Tibetan Parlimentary & Policy Research Centre

I am pleased to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Professor Rinpoche, the Chairman of the Assembly of Tibetan People's Deputies, and all the distinguished legislators, academics, participants and guests joining us today. It is fitting that this historic meeting takes place under the roof of the "House of the people" by a worldwide community of legislators, scholars and experts.

As I drove down from New York last evening after the last two days celebrating the Passover holidays with my family, the significance of our meeting here today reminded me of the similarities between our two people's and indeed the similarities between righteous efforts and any people for freedom and G-d given rights.

During Passover the Jewish people celebrate their freedom from slavery and are reminded of their ancestors' wandering in the desert for forty years. The family sedar centers around recalling the persecution of the Jews by the Pharaoh, the efforts made to free the Jews, the promises made by G-d, their plight in the desert and the meaning of the sedar's different foods, drinks and rituals. But most significant of all is the family gathering recounting the story of how a powerless non-violent religious nation regained its rights.

As we gather together today I strongly feel that same sense of family that same motivation for coming together. Some of you have travelled very long distances and are sacrificing precious time and money to help the Tibetan people. Others are volunteering your services so that this can happen. But most significant of all is the selflessness of the deed and the joy of doing what is right.

Today, we are family gathering together to learn from the past, to enjoy good company and to help our Tibetan and Chinese brothers and sisters regain the freedom that is rightfully theirs. The result of our deliberations which will be delivered to the Secretary General of the United Nations and various governments are intended to bring those leaders into the family ... to give them the opportunity to strengthen and to be a part of our unity of effort.

Most of you know the statistics the Chinese destruction of over 6,000 monasteries, the death of 1.2 million Tibetans (a third of the population), the tight control of religion by a foreign atheist government, the public humiliation of monks and nuns. The Tibetans have lost everything, their great teachers, their lands and monasteries, and now due to a diabolical "final solution" — a population transfer program of massive numbers of Chinese into Tibet — many Tibetans are very rapidly losing their identity, language and self respect.

The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem some two thousand years ago, and sent the Jews into exile from their holy land. The Chinese destruction and current occupation of Tibet is every bit as cruel and brutal to the Tibetans. The very strict control of Tibet's religious institutions by atheist communist officials is not only unimaginable blasphemy to Tibetans but to all of the world's great religious traditions.

The extent to which China's past and present leaders are personally responsible for these policies is very distressing. For example it was Deng Xiaoping who directed the People's Liberation Army into Tibet and oversaw its destruction. Just three years ago it was reported that at an internal Central Communist Party meeting, President Jiang Zemin asserted that, religion is one of the biggest threats to Communist Party rule in China and Tibet. Subsequently, Premier Li Peng signed decrees number 144 and 145 which restrict worship, religious education, distribution of Bibles and other religious literature, as well as restricting contact with foreign coreligionists.

The totalitarian Chinese government has created official religious organizations that control all religious worship, activity, and association in China and Tibet and supplant the independent authority of the Roman Catholic Church, independent Protestant church, and independent Buddhist, Taoist, and Islamic associations. Indeed, the Bureau of Religious Affairs is headed by a rigid communist who is hostile to all religion.

The Bureau is controlled by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party. The Party was behind the recent sentencing of a 76-year-old Protestant leader to 15 years in prison for distributing bibles, the sentencing of a 65 year-old evangelical elder to an eleven year prison term for belonging to an evangelical group outside the government — sanctioned religious organizations and the sentencing of a 60 year old Roman Catholic priest to two years of "re-education through labour" for unknown charges. He had previously spent 13 years in prison because of his refusal to renounce ties with the Vatican.

The Communist Party and the Bureau of Religious Affairs are also responsible for the kidnapping of the 6-year-old Panchen Lama and his family who have been detained for almost two years, and their whereabouts are still unknown. Scores of Tibetan Buddhist who refused to participate in the Chinese sham enthronement of Beijing's "Panchen Lama" have been sent to prison and one of their spiritual leaders committed suicide rather than take part in the charade.

Mind you, these people are not spending lengthy periods of their life in horrible prison conditions for peacefully advocating political pluralism or democracy. They are being severely punished merely for pursuing their religious beliefs.

Pro-democracy advocates in China and Tibet are going through equally hard times. The recently released State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices in China and Tibet states that "in 1996 the authorities stepped up efforts to cut off expression of protest or criticism. All public dissent against the party and government was effectively silenced by intimidation, exile, the imposition of prison terms, administrative detention, or house arrest. No dissidents were known to be active at year's end." Not even the old Soviet Union managed such success against the refuseniks.

The State Department Report goes on to say: "Although the Government denies that it holds political prisoners, the number of persons detained or serving sentences for "counter-revolutionary crimes" or "crimes against the state", or for peaceful political or religious activities are believed to number in the thousands. Persons detained during 1996 included activists arrested for issuing petitions or open letters calling for reforms and greater democracy."

