The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

Original Text of Resolution:

(C001)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That this 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church call upon the Government of the People's Republic of China to cease immediately all human rights abuses, all restrictions on religious freedom, all cultural and ecological abuses, the population transfer of Chinese into Tibet, and the denial of Tibet's right to self rule; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention call upon the United Nations actively to support and monitor the above actions and the United States Government to support the above actions; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention request the Presiding Bishop to: meet with the Dalai Lama, together with the leaders of as many other U.S. religious bodies as possible, to discuss what further support might be provided; and issue a statement expressing concern and asking all Episcopalians and others who support Tibet actively to pray, work and write to the leaders of the U.S. Government and to the media on behalf of Tibet; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention request the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops, and the Archbishop of Canterbury to: pass similar resolutions and take similar actions and that they, in turn, request all national member churches of the Anglican Communion and their Primates to do the same, and that they, in their turn, ask their Dioceses and Bishops to do the same, and that all these resolutions be forwarded to the same international recipients and to the corresponding domestic recipients as those listed below; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution of this 72nd General Convention of the Episcopal Church be forwarded to: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference, the Dalai Lama, the National Council of Churches, the regional leaders of other U.S. religious bodies, The United Nations, President Bill Clinton, Episcopal members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and State Legislatures from the Province III area, Chairs of the appropriate committees in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Secretary of State Madelyne Albright, President of the People's Republic of China Jiang Zemin, Premier of the PRC Li Peng, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the PRC Gyaltsen Norbu Zhuxi, and the media.

Proposed Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That this 72nd General Convention affirm the importance of Tibetan culture and religion that teaches nonviolence and peacemaking as a way of life and express concern for the safety and future of its people; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention send greetings of affection to the Dalai Lama and encourages our Church in the United States to engage in dialogue with Buddhists through the Presiding Bishop’s Committee on Interfaith Relations or other appropriate venues; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention send warm greetings of affection to our much valued partner church, the China Christian Council (CCC), and express a desire for further dialogue with the CCC to develop deeper ties and to seek a better understanding of the situation in China and Tibet, and commend dioceses to seek companion relations with the Church of China, and encourage the Archbishop of Canterbury to ensure representation from the China Christian Council to the l998 Lambeth Conference; and be it further

Resolved, That this General Convention also express a hope for the development of direct dialogue between representatives of the People’s Republic of China and the Dalai Lama and/or representatives of the Dalai Lama, leading to increased understanding and respect between the Tibetan and Chinese people; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be sent to the China Christian Council, the Dalai Lama, the President and Secretary of State of the United States and appropriate members of Congress, the government of the People’s Republic of China, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Anglican Consultative Council, the Lambeth Conference, the National Council of Churches USA and religious leaders, and the appropriate corporations doing business in China.

Debate followed on Resolution C001.

Deputy Rehill of Newark moved an amendment.

Proposed Amendment:

In the third Resolved clause, line 1, delete "our much valued partner church,".

Debate followed on the Rehill amendment.

A vote was taken on the Rehill amendment.

Motion carried

Rehill Amendment adopted

Deputy Jenkins of Michigan challenged the Chair, who ruled that the substitute for Resolution C001 was germane.

A vote taken to uphold the decision of the chair.

Motion carried

Chair upheld

The question was called to terminate debate.

Motion carried

Debate terminated

A vote was taken on the substitute as amended for Resolution C001.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #159)