(TibetanReview.net, Dec19’24) –The annual defence authorisation bill, which has been passed with comfortable majority votes in both chambers of the US Congress, contains three important provisions extending support for Tibet and Tibet-related issues and now awaits the President’s assent.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed by the Senate on Dec 18 by 85-14 votes and by the House of Representatives last week by 281-140 votes, reported the AP Dec 19.
The most significant provision reauthorizes the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act (RATA), which provides a mechanism for the United States to rebuff China’s restrictions on American government officials, journalists, independent observers, Tibetan Americans, and tourists seeking access to Tibet. The bill was originally passed in 2018 and has been renewed for another five years, noted Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT, savetibet.org) Dec 18.
“RATA is vital to continuing to bring light to the truth of how Tibet is treated by the Chinese government and ensuring that Chinese officials who try to cut Tibet off from the world are not allowed access to the United States. We hope that the President will swiftly sign the bill,” ICT President Ms Tencho Gyatso has said.
ICT said the second provision provides for continued monitoring of the Tibetan Plateau in Department of Defense Annual reports. It adds an assessment provision on the influence of the PRC on the Tibetan Plateau through the Department of Defense annual reporting on Military and Security Developments.
And the third provision requires reporting on the impact of the closure of the American consulate in Chengdu. The Chengdu consulate was tasked with monitoring developments in Tibet, and Beijing’s closure of the consulate shifted this work to the embassy in Beijing, which is far removed from Tibet, said the ICT statement.