Having checkmated all resistance in Tibet and China the dictators have been successfully applying similar strategies in the international arena. Just last week, representatives of the unelected government in Beijing once again succeeded in Geneva at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to have a no-action motion adopted on the consideration of a resolution regarding human rights violations in Tibet and China. The Beijing dictatorship elevated its international bullying to new heights by threatening Denmark that if it introduced a human rights resolution regarding China, the resolution would "become a rock that smashes on the Danish government's head." Such statements and the shameful action by Beijing of introducing a no-action motion are insults and a disgrace to the Commission on Human Rights. No country should be able to utilise its economic or political power to attempt to block international scrutiny of its human rights record. And no civilised country on the face of the earth would permit its diplomats, spokesmen or leaders to make such pernicious remarks.

Within the past year Beijing officials have made similar public threats against Germany, New Zealand, Australia and Taiwan if they permitted His Holiness to visit their countries and if their leaders were to meet with Him. China's diplomats have been flying all over the world promising stadiums, roads, government buildings, purchases of airplanes and other forms of trade and assistance in order to bully, threaten and cajole Commission members to vote with them in Geneva.

Three years ago, leaders of many nations that are currently members of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights urged President Clinton to de-link U.S. trade with China to its human rights violations. They urged that the human rights issue ought to be considered separate apart from trade and economic matters and last week they ignored the hypocrisy of trading their values and principles away.

The United States did not stand very tall in Geneva having launched a last-minute half-hearted attempt to support Denmark. Even to this day we do not know if President Clinton will meet one-on-one with His Holiness as President Bush once did. The President recently met with the leader of China's People's Liberation Army who was Chief of the Army General Staff and directly responsible for the Tiananmen Square massacre. The Chinese general was greeted with a 19 gun salute. And the President met with the head of the Chinese government military manufacturing company that attempted to sell AK-47 assault rifles and stinger missiles to Los Angeles street gangs but he did not meet with the Cambodian democracy leader, Sam Rainsy, who recently survived an assassination attempt, nor with Jose Ramos Horta, the East Timorese Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Democracy is on the run and having a difficult time establishing itself throughout Asia because democracies throughout the world, including our own nations, have put short term economic gains for powerful companies ahead of the long term benefits of democracy and the rule of law. Although most western CEO's intimately understand and are usually supportive of the role that an independent judiciary has on controlling corruption, which in turn helps to maintain profitable business ventures, they are mesmerized by what George Will of the Washington Post calls the "beguiling chimera" of the China market. Almost every deal with China requires a substantial technology transfer that quickly evaporates their profitable sales.

Since 1989, every year around now, members of the business community visit Capitol Hill to speak with us about the need for a Most Favoured Nations trading status for China and to warn against containment versus engagement of the government in Beijing. But I submit to you that the containment versus engagement discussion is a straw man. In a healthy family, members discuss issues, come to agreements and then follow through on their words with deeds. Engagement continues even when a punishment occurs. If many important agreements are broken and a sibling never stands up for his or her rights then the other one usually turns into a bully. At which point the family and the aggrieved sibling will both be responsible if the belligerent's behaviour effects the larger community.

The Tibetans and all of us here today are bearing our responsibility to the world community by calling attention to the crises of leadership in both the People's Republic of China and in any other government that fails to be alarmed, and to take strong action against the manipulation of religion and destruction of a people.

Such a people who have a particular commitment to God that characterizes their whole national identity, who are the victims of the most vicious oppression, who might be miraculously delivered against the odds precisely by continuing to hold to their special relationship to god rather than by practicing the ways of the Pharaoh, need all of our support.

We are a family. We are here to bring out the best in all of our members. Your very presence gives the Tibetans and Chinese people hope for the future.

The aspirations of the people of Tibet do not differ from those of the people of China. In fact, both are struggling against dictatorship to establish the right to determine their futures, to construct their civilisations, and to worship in freedom.

For centuries, the Tibetan people have had a special relationship with the people of China. We do not seek to disturb this. Although Tibet has always been a distinct and independent nation and civilization, it has always acknowledged that its history and destiny is linked to China's.

What we must insist on is that both elements of this relationship be respected. Tibet must be recognized as a distinct nation with all the rights to determine its future and construct its civilisation.

I urge you during the next two days to chart out a program of action where together we can take a multilateral approach in helping His Holiness and the people of Tibet. Many of us in the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, are prepared to work with you.

Lodi, I want to convey to you and your staff at the International Campaign for Tibet and to all the volunteers here today doing the hard work of making this happen, my deepest appreciation and respect.

To the leaders in Beijing who know of our meetings here today and tomorrow, we ask with all sincerity that they work with us to let our people go.

May your deliberation lead to freedom and peace for the Tibetan people.

God bless.