The State Department of Donald Trump’s administration is very late on China report required by the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act. The US Congress is getting frustrated over the delay in submitting the report over the situation the past year. According to reports, the state department’s report is one month overdue to the Congress.
The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass) was unanimously passed in both houses in 2018. President Donald Trump also signed the act in law on December 19, 2018. The bill now requires the administration to provide a report on Chinese officials who are responsible for barring US nationals’ entry to Tibet and bar entry for those officials on the US soil.
The Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act’ seeks equal access to Tibetan areas for US officials, journalists and common citizens which is routinely denied by the Chinese government. Under the Act, Chinese officials responsible for discriminating against Americans who try to enter Tibet would be banned from entering the United States.
The administration is obligated to submit the Tibet report which would include the list of Chinese officials responsible for denying entries for US nationals include Tibetan Americans to Tibet on December 19, 2019. However, according to the sources, the report is now a month overdue and it is being suggested that the purpose of the delay could be to ensure the smooth flow of trade deal between the two nations.
China nearly always forbids American journalists, diplomats and citizens from accessing Tibet, even though Chinese citizens are free to travel throughout the US. On the rare occasions when US citizens are allowed into Tibet, they can only travel under the constant monitoring of Chinese authorities. The act is expected to help curtail China’s isolation of Tibet, a historically independent nation that China has occupied for nearly 70 years.
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