Beijing has indicated that it will not negotiate the selection of a successor to the ageing Dalai Lama with him, insisting that it has the final decision on the reincarnated successors to the Buddhist region's top lamas.
Padma Choling, governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region, said there was no need now to discuss the issues related to the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
The hardline remarks, in rare comments on the sensitive issue, were made at a press conference yesterday on the sidelines of the National People's Congress.
The Dalai Lama's succession has become a prickly issue, as the Nobel Peace laureate ages and his health declines. Many Tibetans fear that his death may create a leadership vacuum that Beijing could exploit to tighten its grip over the restive Himalayan region.
Others fear the loss of their most recognised leader could weaken the unity of the Tibetan movement and potentially trigger widespread unrest in ethnic Tibetan regions across the mainland, after an outburst of anti- Han violence prompted a tight security clampdown in March 2008.
Padma Choling said the Dalai Lama had made a series of assertions, saying that he might choose his reincarnation while still alive, or that he could stop his reincarnation. He has also suggested that his next incarnation might be found outside the country, or that Tibetans themselves could vote on whether to continue an institution that once gave one monk both spiritual and temporal sway over Tibet.
Qiangba Puncog, chairman of the Tibet Regional People's Congress, said the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must meet all the traditional requirements in four aspects: religious rituals, historical conventions passed on since the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), lot drawing from the Golden Urn in the face of the Buddha Sakyamuni, and approval from the central government.