Exiled representatives from Tibet and East Turkistan jointly pressed members of the United States Congress on 15 May 2025 to formally support independence for both territories, which they characterised as living under Chinese colonial occupation. The advocacy event, held at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington DC, was organised by four exile organisations and included direct meetings with the offices of six senators and more than twenty House members.

Who Was Present and What They Demanded

The event brought together the Tibetan Patriots for Independence, the East Turkistan Government in Exile (ETGE), the East Turkistan National Movement (ETNM), and the East Turkistan National Fund (ETNF). Speakers called on Washington to recognise East Turkistan as an occupied country, back independence for both territories, and support the capacity of their peoples to resist what they described as Beijing's colonial and assimilationist policies.

Key Statements From Exile Leaders

Salih Hudayar, President of the ETNM and Foreign Minister of the ETGE, argued that China functions not as a nation-state but as a colonial empire. 'China is not a nation-state but a colonial empire,' he said, alleging that Beijing is pursuing a colonial project in the twenty-first century. He contended that the existing global human rights framework has proven insufficient, and that the international community must confront the structural cause of the occupation rather than its surface-level effects. 'You cannot stop a genocide while preserving the occupation that created it. Independence is not a radical demand; it is the only way to guarantee the human rights and very survival of our people,' Hudayar said.

Tenzin Wangdu, leader of the Tibetan Patriots for Independence and a former secretary of the Tibetan Youth Congress, submitted a formal petition to Congress calling for support for Tibet's independence and official recognition of 13 February as Tibet Independence Day. The petition also sought opposition to China's forced assimilation policies, protection of Tibetan religion, language, and culture, release of all Tibetan political prisoners, and safeguarding of Tibet's environment. 'Historically, Tibet was an independent and sovereign nation with its own government, language, culture, religion, currency, and national identity. We ask members of U.S. Congress to stand with the Tibetan people in support of freedom, human rights, religious liberty, and the recovery of Tibet's independence,' Wangdu said.

The Broader Context

The ETNM noted that as the United States marks 250 years of its own independence, East Turkistan — also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China — enters what the group describes as its thirteenth year of genocide under 76 years of Chinese colonial occupation, while Tibet is said to be in its seventy-fifth year under Chinese rule. The groups also invoked the Captive Nations Law, a US legislative instrument, arguing it obliges Washington to stand with peoples still seeking freedom. This comes amid sustained international scrutiny of Beijing's policies in Xinjiang, which have drawn widespread condemnation from Western governments and human rights organisations, though China consistently rejects the characterisation of its actions as repressive or colonial.

What Comes Next

The advocacy teams' direct engagement with more than two dozen congressional offices signals an effort to build legislative momentum, though no specific bills or resolutions were announced at the event. The petition submitted by the Tibetan Patriots for Independence is expected to be formally entered into the congressional record. Observers note that US-China relations remain under significant strain, which could lend these exile groups greater access on Capitol Hill than in previous years.