The US has issued visa restrictions on some Chinese officials over their role in enabling the forced assimilation of Tibetan children.
US Measures
In a press release on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Department of State is imposing visa restrictions under its Immigration and Nationality Act on Chinese officials “for their involvement in the forcible assimilation of more than one million Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools.”
The notice added that such “coercive policies” sought to “eliminate Tibet’s distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans.”
It urged Beijing “to end the coercion of Tibetan children into government-run boarding schools and to cease repressive assimilation policies, both in Tibet and throughout other parts” of the country. The department also pledged to continue working with allies and partners “to highlight these actions and promote accountability.”
The Biden administration did not identify individuals under visa restrictions due to what it describes as privacy concerns.
Tibetan Reaction
The US’ new restrictions were welcomed by the International Campaign for Tibet, a US-based Tibetan human rights organisation.
“China’s unconscionable separation of Tibetan children from their families cannot be left unchecked. It shows the depths of Beijing’s plan to eliminate the Tibetan way of life and turn Tibetans into loyal followers of the [Chinese Communist Party],” Tencho Gyatso, the organization’s president, said in a statement.
We condemn the PRC’s forcible assimilation of Tibetan children in government-run boarding schools. Today @SecBlinken took action to promote accountability for officials involved in these egregious abuses. https://t.co/pPyNu7jfXm
— Matthew Miller (@StateDeptSpox) August 22, 2023
He added that the boarding school programme “targets the most vulnerable and impressionable minds and is aimed at converting Tibetans into Chinese, cementing the Chinese government’s control over Tibet and annihilating the Tibetan culture and way of life.”
China’s Denials
Beijing said that the latest move “smears” China and “seriously undermines China-US relations”.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, told AFP that the said schools were set up to address the needs of the local population.
“Boarding schools have gradually developed into one of the important modes of running schools in China’s ethnic minority areas, and the centralised way of running schools effectively solves the problem of ethnic minority students’ difficulty in attending school at a distance where the local people live scattered,” he said.
Similarly, in the past, China has vehemently denied such allegations and accused Washington of using the issue as a cover for its containment of Chinese development.
China views Tibet as part of its territory and often takes measures to curb dissent.
The US’ decision comes ahead of a high-profile visit to Beijing by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo next week.