BILL NUMBER: ACR 119	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Blakeslee

                        MARCH 25, 2008

   Relative to Tibet.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 119, as introduced, Blakeslee. Tibet.
   This measure would designate March 10 as "Tibet Day," condemn the
recent activities taken by the People's Republic of China against
Tibet, and urge the People's Republic of China to conform with the
principles of the Olympic Charter, calling for the games of the
Olympics to promote a peaceful society.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In 1951, Tibet was brutally and illegally invaded and
occupied by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which since its
invasion has killed over 1,500,000 Tibetans; destroyed over 6,000
shrines, monasteries, and other religious sites; and arrested monks,
nuns, and other spiritual leaders who are ruthlessly persecuted,
tortured, and killed; and
   WHEREAS, The policies of the People's Republic of China have
sought to absorb Tibet into China through aggressive economic
development activities that are contrary to the wishes of the Tibetan
people and are destructive to the fragile natural environment of
Tibet, and the government has pursued efforts to persecute Tibetans
and import millions of Chinese citizens, resulting in Tibetans being
outnumbered two to one in Lhasa with many Tibetans living in a state
of poverty, and the government has also taken steps to extinguish the
Tibetan language, religion, and culture; and
   WHEREAS, According to the United States Department of State, the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and
international human rights organizations, the government of the
People's Republic of China commits egregious violations of human
rights including the repression of political, civic, and religious
groups such as Tibetan Buddhists, Catholics, Protestants, Falun Gong
practioners, Muslims, democracy advocates, labor organizers, lawyers,
journalists, environmental activists, political dissidents, and
other innocent people; the illegal harvesting of vital body organs
and coercive third-trimester abortions; the perpetuation of slave
labor camps; and the deprivation of basic fundamental freedoms of
expression, assembly, and religious beliefs; and
   WHEREAS, The freedom of expression, assembly, and religious
beliefs are fundamental human rights that belong to all people and
are recognized as such under the United Nations Declaration of Human
Rights and the International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights;
and
   WHEREAS, The United Nations General Assembly passed Resolutions
1353 (XIV), 1723 (XVI), and 2079 (XX) calling for the cessation of
practices that deprive the Tibetan people of their fundamental human
rights and freedoms, including the right to self-determination; and
   WHEREAS, In December 1997, the International Commission of Jurists
reported that "repression in Tibet has steadily increased since the
1994 Third International Forum on work in Tibet" and concluded that
"Tibetans are a 'people under alien subjugation,' entitled under
international law to the right of self-determination"; and
   WHEREAS, The Congress of the United States has enacted legislation
declaring that Tibet is an occupied country and that its true
representatives are His Holiness the 14th Dalai, Tenzin Gyatso, and
the Tibetan government in exile; and
   WHEREAS, Since establishing the Tibetan government-in-exile in
Dharamsala, India in 1960, the Dalai Lama has struggled to aid
Tibetan refugees and preserve the Tibetan language, history,
religion, and culture, while courageously promoting the liberation of
Tibet through peaceful negotiations and reconciliation; and
   WHEREAS, The Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989,
and has received worldwide recognition and praise for his leadership
in seeking nonviolent solutions to international conflicts, human
rights issues, and global environmental problems; and
   WHEREAS, The March 2008, brutal suppression of peaceful dissent in
Tibet, the 49th anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising against
the Chinese occupation of their country, has resulted in scores of
fatalities, the sealing of Tibet's borders, and the exclusion of the
press; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes March 10th as
Tibet Day; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature adds its voice to that of the Dalai
Lama in condemning the recent actions taken by the People's Republic
of China against Tibet as "cultural genocide" and the "rule of
terror"; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges the People's Republic of
China to honor the spirit of the Olympics and conform with the
Olympic Charter, which calls for the games of the Olympics to
represent "respect for universal fundamental ethical principles and
the harmonious development of man, with a view to promoting a
peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity.
Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on
grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or other reason is
inconsistent with membership in the Olympic Movement"; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.