[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4851 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4851
To promote access for United States officials, journalists, and other
citizens to Tibetan areas of the People's Republic of China, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 12, 2014
Mr. McGovern (for himself, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Wolf, and Mr. Ellison)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote access for United States officials, journalists, and other
citizens to Tibetan areas of the People's Republic of China, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of
2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Chinese Government does not grant United States
officials, journalists, and other citizens access to the
People's Republic of China on a reciprocal basis to the access
the United States Government grants Chinese officials,
journalists, and citizens.
(2) The Chinese Government imposes greater restrictions on
travel to Tibetan areas than to other areas of the People's
Republic of China.
(3) Officials of the People's Republic of China have stated
that Tibet is open to foreign visitors.
(4) The Chinese Government is promoting tourism in Tibetan
areas, and has announced plans to make tourism a ``pillar
industry'' for the region.
(5) The Chinese Government requires foreigners to obtain
permission from the Tibet Foreign and Overseas Affairs Office
or from the Tibet Tourism Bureau to enter the Tibet Autonomous
Region, a restriction that is not imposed on travel to any
other provincial-level jurisdiction in the People's Republic of
China.
(6) The Department of State reports that the Tibet Foreign
and Overseas Affairs Office denied more than 10 requests for
United States diplomatic access to the Tibet Autonomous Region
between May 2011 and December 2012, and that when such requests
are granted, diplomatic personnel are closely supervised and
given few opportunities to meet local residents not approved by
authorities.
(7) The Chinese Government restricted United States
consular access after an October 28, 2013, bus crash in the
Tibet Autonomous Region, in which at least two Americans died
and more than a dozen others, all from Walnut, California, were
injured.
(8) The Chinese Government has failed to respond positively
to the United States Government's request to open a consulate
in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region.
(9) The Department of State reports that the Chinese
government regularly denies requests by American diplomats,
foreign journalists, and observers to visit Tibetan areas, and
that those permitted to visit are subject to ``highly
structured, government-organized tours'' that limit
independent, objective reporting.
(10) The Department of State reports that foreign diplomats
who were permitted to travel in Tibetan areas outside the Tibet
Autonomous Region were ``repeatedly approached by local police
and sometimes forced to leave without reasonable explanation''.
(11) The Department of State reports that permission is not
always granted to foreign tourists, and that when granted,
Lhasa, Rikaze (Shigatse), and Shannan (Lhoka) are usually the
only places in the Tibet Autonomous Region open to foreigners.
(12) Foreign visitors also face restrictions in their
ability to travel freely in Tibetan areas outside the Tibet
Autonomous Region.
(13) Foreign visitors to Tibetan areas are explicitly
limited to tours that are tightly managed by authorities.
(14) Restrictions on journalists' access to Tibetan areas
conflict with government regulations, adopted in 2008, lifting
requirements that foreign journalists get permission of local
authorities to travel in the country and interview Chinese
citizens.
(15) The United States Government generally allows
journalists and other citizens of the People's Republic of
China to travel freely within the United States. The United
States Government requires Chinese diplomats to notify the
Department of State of their travel plans, and in certain
situations, the United States Government requires Chinese
diplomats to obtain approval from the Department of State
before travel. However, where approval is required, it is
almost always granted expeditiously.
(16) The United States regularly grants visas to Chinese
officials, scholars, and others who travel to the United States
to discuss, promote and display the Chinese Government's
perspective on the situation in Tibetan areas, even as the
Chinese Government restricts the ability of United States
citizens to travel to Tibetan areas to gain their own
perspective.
(17) Chinese diplomats based in the United States generally
avail themselves of the freedom to travel to United States
cities and lobby city councils, mayors, and governors to
refrain from passing resolutions, issuing proclamations, or
making statements of concern on Tibet.
(18) The Chinese Government characterizes statements made
by United States officials about the situation in Tibetan areas
as inappropriate interference in the internal affairs of China.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Tibetan areas.--The term ``Tibetan areas'' includes--
(A) the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR); and
(B) the prefectures and counties of the provinces
of Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu of the People's
Republic of China that the Chinese Government
designates as ``Tibetan Autonomous'' areas.
(2) Senior leadership positions.--The term ``senior
leadership positions'' means--
(A) at the provincial level, the Governor, the Vice
Governor, the Party Secretary, the Party Disciplinary
Committee Secretary, the Party Politics and Law
Committee Secretary, the Organization Department
Director, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the
People's Congress for the Autonomous Region or
Province, the Chairman of the Autonomous Region or
Provincial Committee of the People's Political
Consultative Conference, the head of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee United
Front Work Department, the head of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region Communist Party Committee Political
and Legal Commission, the heads of the Tibetan
Autonomous Region Public Security and State Security
Bureaus, the Commander of the People's Armed Police,
the head of the Foreign and Overseas Affairs Office,
the Director of the Tibet Tourism Bureau in the Tibet
Autonomous Region, and the Party Secretary and Mayor of
Lhasa and the relevant provincial capitals;
(B) at the prefectural and county levels, the Party
Secretary, the Deputy Party Secretaries, the prefecture
and county heads and deputy heads, the Secretary
General, and the Deputy Secretary General;
(C) at the national level, the Director of the
Communist Party Central Committee United Front Work
Department, the Director of the State Ethnic Affairs
Commission, the Director of the State Administration
for Religious Affairs, the Director of the State
Council Information Office, and the Director of the
Foreign Affairs Office of the State Council Information
Office;
(D) at the regional level, the Regional People's
Armed Police and Military Commanders with jurisdiction
in Tibetan areas; and
(E) any other individual determined by the
Secretary of State to be personally and substantially
involved in the formulation or execution of policies in
Tibetan areas.
