Transcript of Pelosi Remarks at the 8th World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet

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Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined Tibetan leaders for the 8th World Parliamentarians' Convention on Tibet to reaffirm the United States' commitment to the Tibetan people. Below are the Speaker's remarks:

Speaker Pelosi. Good morning, everyone. It is such a great honor, as Speaker of the House, to welcome you to the Capitol, to our campus here. So many visitors from so many countries, so many members of Parliament, such a show of power and respect for what His Holiness told us. Tibet is about truth. It's about science, love and compassion – to have peace. Weren't we just warmed by his beautiful, beautiful words? As always. For our newcomers here, it is my honor to be with Richard – well, I'll acknowledge some of the others who are here, but to be here with the speaker and the Speaker, that is a special treat for me.

[Laughter]

As – and I thank you for your kind words and your friendship over the years. When I first came to Congress, in my very first year, I had the privilege – now that was 35 years ago – I had the privilege of meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama. I couldn't even believe it, because it was such an honor, such a thrill. And my colleague Tom Lantos, who's been a friend of the cause, now in Heaven, but nonetheless then brought us together. And His Holiness told us about his, his agenda for autonomy. He told us about respecting the environment, and we were all thrilled to know that he was the first person who ever received the Nobel Prize, who had nature and environment in the testimonial about him. So for so many reasons, it is more than an honor. It's a privilege to have been associated with the cause of Tibet. Its autonomy, as we – as His Holiness discussed as well as what it does in terms of love, compassion, peace and truth.

As Speaker, again, it's my privilege to welcome such distinguished leaders here and friends of Tibet, to the 8th World Parliamentarians' Convention on Tibet. And it's special for us because the meeting is now in the United States once again. Today, we gather to reaffirm our nation's shared commitment to the Tibetan people, wherever they are – and that is unwavering. Again, it is a special treat to hear from my dear friend, our dear friend, someone we admire on a pedestal, a great man: His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. And I salute the courageous Tibetan leaders who've traveled here together. Sikyong Penpa Tsering, where are – now here we are. Thank you so much, former speaker of the Parliament. And now in such an exalted position. The speaker, whom we've heard from. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for being with us. Members of the Tibetan Parliament who are here, members of the Tibetan Parliament, welcome. And thank you to the dedicated leaders participating in this meeting, including Richard Gere, the Board Chair of the International Campaign for Tibet. Thank you, Richard, for being such a magnet for support for the issue of Tibet and truth and love and compassion, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Richard has used not only his celebrity, but his commitment, his attachment, his authenticity on the issue of Tibet to draw so many more people in support of the cause. Thank you, Richard Gere.

[Applause]

And we have representatives of the NED, the National Endowment for Democracy. Damon Wilson is here, thank you. And Carl, thank you, Carl, for being with us, the former head – and again, parliamentarians from fifteen countries. Give yourselves an applause for coming here. Fifteen countries.

[Applause]

So we'll talk about our purpose. For decades, the Chinese government has waged a dangerous assault on human rights in Tibet. In just one of the many shocking examples, 27 years ago, the CCP abducted the eleventh Panchen Lama. This issue symbolizes the plight of the Tibetan people. The Chinese government has clearly shown that it has no regard for Tibetan autonomy or identity or faith. This aggression has not only accelerated in recent years, with new actions to impose mandatory political education, cruelly restrict religious freedom, expand its mass surveillance regime and further close off Tibet to global visitors.

I wanted to see Lhasa with my – well, one time when the President of China was here – Dianne Feinstein, Senator Dianne Feinstein, who has been a champion on the Tibetan issue – and there are many as was mentioned. This has been bipartisan – both parties, bicameral, both houses of Congress. But Dianne has been a special – she and her husband Richard Blum, who's in Heaven – both such supporters of Tibet. Well, the two of us – I don't know if the word ‘confronted' is quite the right word, but we brought up the –

Richard Gere. Broached.

