Mayank Chhaya Daily

Bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation presents Dalai Lama with a framed copy of Resolve Tibet Act

The Dalai Lama with members of a bipartisan Congressional delegation that met him on June 19 in McLeod Ganj, India. From left, Nicole Malliotakis, Gregory W. Meeks, Nancy Pelosi, the Dalai Lama, Penpa Tsering, Michael McCaul, Jim McGovern, Ami Bera and Marriannette Miller-Meeks. 

Photo: Tenzin Choejor, OHHDL

 

A bipartisan US Congressional delegation met the Dalai Lama in McLeod Ganj, India this morning and presented him with a framed copy of the Resolve Tibet Act.

The Act, which among other things says it is US policy that the dispute between Tibet and China remains unresolved in accordance with international law, is now headed for a signature by President Joe Biden.

The presence of seven bipartisan US Congress members in McLeod Ganj was symbolically significant since it illustrated that Tibet as a longstanding unresolved issue has not been completely forgotten in the din of other major international crises.

The delegation consisted Republican Representatives Michael McCaul (R-TX), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Democratic representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Gregory W Meeks (D-CA) and Ami Bera (D-CA).

The act that pressures China to resume direct negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s envoys or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan people is a significant symbolic win that may not make any tangible impact on Beijing. The Act leans on the Chinese government to resume negotiations which have been stalled since 2010.

Even when the negotiations stalled 14 years ago, Beijing had shown no particular inclination to resolve the Tibetan dispute. In the interregnum, the rise of and dramatic consolidation of power by President Xi Jinping since March 14, 2013, has meant that China’s position on Tibet has become even more entrenched.

In a second vote, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of the Resolve Tibet Act today, June 12, 2024.

There are expectations that the president will sign the act into a law soon.

Its significance comes from the fact that apart from saying that it is US policy that the dispute between Tibet and China remains unresolved in accordance with international law, it calls for a substantive dialogue without conditions between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama or his representatives or the democratically elected leaders of the Tibetan community.

It also empowers the Special Coordinator for Tibet to actively and directly counter disinformation about Tibet from the Chinese government and Communist Party, including working to ensure that US government statements and documents counter disinformation about Tibet.

A key feature of the act is that it ejects as “inaccurate” China’s claims that Tibet has been part of China since “ancient times.”

Notwithstanding its symbolic value, to the extent that the Act keeps the Tibetan issue alive in the consciousness of the international community as well reiterates Washington’s firm commitment to its amicable resolution, it is a remarkable development.

This year marks the 65^th year of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Tibet in 1965 amid threats to his life. Once the act becomes a law after Biden’s signature, it is expected to have at least some salutary effect on the way China deals with Tibet during its interactions with the international community.

The fact that the bipartisan Congressional delegation met the Dalai Lama is also illustrative of how the just re-elected government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would like to keep the Tibetan dispute in its mix of things while dealing with China. Its particular reference to the issue being unresolved in accordance with international law is something that New Delhi will have to work around given the historic sensitivities of the dispute.

Sparrow and Cicada

This is a true story that seemed apocryphal even as it unfolded in front me.

On a windy afternoon in Naperville, with gusts touching 20-plus miles an hour, a sparrow took off from a branch of a maple tree. It had spotted a cicada flying like a whimsical butterfly. Had it been a butterfly, the sparrow may not have bothered considering there is not much body to eat. But a cicada is different. It has a body that is grabbable and protein rich.

It was remarkable how well the cicada was managing to fly in the face of such strong wind. That was until, of course, the sparrow began pursuing it. The dogfight that ensued between the sparrow and the cicada was one of the most captivating scenes that I had witnessed. Their flight was so jerky and unpredictable in defiance of perhaps the whole of aerodynamics. 

The two creatures, one ten times the size of the other, flew in a virtually unplottable flight. I stood there transfixed, yet again marveling at the number of parallel worlds that live by us. For about 40 seconds, I watched the two. I could have waited to see how the chase ended but in my perhaps misplaced respect for the dignity of the tiny prey I walked off.

I do not know whether the cicada is dead or alive. If I were to invoke Schrodinger’s cat meant to underscore the absurdity of quantum mechanics, the cicada could be both dead and alive. I will never know.

There is a broader theme to this story. It is about how utterly self-absorbed us humans are, oblivious to so many parallel worlds right here besides us. Even within its terribly short natural lifespan of cicadas, the one I saw was up against both ferocious wind and a fierce predator. So next time when you fixate over who might become prime minister or president, think about this cicada or any cicada for that matter.