(3) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
United States Senate.
SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report
that provides--
(1) an assessment of the level of access Chinese
authorities granted United States diplomats, journalists, and
tourists to Tibetan areas in the People's Republic of China,
including a comparison with the level of access granted to
other areas of the People's Republic of China, a comparison
between the levels of access granted to Tibetan and non-Tibetan
areas in relevant provinces, and a description of the required
permits and other measures that impede the freedom to travel in
Tibetan areas;
(2) a list of the persons in senior leadership positions in
the Tibet Autonomous Region;
(3) a list of the persons in senior leadership positions in
the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu Provinces
of the People's Republic of China;
(4) a list of the persons in senior leadership positions in
Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Ngawa (Aba)
Tibetan and Qiang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Muli (Mili)
Autonomous County of Sichuan Province, Tsonub (Haixi) Mongol
and Tibetan, Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan, Malho (Huangnan)
Tibetan, Yulshul (Yushu) Tibetan, and Golog (Guoluo) Tibetan
Autonomous Prefectures of Qinghai Province, Dechen (Diqing)
Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province, and the
Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Pari
(Tianzhu) Tibetan Autonomous County of Gansu Province;
(5) a list of the persons in senior leadership positions at
the national level as defined in section 3(2)(C); and
(6) a list of the persons in senior leadership positions at
the regional level as defined in section 3(2)(D).
(b) Public Availability.--The report required under subsection (a)
shall be made available on the website of the Department of State.
SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS.
(a) Ineligibility for Visas.--An alien is ineligible to receive a
visa to enter the United States and ineligible to be admitted to the
United States if such alien is on the list required by--
(1) subsection (a)(2) of section 4, and if the Secretary of
State determines that the requirements for specific official
permission for foreigners to travel to the Tibet Autonomous
Region remain in effect, or that the current permission system
has been replaced by a requirement that has the same effect of
requiring foreign travelers to gain a level of permission to
enter the Tibet Autonomous Region that is not required for
travel to other province-level entities in the People's
Republic of China;
(2) subsections (a)(3) and (a)(4) of section 4, and if the
Secretary of State determines that restrictions on travel by
United States officials, journalists, and citizens to areas
designated as ``Tibetan autonomous'' in the provinces of
Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu of the People's Republic of
China are greater than any restrictions on travel by United
States officials, journalists, and citizens to areas in such
provinces that are not so designated; or
(3) subsections (a)(5) and (a)(6) of section 4, and if the
Secretary of State determines that the requirement for a
specific permission to enter Tibet pertaining to travel by
foreigners to the Tibet Autonomous Region remain in effect, or
that the requirement has been replaced by a regulation that has
the same effect of requiring foreign travelers to gain a level
of permission to enter the Tibet Autonomous Region that is not
required for travel to other province-level entities in the
People's Republic of China, and if the Secretary of State
determines that restrictions on travel by United States
officials and citizens to areas designated as ``Tibetan
Autonomous'' in the provinces of Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and
Gansu of the People's Republic of China are greater than any
restrictions on travel by United States officials and citizens
to areas in such provinces that are not so designated.
(b) Current Visas Revoked.--The Secretary of State shall revoke, in
accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or other documentation of any alien who
would be ineligible to receive such a visa or documentation under
subsection (a).
(c) Waiver for National Interests.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of State may waive the
application of subsection (a) or (b) in the case of an alien if
the Secretary determines that such a waiver--
(A) is necessary to permit the United States to
comply with the Agreement between the United Nations
and the United States of America regarding the
Headquarters of the United Nations, signed June 26,
1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, or
other applicable international obligations of the
United States; or
(B) is in the national security interests of the
United States.
(2) Notification.--Upon granting a waiver under paragraph
(1), the Secretary of State shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a document detailing the evidence and
justification for the necessity of such waiver, including, if
such waiver is granted pursuant to subparagraph (B) of such
paragraph, how such waiver relates to the national security
interests of the United States.
SEC. 6. VISA POLICY.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) reciprocity forms the basis of diplomatic law and the
practice of mutual exchanges between countries;
(2) a country should give equivalent consular access to the
nationals of another country in a reciprocal manner to the
consular access granted by such other country to its own
citizens; and
(3) the Secretary of State, when granting diplomats from
the People's Republic of China access to parts of the United
States, should take into account the extent to which the
Government of the People's Republic of China grants United
States diplomats access to parts of the People's Republic of
China, including the level of access afforded to such diplomats
to Tibetan areas.
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