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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today met with actor and activist Richard Gere, chair of the International Campaign for Tibet; Lobsang Sangay, president of the Central Tibetan Administration; and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to discuss the deteriorating human rights situation in Tibet, and ways for the U.S. to address these concerns in the context of the U.S.-China bilateral relationship.

Earlier this year, Rubio met with Gere and the Dalai Lama’s Representative to the U.S. to discuss the Chinese government’s gross human rights violations in Tibet. Rubio also introduced bipartisan legislation to hold Chinese government officials accountable for severely restricting access to Tibet for Tibetan-Americans, diplomats, journalists and non-governmental organizations.

A transcript of Rubio’s remarks is below:

“We had a very important meeting today about Tibet and the cause of really what’s a human dignity, human rights – what’s happening there, an entire culture that is being threatened by the Chinese Communist Party, religious liberties that are being oppressed, and why the U.S. needs to be a leader on it. So we have a bill on reciprocity that we hope we can get more support for here, and I think we will. We have some ideas about appointing someone to the vacant position at the State Department that elevates this cause. But ultimately, this goes to the heart of who are we as a nation. Do we believe in the founding principles of this country, and do we want to make sure we defend and extend that to people all over the world? And that’s the thing that we are really focused on here. We’ll continue to work hard on this cause. I hope you’ll care about it. Go on our website and learn more about it.”

Photo courtesy of Senator Rubio’s office.

Photo courtesy of the International Campaign for Tibet.