119-s288

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 288 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 288

 To support and promote the human rights of Southern Mongolians in the 
 People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 January 29, 2025

 Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign 
 Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To support and promote the human rights of Southern Mongolians in the 
 People's Republic of China, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Southern Mongolian Human Rights 
Policy Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

 Congress makes the following findings:

    (1) According to the China Statistical Yearbook for 2021, 
 more than 6,000,000 ethnic Mongolians live in the People's 
 Republic of China, of which some two-thirds live in the Inner 
 Mongolia Autonomous Region, and many others in three 
 prefectures and eight counties designated as autonomous for 
 Mongolians by the Government of the People's Republic of China.

    (2) Over the centuries, successive central Chinese 
 governments have promoted the migration of Chinese people into 
 the area currently administered as the Inner Mongolia 
 Autonomous Region, and today only about 18 percent of the 
 population of the Region is counted as ethnically Mongolian.

    (3) In 2020, officials in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous 
 Region announced a new policy to effectively replace Mongolian 
 as the principal language of instruction with Chinese, in the 
 subjects of history, politics, and literature, and shut down 
 Bainu, the only Mongolian-language-based social media website 
 based in the country. Beginning in September 2023, schools 
 across the region largely removed Mongolian-language 
 instruction from elementary and secondary schools throughout 
 the region. Reports indicate that high school and college 
 entrance exams will be conducted in Chinese exclusively 
 starting in 2025 and 2028, respectively. The People's Republic 
 of China authorities have banned Mongolian language books from 
 bookstores and removed signs in the unique, vertically-written 
 Mongolian script from schools, buildings, streets, and parks.

    (4) The People's Republic of China officials launched 
 ``patriotic education'' campaigns at schools and universities 
 throughout the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, designed to 
 suppress manifestations of Mongolian identity in favor of the 
 common Chinese national identity'' and encourage ``all ethnic 
 groups to accept the great mother country, Chinese nationality, 
 Chinese culture, [and the] Chinese Communist Party.'' In 
 response to the new education policy, tens of thousands of 
 Southern Mongolians in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 
 launched protests, in which some 300,000 Southern Mongolian 
 students boycotted school and teachers went on strike, and some 
 individuals reportedly committed suicide in protest. Security 
 authorities responded harshly by arresting, beating, detaining, 
 jailing, and placing under home confinement some estimated 
 8,000 to 10,000 Southern Mongolians.

    (5) Chinese authorities now fully control all activities of 
 the Chinggis Khan Mausoleum in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous 
 Region, including the schedule, scale, and ticketing of ritual 
 ceremonies and approval and monitoring of gatherings, denying 
 Southern Mongolians the ability to carry out traditional 
 rituals and observances free of government interference and 
 profiteering. This has broken an eight-century-long memorial 
 tradition at the site, which has served as an historical and 
 cultural representation of the Mongolian identity.

    (6) The People's Republic of China policies have undermined 
 the religious heritage of Southern Mongolians, many of whom 
 follow Tibetan Buddhism, including through the destruction of 
 monasteries and temples during the Cultural Revolution, and 
 interference in the ability to choose their own religious 
 leaders. Restrictions on travel and freedom of religion or 
 belief inhibit the ability of Southern Mongolians to affiliate, 
 engage, and communicate with Mongol communities around the 
 world, especially those with cultural, linguistic and religious 
 links to people in the country of Mongolia and the Buryatia, 
 Kamykia, and Tuvan regions of the Russian Federation, resulting 
 in a diminution of their common cultural heritage.

    (7) The People's Republic of China policies have 
 effectively ended the traditional Southern Mongolian economic 
 livelihood of pastoralism, a key marker of Mongol identity, by 
 forcibly resettling more than 246,000 nomadic households to 
 urban and agricultural areas where Mandarin language and 
 Chinese cultural elements dominate. These policies have cut off 
 Southern Mongolians from their ancestral lands and increased 
 their economic dependence on the state, eroding their social 
 cohesion. This has led to severe social and psychological 
 impacts, including mental illness and economic deprivation.

    (8) The environment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region 
 has degraded under the People's Republic of China policies that 
 have removed nomads, ending traditional stewardship of grazing 
 lands, and exploited natural resources through mining and heavy 
 industry without sufficient stakeholder input from local 
 inhabitants, resulting in air and water pollution and severe 
 health problems among local Southern Mongolians. Bayan Obo, the 
 largest rare earth mine in the world, is the source of toxic 
 waste, including radioactive thorium that has been seeping into 
 groundwater.

