March 1, 2022
Mayor's Office
DATE: March 1, 2022
TO: Members of the City Council
FROM:
Tom Butt, Mayor
Subject:
Tibetan Uprising Day – March 10, 2022
FINANCIAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
N/A
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Tibetan Uprising Day commemorates the 1959 Tibetan
uprising, where tens of thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, against the People’s Republic of China’s illegal invasion, occupation,
suppression of human rights and freedom, and
intentional marginalization of Tibetan language, culture, and identity.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
PROCLAMATION declaring March 10, 2022, as Tibetan
Uprising Day in the City of Richmond – Mayor’s Office
(Mayor Tom Butt 510-620-6503).
AGENDA
REPORT
March 1, 2022
DISCUSSION:
The 2019 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in China published by the United States Department of State asserts, “Significant human rights issues included: forced disappearances; torture; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; censorship and website blocking; substantial interference with the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; severe restrictions on religious freedom; severe restrictions on freedom of movement; and restrictions on political participation.”
In December of 2020, the United States Congress passed, and the President signed into law, the Tibet Policy and Support Act; (1) making it official policy that the Dalai Lama’s succession is strictly a religious issue that only he and his followers can decide on; (2) strengthening the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002; (3) addressing water security and environmental destruction in Tibet; (4) providing humanitarian assistance for Tibetans; and (5) pushing China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan leaders without preconditions.
The City of Richmond is home to the Tibetan Association of Northern California’s community center and serves the third largest Tibetan community in the United States, a vibrant community who has contributed to the diversity of our culture and tradition.
The City of Richmond has long supported the Tibetan people, having welcomed His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he visited the Tibetan Community Center in 2014 and having renamed a part of Huntington Avenue to Dalai Lama Avenue in honor of his 84th birthday. The City of Richmond stands in solidarity with the Tibetan people and their just, peaceful, and non-violent movement to remind the world of the occupation, suppression, and degradation of culture, religion, land, and identity of the Tibetan people by China.
The City of Richmond invites community members to attend the virtual Tibetan flag raising ceremony being held on March 9, 2022, at 10:00 AM to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Tibetan uprising (www.tinyurl.com/CORTUD2022).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proclamation declaring March 10, 2022, as Tibetan Uprising Day in the City of Richmond
PROCLAMATION declaring March 10, 2022, as Tibetan Uprising Day in the City of Richmond – Mayor’s Office (Mayor Tom Butt 510-620-6503).