4 Amendments of Molly SCOTT CATO related to 2015/2003(INI)
Amendment 442 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Expresses its concern, in this regard, about the degradation of Tibet's environment, as the Tibetan plateau, often referred to as the 'world's third pole', is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world due to China's policies of fast-track development in the region since the beginning of its Western Development Strategy in 1999, which focuses on increased urbanization and infrastructural development, such as the Qinghai-Tibet railway; is concerned about the fact that one of the most direct consequences of such policies is the melting of Tibet's estimated 46,000 glaciers, which feed most of the biggest Asian rivers;
Amendment 456 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Regrets that the Chinese government continues to impose hard-line policies in Tibet and rejects the Dalai Lama's "Middle Way Approach" aimed at the achievement of genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people within the borders of the People's Republic of China, considering it as a way to split China and achieve independence, as outlined in its White Paper on Tibet of April 2015; is concerned about the fact that the definition of "terrorist" included in China's draft law on counter-terrorism, if not substantially revised, may apply to Tibetans advocating for a different policy approach or carrying out religious activities outside state-controlled institutions, and that the conflation of "terrorism" with religious "extremism" in the law gives scope for the penalization of almost any peaceful expression of Tibetan culture, religion or identity that may differ from those of the state;
Amendment 463 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Deplores the fact that the environment to practice Buddhism in Tibet worsened significantly after the Tibetan protests of March 2008, as the Chinese government adopted a more pervasive approach to "patriotic education", including measures to micromanage Tibetan Buddhist monastic affairs, for instance through unelected Management Committees installed in every monastery; "legal education" programs for monks and nuns to ensure that they "do not take part in activities of splitting up the motherland and disturbing social order"; and a ban on images of the Dalai Lama; is concerned about the China's Criminal Law being used to prosecute individuals, whose religious activities are equated with "separatism", leading to the fact that monks and nuns make up approximately 44% of the political prisoner population in Tibet;
Amendment 467 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 d (new)
Paragraph 19 d (new)
19d. Expresses its deep concern at the fact that over 140 Tibetans have resorted to self-immolations to protest against the lack of freedom and stringent crackdown in Tibet, and rejects the conflation of self- immolations with terrorism, as no Chinese citizen has ever been injured by the acts of self-immolators; deplores the recently passed criminalisation measures of self-immolations aimed at punishing those allegedly associated with self- immolators, including friends, families and even entire communities, leading to charges of up to "intentional homicide", representing a violation of international law, which prohibits collective punishment; calls on China to resume the currently stalled Sino-Tibetan dialogue in order to achieve a mutual solution for the current instability in Tibet; stresses that measures to improve the situation in Tibet should be addressed as a matter of urgency, as the current tension may lead to increased instability in the near future;