    (9) Southern Mongolian dissidents, activists, writers, 
 bloggers, lawyers, and their family members who have attempted 
 to exercise their freedom of expression and defend their legal 
 rights have been detained, arrested, imprisoned, and placed 
 under home confinement by the People's Republic of China 
 authorities. Activist Yanjindulam remains under home 
 confinement after being released from prison, artist Ashidaa is 
 still under home confinement, lawyer Huhbulag has been detained 
 multiple times, and dissident Almaz has been frequently 
 harassed and detained by the authorities.

    (10) Authorities detained rights activist Hada, who 
 promoted self-determination and democracy for Southern 
 Mongolians, in 1995 and sentenced him to 15 years in 1996. He 
 was held without legal basis for an additional four years 
 following the expiration of his sentence. Hada was subsequently 
 placed under home confinement until his disappearance in 
 September 2020. In 2011, Hada's wife Xinna, an outspoken critic 
 of human rights violations in Southern Mongolia, was arrested 
 before being sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for 
 five years. Their son Uiles was sentenced at the age of 17 to 
 two years in prison on the basis of multiple fabricated 
 charges. The family's welfare and whereabouts have been unknown 
 since September 2020.

    (11) Chinese authorities have subjected Southern Mongolians 
 to transnational repression. Since 2009, at least five Southern 
 Mongolian dissidents in exile have been forcibly returned to 
 China, including from Mongolia. On May 3, 2023, Chinese police 
 officers detained Lhamjab Borjigin, a long-time dissident 
 writer and historian, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and forcibly 
 returned him to China on the same day. Lhamjab Borjigin had 
 escaped from home confinement on March 6, 2023, after he was 
 sentenced to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for 
 writing a book entitled ``China's Cultural Revolution''.

    (12) The Congressional-Executive Commission on China 
 reported that ``[d]uring the Commission's 2023 reporting year, 
 Chinese Communist Party and government authorities implemented 
 policies that limited the freedom of ethnic minority groups to 
 express their cultural and religious identities in 
 contravention of the PRC Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law and 
 international human rights treaties, including the 
 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights''.

    (13) The Government of the People's Republic of China's 
 policies have undermined the ability of Southern Mongolians to 
 exercise their rights under international law to safeguard and 
 develop their own language, culture, religion or belief, and 
 economic livelihoods, as part of a deliberate effort to erase 
 their distinct Mongolian culture and Sinicize the Southern 
 Mongolian people.

SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

 It is the policy of the United States--

    (1) to support and promote human rights of Southern 
 Mongolians in the People's Republic of China, including the 
 fundamental freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and 
 religion or belief, and rights related to arbitrary detention, 
 discrimination, and other abuses;

    (2) to support the aspirations of the Southern Mongolian 
 people to safeguard their cultural and linguistic heritage, 
 including the ability to use and promote their own spoken and 
 written language, and protect their traditional pastoralist way 
 of life that they have maintained for thousands of years; and

    (3) to press the Government of the People's Republic of 
 China to allow the Southern Mongolian people the ability to 
 enjoy autonomy promised them.

SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

 It is the sense of Congress that--

    (1) the United States supports the liberty and legitimate 
 aspirations of the Southern Mongolian people to safeguard their 
 cultural and linguistic heritage and practice their traditional 
 way of life without threat of forced assimilation policies of 
 the Government of the People's Republic of China and the 
 Chinese Communist Party;

    (2) the President should--
        (A) condemn human rights abuses against Southern 
 Mongolians by authorities of the People's Republic of 
 China; and
        (B) call on such authorities to allow Southern 
 Mongolians the ability to exercise the autonomy 
 guaranteed by the People's Republic of China, including 
 to conduct their affairs and receive education in their 
 own spoken and written language;

    (3) the Secretary of State should--
        (A) work with United States allies and partners and 
 through multilateral institutions to advocate for the 
 human rights of Southern Mongolians;
        (B) urge the United Nations Human Rights Council to 
 prioritize assessment of the human rights of Southern 
 Mongolians in its reviews of the People's Republic of 
 China compliance with international human rights law, 
 including through the Universal Periodic Review 
 process, and to request travel by United Nations 
 officials to assess conditions of Southern Mongolians 
 in the People's Republic of China;
            (C) promote the right of Southern Mongolians to 
 protect their spoken and written language;
            (D) promote the freedom of religion or belief of 
 Southern Mongolians;
        (E) work with the United Nations Educational, 
 Scientific and Cultural Organization

