Pelosi ‘hopeful’ Trump will take tough Tibet stance

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Sen. Marco Rubio for secretary of state indicates that his coming administration will continue bipartisan moves to pressure Beijing over its human rights abuses in Tibet, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday.

Speaking after an event on Capitol Hill organized by the International Campaign for Tibet, Pelosi said that she was hopeful Trump would continue the bipartisan tradition of naming a U.S. special coordinator for Tibet, a role mandated by the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002.

“Republicans in Congress certainly have supported that, and the new secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has been a champion on human rights in China,” Pelosi told Radio Free Asia on the event’s sidelines.

Once Trump is inaugurated, Rubio needs to obtain Senate approval before becoming secretary of state.

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There have been seven special coordinators for Tibet since the role was created under the administration of President George W. Bush.

Uzra Zeya, the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy, and human rights, has served in the role since December 2021, when she was appointed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

At the time of her appointment, Rubio, a Republican senator from Florida, wrote a letter to Zeya urging her to prioritize engagements with the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration in exile while in the role, as well as to “demand access” to Tibet.

‘Fundamental rights’

Zeya told Tuesday’s event on Capitol Hill that she was proud that Congress had passed the Resolve Tibet Act, which calls for Beijing to re-engage in talks with the Dalai Lama, while she was in the role.

But she said more had to be done.

“Until a negotiated agreement for meaningful autonomy is reached, there is work to be done, until Tibetans everywhere are able to exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms, there is work to be done,” Zeya said. “Until Tibetans can practice their faith as they wish and speak their language, there is work to be done.”

Earlier, Pelosi was on Monday awarded the “Light of Truth Award” by the International Campaign for Tibet for her role in supporting and amplifying the Tibetan cause. At the ceremony, she called it a “moral duty” to speak out against China’s human rights violations in Tibet.

“If we do not speak out for human rights in China because of commercial interests, we lose all moral authority to speak out for human rights anywhere,” Pelosi said in her speech.

Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey who serves as chairman of the the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, told RFA in an interview last week that he believed Trump would take a tougher stance on Beijing than the Biden administration.

“The new government coming in with President Trump has taken the measure of Xi Jinping,” Smith said, referring to the Chinese president, and adding that he hoped the White House would offer to rescind some planned tariffs on China in exchange for guarantees on rights.

“No real trade unless you reform,” he explained. “Human rights are sacrosanct, and everybody deserves them.”

Edited by Malcolm Foster.