On Tuesday, the Biden administration restricted the entry of Chinese officials whom it blamed for the forced integration of over a million Tibetan youngsters attending state-run schools. Beijing will certainly respond negatively to the move before Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo’s high-profile visit next week, which is seen as critically crucial by both the United States and China in order to resolve the difficult but necessary economic relationship between the two nations. According to a statement released by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States imposed the visa restrictions because the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is using “coercive policies” against the Tibetan population in an effort to eradicate “Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans.” In the statement, the secretary urged the PRC government to stop forcing Tibetan students into boarding schools administered by the central government and to abandon oppressive assimilation efforts in Tibet and elsewhere in the country. To bring attention to these measures and encourage responsibility, we will keep working with our friends and partners. For reasons of “privacy,” the State Department does not publicly disclose the names of those whose visa applications were denied. In its 2022 Country Report on Human Rights, the United States described the situation in Tibet as “significant human rights issues,” citing the PRC’s occupation of the Tibetan area. According to the study, the government has committed violations including as extrajudicial murders, arbitrary detentions, torture, transnational persecution, and severe limitations on religious freedom. Beijing considers Tibet to be an integral part of China and often objects when the United States imposes sanctions over human rights concerns, claiming that the measures violate China’s sovereignty. The International Campaign for Tibet, a U.S.-based Tibetan human rights group, still applauded the visa restrictions. It is unacceptable that Tibetan children in China are being taken away from their families. The head of the group, Tencho Gyatso, stated in a statement that this “shows the depths of Beijing’s plan to eliminate the Tibetan way of life and turn Tibetans into loyal followers of the CCP.” “Tibetan culture, based on peace and compassion, has value to offer the whole world,” the Dalai Lama has said on several occasions. This boarding school initiative is designed to transform Tibetans into Chinese, strengthen the Chinese government’s grip over Tibet, and eradicate the Tibetan way of life through indoctrinating the young.
U.S. restricts visas for Chinese officials over human rights violations in Tibet.
