WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump and the U.S. Congress have upped the ante on China, legislating a new policy aimed at challenging Beijing’s efforts, acceded to by Washington for years, to intimidate Tibet and Taiwan in submission.
In the massive spending bill signed into law by President Trump on Sunday night is the Tibet Policy and Support Act (TPSA), which strengthens support for the autonomous conduct of Tibetan affairs and calls for the establishment of a American consulate in Lhasa and Taiwan. Guarantee Law that strengthens military ties with Taiwan.
In the immediate aftermath of China’s massive indoctrination efforts in Tibet, including the establishment of military camps, the TPSA reaffirms the rights of Tibetans to choose a successor to their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, while imposing sanctions on Chinese officials that interfere with the selection.
The TAA supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in United Nations bodies while normalizing regular arms sales and strengthening its defense capabilities.
The provisions spooked Beijing, which has long carried out pogroms aimed at decimating Tibetan culture and religion with impunity in the face of successive US administrations and lawmakers enslaved by China’s economic growth. Trump is the first president to openly denounce the damage China is causing to the US economy, even though it took the coronavirus pandemic to spring into action.
Warning that the US action constituted interference in China’s internal affairs, a Chinese spokesman said in Beijing that “the determination of the Chinese government to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests is unwavering.”
The spokesman also said Washington should not enforce parts of the acts that “target China” to avoid damaging Sino-US relations, a reference to “discretion” – cowardice in the eyes of critics. – that previous US presidents exercised while considering previous legislative provisions as “advisory” so as not to aggravate Beijing.
Although the Tibetan cause – and the Dalai Lama – has the respect and endorsement of Hill, particularly the powerful Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, successive US presidents gradually reduced their support in the face of the growing influence of China. America’s shyness was underlined by President Obama’s decision to demote the venue for his meeting with the Dalai Lama from the Oval Office to the Map Room, from where, according to one account, he was carried out the back door amid heaps of garbage.
The coronavirus pandemic, which Trump insists on calling the “China virus,” has restored Washington’s view on Beijing, and many more lawmakers have taken a hard line on China. Given House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s long-standing ties to the Tibetan cause, the incoming Biden administration is also expected to comply with the new policies outlined in the legislation.
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