The newly-elected American president Donald Trump has proposed calling a halt to Tibetan assistance from as soon as the start of 2018. The move reverses decades-old American policy of providing aid to the Tibetan community in order to protect their unique identity, and, furthermore, he wants other countries to follow suit.
The State Department sent the detailed proposal to Congress as part of Trump’s initial annual budget, describing the move as necessary after a funding cut itself of more than 20%. It was one of the “tough choices made to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of US taxpayers’ dollars,” one spokesman announced.
The US policy towards Tibet is currently driven by the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002, signed by former President George W Bush. The Act, among other things, includes US government assistance for nongovernment organisations to work in Tibetan communities in Tibet; an educational and cultural exchange programme with “the people of Tibet”; Voice of America and Radio Free Asia Tibetan-language broadcasting into Tibet, and help for Tibetan refugees in South Asia.
Although Tibetan leaders have so far refrained from making any comment on the proposal, the move is likely to resonate ominously with the diaspora. Since 2002, the majority of assistance to the Tibetan community has been congressionally led and over the past two years has accounted for more than a million dollars (£780,000)
American Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has expressed concern over the proposal. She had earlier this month, taken a congressional delegation to Dharamshala to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama and her spokesman said of the aid slashing:
“If the US does not speak out for human rights in China, we lose all moral authority to talk about it elsewhere in the world. That includes critical funding through the State Department for important efforts, like those in support of a genuinely autonomous Tibet, that advance and protect America’s interests in the world,”
Congress is expected to widely oppose the move to abolish the Tibet fund, but this is unlikely to assuage the concerns of the Tibetan people. President of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile Dr Lobsang Sangay, who is currently on a courtesy visit to the USA and has met several members of Congress, said last week that the Chinese regime “is hell bent upon the destruction of Buddhism”. Without aid, there is only so much that can be done to protect this ancient culture.
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