Whereas, on October 7, 1950, forces of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) entered Tibet with the goal of imposing Chinese Communist rule on the people of Tibet and subjugating it to the rule of the People’s Republic of China; Whereas the Tibetan people resisted peacefully in defense of their freedom, faith, and culture and have sought to protect their national identity from the progressive encroachment by the Chinese Communist Party, and continue to do so; Whereas, on March 10, 1959, hundreds of thousands of Tibetans gathered in Lhasa to prevent a reported PLA plot to abduct the Dalai Lama; Whereas, on March 12, 1959, approximately 5,000 women joined in those demonstrations for their national identity and freedom; Whereas the Chinese Communist Party subsequently executed many of those women for their participation; Whereas, on the evening of March 17, 1959, artillery shells landed near the residence of the Dalai Lama; Whereas the Dalai Lama decided to leave Lhasa for India, where he arrived on March 30, 1959; Whereas protests continued after the Dalai Lama’s departure and spread across the city and region; Whereas PLA soldiers in central Tibet eventually killed an estimated 86,000 Tibetans; Whereas, as a result of the widespread slaughter of Tibetans in and after the Lhasa Uprising, a 1959 finding by the International Commission of Jurists found that the People’s Republic of China’s treatment of Tibetans constituted genocide; Whereas the People’s Republic of China has deepened its repression of the people of Tibet, exploits Tibet’s natural resources to advance the interests of the Chinese Communist Party, and seeks to undermine freedom of religion and conscience in Tibet by determining the spiritual succession of the Dalai Lama; Whereas for 65 years, the Dalai Lama continues to defend the cause of Tibetan freedom and national identity on the global stage