Speaker Pelosi. Broached, broached. Richard, the diplomat ever. Broached the subject of Tibet with President Xi. And he was telling me how great things were there. ‘Great, great things are there. Go see for yourself.' I said, ‘Well, I would like to, but for 25 years, I have been denied a visa to go to Tibet.' So what could he do but give us a visa to go, and we saw with our own eyes what was happening there like the Potemkin village and to see – in addition to seeing the faces of the people on Barkhor Street, we had three particular requests: Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace and Sera Monastery.

It was very hard. We had to negotiate to go see these places. But in order to see what was on our list, the – they had an agenda as well. They showed us their Potemkin village, where people clearly towed the party line. They demanded that we visit their museum containing false history about Tibet. False history about – between – the relationship between China and Tibet was so self-evident, I almost felt sorry for them. But we took pictures of it all. Reva Price, who is here with me, from our staff, who has been such a connection to this – she took a lot of the pictures that – when we were in Tibet.

And while our host bragged about how they were gilding the roof of the temple, they were gilding the roof of the temple. We said we're not interested in gilding the roof of the temple. We're interested in what's in the minds of the children. In the minds of the children.

You almost just think, what are they thinking? They invite us to review a typical Tibetan home. Would you think that a Tibetan – a typical Tibetan home would have in the living room a picture the size of that part of a wall – of President Xi? But it did.

And the family that we met had pictures of their children around. And they said that their daughter, who was the mother of the children, would be back shortly. So when she came – they were in different rooms – this is what we said: ‘Well, how are the children?' She said: ‘What children?'

The whole thing was a complete fraud, a total fraud. They couldn't even verse themselves in what they were supposed to say. But it was – it was heartbreaking for what it meant to the Tibetan people.

The world has a moral duty to speak out with one voice against Beijing's abuses and stand up for the Tibetan people. That is why this forum is crucial, bringing together leaders of parliaments from all over the world to advance real autonomy for Tibet. And Richard, we in parliaments think our role is very, very important in all of this. It's such a thrill to see Tibetan – excuse me – Parliamentarians from fifteen countries. Secretary Blinken made clear in his landmark address articulating U.S. policy toward China that strengthened, energized, multinational coalitions, like this one, will be central to this effort. Know our power. Power of us working together.

Specifically to Tibet, and I was listening very carefully to what he had to say, he said there's another air of alignment we share with our allies and partners: human rights. We stand together on Tibet, where the authorities continue to wage a brutal campaign against Tibetans and their culture, language and religious traditions. As His Holiness indicated in his comments, we were very proud that in his speech on U.S.-China relations and how we go forward, that this was a priority.

One of the major challenges we face as we gather to address – is the need for a consistent, unified message on the history of Tibet. In this museum, this fake museum – this museum of fake things in Tibet, they had that Tibet had always been part of China, which is not true. But that was their story, and they were sticking with it. But the fact is, if we're talking, as His Holiness is, about autonomy, there has to be a recognition. We saw one place – the – a gift that Mao Zedong gave to the Dalai Lama, a gift that was an appropriate gift from one head of state to another head of state in the 1950s. So, clear recognition.

At the heart of their sinister campaign against Tibet, or its attempts, again, to write – rewrite history, as I said, as if Tibet has always been a part of China, I mentioned that. Indeed, many of us saw this firsthand. And we know the truth. We know we cannot allow the government of China to weaponize this false narrative as a means to deny Tibetans the right to fully embrace, again, their faith, their culture, their heritage. At the same time, it is essential that we put diplomacy at the center of our strategy for resolving the legal status of Tibet. His Holiness would agree.

He's nicer than I am. I'll tell you a story about that.

As we know, it's been twelve years since the Chinese government has been willing to engage with Tibet. And since we have been intent – and they've been intensifying crackdowns. His Holiness teaches us that engaging in constructive dialogue with the CCP is central to his Middle Way Approach. And doing so with clarity and honesty will encourage the government of China to be more responsible global citizens. I hope so. I hope so.

So the question we must answer at this convention is, how will we disrupt the status quo and restart this engagement?

