27 June 2008
Lhasa is No 1 priority for new US consulates in China
(ICT) The US Congress has approved legislation that includes a provision for $5 million to construct a US consulate in Lhasa. The provision additionally directs the State Department, under the principle of reciprocity, to agree to the construction of a Chinese consular post anywhere in the US only when the Chinese government agrees to the US consulate in Lhasa. The Lhasa consulate provision is included in the Emergency Supplemental bill (H.R. 2642) approved by the House on 19 June and by the Senate on 26 June. The establishment of a diplomatic presence in Lhasa was urged by Congress in the Tibetan Policy Act of 2002. Senior State Department officials have confirmed that Lhasa is now their number one priority on a list of locations in China that the US government has been looking at for future consulates.