In the second annual report by the US State Department on Tibet Access law, Chinese have made no improvements. The law passed two years back by US requires for the state department to produce an annual report on the situation of access to Tibetan areas for the citizens of US. The new report shows there is consistent Chinese repression in the region.
The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018, enacted December 19, 2018, which requires the Department of State to provide a report to Congress, within 90 days of enactment and annually thereafter for five years, regarding the level of access Chinese authorities granted to U.S. diplomats and officials, journalists, and tourists to Tibetan areas in China
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government systematically impeded travel to the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and Tibetan areas outside the TAR for U.S. diplomats and officials, journalists, and tourists in 2019. The central government required all international visitors to apply for a Tibet travel permit to visit the TAR and regularly denied requests by international journalists, diplomats, and other officials for official travel, said the report by the state department.
It added that approval for tourist travel to the TAR was easier to secure but often restricted around sensitive dates. U.S. official visits to the TAR, when permitted, were highly restricted. Travel to Tibetan areas outside of the TAR did not require a permit or, for diplomats and officials, additional prior notification by diplomatic note for specific meetings in Tibetan areas.
This is the second report from State Department under the law and it has shown that the Chinese authorities has done nothing for the situation to improve since last year. Tibetan American in particular has faced more harassment from the security officials. It has reported that several accounts of US citizens with legit permits facing discrimination in during their travel to Tibetan areas in 2019.
United States last month announced the imposition of entry bans on some Chinese officials. The ban included the Chen Quanguo, the architect of mass human rights violations in the Tibet Autonomous Region and his immediate family members. Chen served as party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region from 2011-2016.
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