I hope His Holiness is right, that it's going to encourage the government of China to be [a] more responsible global citizen, but that – you hear his approach. These actions build on Congress's long-standing bipartisan, bicameral tradition of supporting theTibetan people. From the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002 to theReciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018 and the strengthened Tibet Policy and Support of 2020.

This legislation speaks clearly to the CCP, making clear, among other things, it may not interfere in the Dalai Lama's reincarnation. Indeed, this must be left exclusively to His Holiness and the Tibetan people. With great pride, the Congress is taking new action to do that. Chairman Jim McGovern – who will be part of our hospitality here, is a longtime champion of human rights – plans to introduce the – promoting a resolution to the Tibet China Conflict Act. This new edition – bold, bipartisan legislation – would state clearly the history of Tibet and encourage a peaceful resolution to the ultimate status of Tibet. And of course, this is about reincarnation as well.

Tomorrow, at 9 a.m., under Chair McGovern's leadership, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China will hold a hearing titled Tibet: barrier to see – a to – Tibet: Barriers to Settling an Unresolved Conflict. Many of you will be there. He wants to have – he's the Chairman of the Rules Committee. That's a very big deal in the Congress. And he wants to have it in the Rules Committee Room. It's smaller than this room.

So in any event, there's going to be many things to do. Some of you may want to be in that room or take turns or whatever. There are other rooms we could have been in, but he wants you all to be in the – the Rules Committee Room, and that's a big honor for all of us.

Those of us fortunate enough to travel to Dharamsala saw first-hand the aspirations of the Tibetan people on more than one occasion. Especially to see the eyes of the Tibetan children. Is anything more thrilling to anyone who's been to Dharamsala [than]to go to where the children are? Imagine the sacrifice of their families. Tibetan children, but in order to have the Tibetan culture, language, education, all of it, their children are in India.

It's [dis]heartening to see that not only Tibetan autonomy, but also its sacred religion, vibrant culture and the beautiful language are all a threat to – by the CCP. Proudly, the United States remains fully committed to honoring the hopes and dreams of the Tibetan people, helping advance a future of freedom, peace and self-determination.

I want to tell you a little story – Richard's heard it, so forgive me, Richard. Before I do though, I want to say: make no mistake, the Chinese government's attempt to erase Tibetan history and way of life is an appalling violation of human rights. If we do not speak out against human rights abuses in China because of commercial ties, we lose all moral authority to speak out against humans rights, anywhere.

Now, I said this once in Dharamsala. We were there, in the morning, His Holiness had received people coming over the Himalayan Mountains into – visit him. Grasping his garment, kissing his garment, crying and crying, talking about what they saw in Tibet. The brutality in the prison. Oh it was horrible, I never – it was historic to see first-hand testimony to the brutality of the Chinese government to the Tibetan people. Fresh over the mountain to testify to His Holiness about this, and he had me sit right next to him to hear all this. So later at lunch – he had a luncheon for all of the – we had a bipartisan delegation with us, bipartisan, who was going to help with visas, who was going to help with appropriations, was going to help with one thing and another, which were part of our agenda. And they made commitments publicly to the crowd there.

But after lunch, he had a room about this size, about this many people, maybe more – lamas, young lamas, from all over the area. And then he had for us – them to meet our delegation. He introduced me to speak for the delegation. And in the course of my remarks, I said: if we do not speak out against human rights in China because of commercial ties, we lose all moral authority to speak out [on] human rights anyplace in the world – just as I said before. I'm finished, sit down, His Holiness gets up and says to the lamas: now, let us all pray for Nancy to rid her of her negative attitudes.

[Laughter]

That's our guy. He's so beautiful. Peace, love, compassion. My negative attitude? I don't know if the prayers have workedyet. I'm not sure.

[Laughter]

Right now, the future of the Tibetan people is on the line. Together, we must continue to stand with them. There are roles for all of us to play. On behalf of the Congress, thank you all for your partnership, and best wishes for a productive conference. I do want to say that I'm so honored that so many parliamentarians are here recognizing our role. So let's not consider this a meeting, but the beginning of a conversation that we will have together on the ongoing.

Thank you for the honor for me to participate.

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