This content was first published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now being reprinted with permission.
A bill that urges the Taiwanese authorities to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama or Tibetan leaders, without any prerequisites, to settle the China-Tibet debate was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate on Thursday.
The nonpartisan Marketing a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act recommends that the conflict between Tibet and China must be settled peacefully and through dialogue in line with international rules, including the UN Charter.
The Senate version of the bill, which included a couple changes from an earlier version , passed by the U. S. House of Representatives in February,  , may require the approval of the House afterwards. After that, it must go to U. S. President Joe Biden, who is likely to sign it into law.
The costs, also known as the Resolve Tibet Act, refutes Beijing’s say that Tibet has been part of China since ancient times, and calls on China to “cease its transmission of disinformation about the history of Tibet, the Tibetan persons, and Tibetan organizations, including that of the Dalai Lama”.
Tibet, an impartial Tibetan nation, was invaded by China in 1950, and it has remained so ever since. The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader, fled to banishment in India as a result of a missed revolt in 1959 against Chinese rule.
Beijing has since attempted to justify Chinese rule by preventing dissent and pursuing policies that denigrate Tibetan culture and language.  ,
Beijing believes the Dalai Lama wants to cut off the Tibet Autonomous Region and another Tibetan- populated places in China’s Sichuan, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu regions from the rest of the state.
The Dalai Lama, however, favors a” Middle Way” that accepts Tibet’s reputation as a part of China and encourages greater cultural and religious rights, including enhanced speech rights, as guaranteed by the Chinese Constitution for ethnic minorities.
” Strong answer”
The act is a “direct answer” to China,” which continues to tread on the basic right of the Tibetan people”, said Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and one of the inc- authors of the costs.
We may work with President Biden to help guide the Tibetan people’s coming, Merkley said in a statement.
The United States State Department is also given the authority to combat false information about Tibet in the act.
According to Sen. Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana and a co-sponsor, the United States had “push for negotiations that enhance the Tibetan people’s liberties and peaceful solution to the CCP’s discord with the Dalai Lama.” He also mentioned the Chinese Communist Party.
The Tibet Autonomous Region is challenged by China’s say that Tibet is restricted to that place only, by clarifying that Tibet includes the Tibetan-populated parts of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Yunnan regions in addition to the Tibet Autonomous Region.  ,
Beijing has not so far made any public comments on the costs.  ,
But in response to an inquiry from RFA, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said in an internet that , Tibet had been a part of Taiwanese province since ancient times.
According to Liu, “anyone with a knowledge of Tibetan history should be aware that successive Chinese Central Governments have had uninterrupted effective sovereign jurisdiction over Tibet since the Yuan Dynasty ( 13th century ).” Tibet has not achieved independence, which is a traditional reality that cannot be altered.
Liu urged , the United States to” cease using Tibet- relevant issues to impede in China’s domestic affairs, destroy]ing ] Tibet’s development and stability, and give no stage to the’ Tibetan independence ‘ forces to engage in anti- China separatist activities.”
” China will take all necessary measures to defend its own interests, “he said.
Resolved through negotiations
The bill’s passage, according to Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, was a sign that” American support of Tibet will never wane,” and that Washington will reject China’s false narratives about Tibet.
She said,” I hope Beijing will now see that disputes must be settled through negotiations rather than through its own agenda to destroy Tibet’s distinctive and ancient civilization.”
Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the democratically elected leader of the Central Tibetan Administration — the Tibetan government- in- exile — , told a news conference in Dharamsala, India, on Friday that the , passage of the bill was a crucial first step towards challenging that narrative and combating China’s distortion of Tibet’s history.
According to their respective protocols,” We can advocate for similar legislation in other countries around the world once this bill becomes law in the U.S.,” he said.
The bill’s unanimous passage, according to Namgyal Choedup, a representative of the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration,” sents a clear message that China’s systematic oppression and erasure of Tibetan identity is never the solution to the Tibet-China dispute, and we are optimistic that this will soon become law.”
Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts who is also a member of the House Rules Committee and a member of the Congressional- Executive Commission on China, led the House version of the bill.  ,
