For over six decades, the United States has been one of the staunchest friends of the Tibetan people in their struggle to protect their religion and culture against the repressive policies of the People’s Republic of China. There has always been broad bipartisan agreement that the Tibetan people deserve self-determination, democracy, and the right to religious and cultural freedom.
The aid that the United States has provided to the Tibetans, while miniscule in the scale of US foreign assistance, has played a crucial role. This is why the reductions in foreign assistance and freezing other international support programs, including the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), are already having a severe impact on Tibetan society, both inside Tibet and in exile communities in India and Nepal.
In response, the International Campaign for Tibet has been working around the clock in coordination with the Office of Tibet in Washington, DC, to meet with Congressional and Administration officials—and to remind them about the importance of Tibet and the statutory requirement to help the Tibetan people.
Today, vital programs that Tibetans have long depended on are in jeopardy:
- The elimination of the Tibetan programming offered through Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA), operating under the USAGM, will severely limit the ability of Tibetans living under Chinese occupation to receive factual information. These programs have been a source of hope and truth-based news and information about the US and the world. Sadly, Chinese state media is “gloating” about these cuts, according to The New York Times and numerous news channels.
- Radio Free Asia and Voice of America also provide accurate, in-depth reporting on the situation in Tibet. Their work is cited. No other media organization can replicate their level of expertise and contacts inside Tibet; without RFA & VOA, this reporting will not exist.
- Tibet programs bolster the capacity of the Central Tibetan Administration, which provides democratic governance for Tibetans in exile, serves as a powerful counterpoint to Chinese Communist Party repression, preserves Tibetan religion and culture, and provides basic services to Tibetan refugee communities in India and Nepal.
- America’s support to Tibetans fits into national security interests. Its stoppage will erode a successful investment that is combating China’s malign influence and its further ambitions throughout the world, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
- The stability of Tibet directly impacts US interests. Tibet is the source of Asia’s major rivers, sustaining the lives of 1.8 billion people in downstream nations. China’s dams and other infrastructure expansion threaten broad swaths of South and Southeast Asia, the livelihoods of communities there, and by extension, US economic and trade relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
It is vitally important to remember that the removal of support for these programs will empower the CCP and does not serve US interests. At the same time, it will be a crushing blow for the morale of the Tibetan people, who have been on the frontlines of resisting CCP oppression.
We have shared an official statement on our website, and we will aim to keep our community of compassion informed, including about ways to restore this vital assistance to Tibetans.
We at the International Campaign for Tibet are committed to using every tool available to ensure the continuation of programs that help Tibet and the Tibetan people.