    (UNESCO) to 
 identify and protect world heritage sites in areas of 
 traditional Mongolian culture in the People's Republic 
 of China; and
        (F) coordinate closely with the international 
 community on targeted sanctions and visa restrictions;

    (4) the United States companies and individuals operating 
 in areas designated as autonomous for Mongolians in the 
 People's Republic of China should take steps to ensure that 
 their commercial activities do not contribute to human rights 
 violations, undermine the autonomous rights of Southern 
 Mongolians, or contribute to the environmental degradation or 
 resettlement of nomads in those areas; and

    (5) the United States Ambassador to the People's Republic 
 of China should expeditiously seek to meet with Hada and his 
 family members, as well as other Southern Mongolian dissidents, 
 activists, writers, and lawyers who are either in prison or 
 under detention or home confinement.

SEC. 5. DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR MATTERS.

    (a) Inner Mongolia Section in United States Embassy in Beijing, 
China.--

    (1) In general.--The Secretary of State should consider 
 establishing an Inner Mongolian team within the United States 
 Embassy in Beijing, China, to follow political, economic, and 
 social developments in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and 
 other areas designated by the People's Republic of China as 
 autonomous for Mongolians, with due consideration given to 
 hiring Southern Mongolians as Locally Employed Staff.

    (2) Responsibilities.--Responsibilities of a team devoted 
 to Inner Mongolia should include reporting on human rights 
 issues and access to areas designated as autonomous for 
 Mongolians by United States Government officials, journalists, 
 nongovernmental organizations, and the Southern Mongolian 
 diaspora.

    (3) Language requirements.--The Secretary of State should 
 ensure that the Department of State has sufficient proficiency 
 in Mongolian language in order to carry out paragraph

    (1) , and 
 that the United States Embassy in Beijing, China, has 
 sufficient resources to hire Local Employed Staff proficient in 
 the Mongolian language, as appropriate.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the 
staffing described in subsection

    (a) .

SEC. 6. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

    (a) Human Rights Reports.--The Ambassador at Large for 
International Religious Freedom shall, consistent with the duties under 
sections 101
            (c) and 102

    (a) of the International Religious Freedom Act 
of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411
            (c) , 6412

    (a) ), assist the Secretary of State to 
assess the impact of the restrictions on Tibetan Buddhism by the 
Government of the People's Republic of China on the religious freedom 
of--

    (1) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in the People's 
 Republic of China who are not Tibetan; and

    (2) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism outside the People's 
 Republic of China, including their ability to travel to and 
 share information with practitioners inside the People's 
 Republic of China.

    (b) Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.--The 
Secretary of State, with the assistance of the Ambassador at Large for 
International Religious Freedom, shall ensure that the report required 
under sections 101
            (c) and 102

    (b) of the International Religious Freedom 
Act of 1998 (22 U.S.C. 6411
            (c) , 6412

    (b) ) assesses, as appropriate, the 
impact of the restrictions on Tibetan Buddhism by the Government of the 
People's Republic of China on the religious freedom of --

    (1) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism in the People's 
 Republic of China who are not Tibetan; and

    (2) practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism outside the People's 
 Republic of China, including their ability to travel to and 
 share information with practitioners inside the People's 
 Republic of China.

SEC. 7. IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 
 AGAINST SOUTHERN MONGOLIANS IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF 
 CHINA; IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.

    (a) Report Required.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
 the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 
 President shall submit to the appropriate congressional 
 committees a report that identifies each foreign person, 
 including any official of the Government of the People's 
 Republic of China, that the President determines is responsible 
 for any of the following with respect to Southern Mongolians in 
 the People's Republic of China:
        (A) Torture.
        (B) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or 
 punishment.
            (C) Prolonged or arbitrary detention without 
 charges and trial.
            (D) Causing the disappearance of persons by the 
 abduction and clandestine detention of those persons.
        (E) Other flagrant denial of the right to life, 
 liberty, or the security of persons.
        (F) Other gross violations of internationally 
 recognized human rights committed against Southern 
 Mongolians.

    (2) Form.--The report required by paragraph

    (1) shall be 
 submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
 annex.

