Lawmakers and advocates rallied against Chinese President Xi Jinping outside the U.S. Capitol Building on Thursday.
U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and hundreds of others called for Xi and President Donald Trump to discuss the repression of Tibet by the Chinese Communist Party.
On July 1, China enacted the “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law,” legislation designed to codify the integration of Chinese culture in Tibet through boarding schools. Pelosi and McGovern slammed this policy and called for it to be repealed. They said the law codifies religious suppression in Tibet and other minority groups.
“If the United States refuses to speak out against violations of human rights and freedom of religion because of economic reasons, we lose all moral authority to talk about human rights any place in the world,” Pelosi said.
McGovern slammed Trump for hosting the Chinese president in the U.S. while repression in Tibet continues. He called on the president to counter transnational repression of Tibetans, reject China’s ethnic unity law and keep Tibetans in the U.S. from being deported to China.
“We demand that President Trump get tough on the Chinese president’s abysmal human rights record,” McGovern said.
Sherab Lhanyitsang traveled from Philadelphia to participate in the demonstrations against Xi. Those involved in the protest marched from the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Capitol building.
“Why are we welcoming Xi? He’s an architect of genocide,” Lhanyitsang told The Center Square. “The CCP and Xi Jinping are continuously trying to eradicate our identity, our culture, language and our environment.”
Lhanyitsang pointed to the rising prevalence of Chinese boarding schools in Tibet. The Tibetan Youth Congress, an organizer of the protest, estimated more than 1 million Tibetan children have been separated from their families and forced to participate in Chinese boarding schools.
Andrea Samuelson, the director for partnerships and advocacy at the International Partnership for Tibet, claims China’s ethnic unity law is being used to target Tibetan people abroad, including in the U.S.
“It also gives them the legal authority-in their minds-to pursue anyone anywhere who disagrees with them,” Samuelson told The Center Square. “What does this new law mean now? That’s really the test of this visit today.”
McGovern called for passage of the Assuring the Future of Tibet Act, legislation that would give the Central Tibet Administration authority to represent the country once the Dalai Lama dies.
“As the Dalai Lama instructs us, hope for the best but prepare for the worst,” McGovern said.
The Massachusetts lawmaker also slammed Trump for hosting a dinner with technology executives and the Chinese president.
“There was a time when the Dalai Lama was welcome at the White House,” McGovern said. “Now there’s an authoritarian leader and greedy billionaires welcome at the White House. If we want a change in China and Tibet, we need change here at home.”
He called on Republican lawmakers to join his efforts in supporting legislation that would empower the Tibetan government.
“No U.S. foreign policy without human rights,” McGovern said. “When we recognize that the power of our example is stronger than the example of our power then the world is freer and a safer place.”
“We have to insist that the religion, the language, the faith, the sense of community in Tibet be respected,” Pelosi said. “We must continue to fight for Tibet.”
