China and the Dalai Lama play endgame for Tibet, and it’s going to be an unholy mess
- Yonden Lhatoo says a hardline policy shift from Beijing and the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader’s latest stance on reincarnation have set the stage for an unholy clash over finding his successor
Something sticks out like a sore thumb if you look at China’s latest policy blueprint for Tibet – there’s no mention of engaging with the Dalai Lama any more.
The white paper, titled “Democratic Reform in Tibet – Sixty Years On”, is all about “the greatest and most profound social transformation in the history of Tibet” under Chinese Communist Party rule.
Contrast that with the 50th anniversary white paper of 2009, which stated that the “central government has opened and will always keep its door open for the 14th Dalai Lama to return to a patriotic stand”. The policy shift is loud and clear.
Even more significantly, the document asserts that Beijing has further institutionalised the process under which the Dalai Lama’s successor will be chosen – which was first enshrined in the “Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism” guidelines issued 12 years ago.
That’s a pre-emptive strike against any move by the Tibetan spiritual leader to name his successor from the Indian city of Dharamsala, where he has been living in exile since fleeing his homeland after a failed uprising against Chinese rule 60 years ago.