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.