Dharamshala, 11th June: The US Senate decisively passed a bipartisan bill with a 68-32 vote to oppose China’s growing threat and to defend Buddhist religious freedom on the reincarnation of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The US Innovation and Competition Act (also known as the Endless Frontier Act), which allots $250 billion through investments in science in order to compete against China, also has several significant provisions on Tibet, the Office of Tibet in Washington said on Wednesday.
China’s highest legislative expressed significant displeasure with and strong opposition to the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021 (USICA) being passed by the US Senate on Wednesday and called on the US to halt pushing the law. The bill includes a number of China-related restrictions, such as restricting the download of the social media app TikTok on government devices and barring the purchase of drones made and sold by Chinese government-backed enterprises.
The Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues shall “either be chosen by the President, with the advice and permission of the Senate or shall be an individual having the rank of Under Secretary of State or above,” according to the bill, which was enacted on Tuesday.
The bill also asks for the establishment of a Tibet unit inside the political department of the US Embassy in Beijing until the US Consulate in Chengdu is reopened or a US Consulate in Lhasa is established. “The Secretary shall allocate not less than two US direct-hire people to the Tibet unit and recruit not less than one locally engaged member for such unit,” the measure states.
The bill continues by declaring that the US should encourage the Secretary of State to engage with partners to support Tibetan Buddhist leaders’ self-determination in His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation and to reject Chinese meddling, as stated in the Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020.
The bill reaffirms the policies stated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which states that any “interference by the government of the People’s Republic of China or any other government in the process of recognizing a successor or reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama and any future Dalai Lamas would represent a clear abuse of Tibetan Buddhists’ and Tibetan people’s right to religious freedom.” The bill also asks for international measures to defend Tibetan Buddhists’ religious freedom.
“The United States’ main crisis is the United States itself. It is more important than anything else for the company to get its own business done well,” said Wang Wenbin, A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.