    (b) Imposition of Sanctions.--The President should impose sanctions 
pursuant to one or more of the following authorities with respect to 
each foreign person identified in the report required by subsection

    (a) :

    (1) The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 
 (22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.).

    (2) Section 7031
            (c) (1)
        (A) of the Department of State, 
 Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 
 2024 (division F of Public Law 118-47; 8 U.S.C. 1182 note).

    (3) Section 212

    (a)

    (2)
        (G) of the Immigration and Nationality 
 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182

    (a)

    (2)
        (G) ).
            (c) Sunset.--This section, and any sanctions imposed under this 
section, shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
            (d) === Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
 ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
        (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
 Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 
 Senate; and
        (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
 Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
 Representatives.

    (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means an 
 individual or entity that is not a United States person.

    (3) United states person.--The term ``United States 
 person'' means--
        (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully 
 admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
        (B) an entity organized under the laws of the 
 United States or of any jurisdiction within the United 
 States, including a foreign branch of such an entity; 
 or
            (C) any person in the United States.

SEC. 8. VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTS IN THE MONGOLIAN LANGUAGE.

    (a) Establishment of Service.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the 
United States Agency for Global Media shall establish, through the 
Voice of America, a service to provide Voice of America Mongolian 
language programming to Mongolian language speakers in Mongolia, the 
People's Republic of China, and the Russian Federation.

    (b) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Chief Executive Officer of the United States 
Agency for Global Media shall submit to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives a report detailing the implementation of this 
section, including a description of programming and broadcast hours.
            (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Voice of America for purposes of carrying out this 
section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

SEC. 9. SUPPORT FOR SOUTHERN MONGOLIAN CULTURE.

    (a) Repressed Cultures Preservation.--

    (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
 the Smithsonian Institution should fund activities to help 
 preserve cultures endangered by the repressive policies of the 
 People's Republic of China, including those of Southern 
 Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers, through the 
 World Cultures Center and other programs designed to promote 
 preservation efforts, as well as research, exhibitions, and 
 education programming.

    (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Smithsonian 
 Institution shall submit to the Committee on Rules and 
 Administration of the Senate and the Committee on House 
 Administration of the House of Representatives a report on its 
 plans to help preserve cultures endangered by the policies of 
 the People's Republic of China, including those of Southern 
 Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers.

    (b) Assistance for Cultural Organizations, Museums, and 
Libraries.--

    (1) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that 
 the Director of the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences 
 should establish a grant program, or make available grants 
 through an existing program, to support efforts by diaspora 
 communities in the United States to preserve their cultural 
 heritage that is threatened by the repressive policies of the 
 People's Republic of China, including the efforts of Southern 
 Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Hong Kongers.

    (2) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
 enactment of this Act, the Director of the Institute for Museum 
 and Library Sciences shall submit to the Committee on Health, 
 Education, Labor and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee 
 on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives a 
 report on the feasibility of establishing a grant program, or 
 to otherwise make available grants through an existing program, 
 to support efforts by diaspora communities in the United States 
 to preserve their cultural heritage that is threatened by the 
 repressive policies of the People's Republic of China, 
 including those of Southern Mongolians, Tibetans, Uyghurs, and 
 Hong Kongers, including efforts to engage with such diaspora 
 communities.

SEC. 10. SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS IN SOUTHERN MONGOLIA.

    (a) Declaration of 

=== Policy ===
-It is the policy of the United States 
to support the right of Southern Mongolians to make decisions in 
accordance with principles of autonomy regarding their economic 
development, including the ability to maintain traditional livelihoods, 
such as pastoralism, as well as cultural preservation, environmental 
sustainability, and resource extraction, in areas designated as 
autonomous for Southern Mongolians in the People's Republic of China.

    (b) International Financial Institutions.--The Secretary of the 
Treasury should instruct the United States executive director of each 
international financial institution to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to support financing of projects in areas designated as 
autonomous for Southern Mongolians in the People's Republic of China if 
such projects do not provide incentives for the migration and 
settlement of non-Mongolians into Southern Mongolian areas or 
facilitate the transfer of ownership of Southern Mongolian land and 
natural resources to non-Mongolians, are based on a thorough needs-
assessment, foster self-sufficiency of the Southern Mongolian people, 
respect Mongolian culture, traditions, and traditional livelihoods, and 
are subject to effective monitoring.
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