Washington, DC — The bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) has released its 2024 annual report on the human rights situation in China, Tibet and East Turkestan. The report states that China continues to restrict Tibetans' freedom of religion, education and language, as well arrests and imprisons Tibetans who try to protect them. It also mentions the large-scale arrest of Tibetans in Dege after protesting against the construction of dam.
The bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), has released the Commission’s 2024 Annual Report on human rights conditions and rule of law developments in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on December 20, 2024. The 300-page report covers freedom of expression, civil society and religious freedom, the rule of law in the judicial system, discrimination, social abuse, human trafficking and other issues in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet and East Turkestan.
CECC Chair Smith. “Our Commission and its dedicated staff have compiled a compendium of the worst of the CCP’s human rights abuses, which can stand as a prosecutor’s brief for a future tribunal holding Xi Jinping and his accomplices accountable. Tellingly, we also take to task those Western corporations that are complicit in such abuses, including those who utilize supply chains contaminated by forced labor. Never again will they be able to say, ‘We did not know.’”
“The Chinese government’s assault on human dignity not only affects people in China but also increasingly those around the world, including the United States,” said CECC Co-chair Merkley. “The Congressional-Executive Commission on China has reported on these human rights abuses across borders and inspired legislation such as my Transnational Repression Policy Act. Once again, the Commission has issued a quality product that documents the poor state of human rights and the rule of law in China. When the Chinese government refuses to recognize the aspirations for freedom and dignity of its own people, we are duty-bound to speak out on their behalf. I hope Congress and the incoming Trump Administration will act on the CECC’s recommendations for action.”
The Tibet section, the report covers Status of Negotiations between the Chinese Government and the Dalai Lama or His Representatives, Self-Immolations, Religious Freedom for Tibetans, The Dalai Lama, Hundreds of Tibetans Detained after Protests against Dam Threatening Villages and Monasteries, Continuing Restrictions on Access to Tibetan Areas, Restrictions on the Freedom of Expression and the Free Flow of Information, Language and Cultural Rights,and “Xizang” Replacing Tibet in Official Discourse.
The CECC report states, "The Commission did not observe any interest from People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials in resuming formal negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s representatives, the last round of which, the ninth, was held in January 2010."
"The PRC continued to restrict, and seek to control, the religious practices of Tibetans, the majority of whom practice Tibetan Buddhism. As part of the broader policy of “sinicizing” religion, PRC authorities in Tibetan areas issued prohibitions on forms of religious worship, including during important religious events or around the times of politically sensitive anniversaries, limited access to religious institutions and places of worship, including Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples, and otherwise unduly restricted Tibetans’ freedom of religion and belief. The PRC continued to assert control over the process of selection and recognition of Tibetan Buddhist reincarnated teachers, including the Dalai Lama," the report continues.
"PRC authorities maintained a system of residential boarding schools in Tibetan areas that observers fear could constitute a serious threat to Tibetan society and the intergenerational transmission of culture and language," it added.
The report states, "Large-scale protests broke out in February 2024 in Derge (Dege) county, Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, due to official plans for construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Drichu (Jinsha) River that will submerge at least two villages and six monasteries, one of which, Wontoe Monastery, contains well-preserved 13th-century murals. Security personnel detained approximately 1,000 Tibetans in connection with the protests; many were later released, but local authorities escalated surveillance and monitoring of local communities in the following months."
"In contravention of international human rights standards, officials punished residents of Tibetan areas for exercising protected rights, including the expression of religious belief, expressing criticism of PRC policies, and sharing information online. Notable cases this past year included those of writer Pema, a monk and teacher at Kirti Monastery, who in a lone protest held a portrait of the Dalai Lama and called for the Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and religious freedom for Tibetans; Semkyi Drolma, detained for her participation in discussion groups about Buddhism on the social media platform WeChat, and later sentenced to one year and six months in prison for “leaking state secrets”; and Tenzin Sangpo, a senior monk at Derge’s Wontoe Monastery detained in February 2024 as part of the anti-dam protests," it stated.
