{"id":12746,"date":"2022-03-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/nieuws\/biden-administration-tibet-access-report-says-china-systematically-impeded-travel\/"},"modified":"2022-03-17T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T23:00:00","slug":"biden-administration-tibet-access-report-says-china-systematically-impeded-travel","status":"publish","type":"nieuws","link":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/biden-administration-tibet-access-report-says-china-systematically-impeded-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden administration Tibet access report says China \u2018systematically impeded\u2019 travel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Chinese government \u201csystematically impeded\u201d travel to Tibetan areas by US diplomats, journalists and tourists in 2021, the State Department says in a new report mandated by a law that pushes for US access to Tibet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis report shows how far China is going to hide the truth about its horrific human rights violations in Tibet,\u201d<\/em> said Franz Matzner, government relations director of the International Campaign for Tibet. \u201cFacts are stubborn things, though, and the global community must not let the People\u2019s Republic of China conceal its cruelty and agenda of domination against the Tibetan people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Department submitted the report to Congress yesterday, 16 March 2022. It is the fourth annual report on access to Tibet under the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, a law that Congress passed in 2018 to confront China\u2019s unfair policy of denying Americans entry to Tibet even though Chinese citizens are free to travel throughout the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of the law\u2019s implementation, the State Department has denied entry to the US by the Chinese officials responsible for keeping Americans out of Tibet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new report says China maintained strong restrictions on access last year, sometimes using COVID-19 as a pretext.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe PRC authorities systematically impeded travel to the TAR and to many Tibetan areas outside the TAR for U.S. diplomats and officials, journalists, and tourists in 2021,\u201d the report says, referring to the Tibet Autonomous Region, which spans about half of Tibet. The TAR is the only area under Chinese rule that foreign citizens must receive special permission to enter, although such permission is rarely granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report arrives just weeks after the watchdog group Freedom House declared Tibet the least-free country on Earth<\/a> in a tie with South Sudan and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chinese government has illegally occupied Tibet for over 60 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act was designed to end China\u2019s practice of restricting access to the \u2018Land of Snows,\u2019\u201d<\/em> Matzner added. \u201cIf China remains unwilling to let the world see what it\u2019s doing in Tibet, the State Department should consider naming names in future reports so that everyone can see who is responsible for these policies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report findings<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Among the findings in this report are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n