Beijing ‘signals shift’ on Dalai Lama with new white paper on Tibet
- Document omits mention of willingness to engage with the 83-year-old Nobel peace laureate, a departure from a similar statement a decade ago
- Paper comes as Beijing has tightened security in Tibet ahead of the 60th anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama’s exile
The Communist Party’s rule over Tibet has ensured religious freedom in the region and overseen “orderly” implementation of the reincarnation system used to choose the Tibetan spiritual leader, Beijing said in a white paper released on Wednesday.
The document, released by the State Council’s Information Office, comes as Beijing has tightened security in Tibet, closing it off to foreign journalists and diplomats ahead of the 60th anniversary of the 14th Dalai Lama’s exile from Lhasa after a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
Titled “Democratic Reform in Tibet – Sixty Years On”, the white paper also marked a “subtle shift” in the central government’s attitude towards the Dalai Lama, a Beijing-based commentator said.
The document details Beijing’s policy on Tibet under President Xi Jinping, a policy has shifted from a willingness to engage with the Dalai Lama to a policy of “a great leap to socialist system” under Chinese Communist Party’s rule.
“Tibet has fully implemented the ethnic policy of the Communist Party of China to enhance the awareness of ethnic solidarity and the sense of community of the Chinese nation, and strengthen ethnic communication and integration,” it said.
“By abolishing serfdom, a grim and backward feudal system, Tibet was able to establish a new social system that liberated the people and made them the masters of the nation and society, thus ensuring their rights in all matters.”