supersedes the statements made by the president.

He further lauded the new law for identifying the Sino-Tibet conflict as unresolved and in need of resolution based on international law and the Tibetan people’s right to self-determination, calling out China for its distorted historical claim that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, including its definition of Tibet that includes the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and the Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces. 

He concluded by stating, “I am aware of the concerns over the US President’s statement,” adding that as we are pursuing the Tibetan cause through the Middle Way Approach, the bill does recognize Tibet as an independent country historically, in line with policy, and that the statement from the US President reiterating the US policy that Tibet is part of China does no harm practically, as Tibet is currently under Chinese occupation.