https://www.scmp.com/rss/31830/feed The 14th Dalai Lama is the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He was born in 1935 and was selected as the 14th Dalai Lama at the age of two. Many Tibetans around the world regard the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader. He fled from China in 1959 and has not returned since. He is known as a charismatic speaker and lifelong advocate for human rights and religious freedom for Tibetans inside Tibet. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang Alcott Wei,Xinlu Liang A senior Chinese official who oversees religious and ethnic minority affairs has called for China to “strengthen” the education, training and management of Tibetan Buddhist personnel. Li Ganjie, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department and a member of the now 22-man Politburo, made the call during a trip to Tibetan areas in western China, state news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday. He visited several religious organisations and study institutions in the Tibetan autonomous... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3351181/china-must-strengthen-education-tibetan-buddhists-beijing-official-says-after-tour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3351181/china-must-strengthen-education-tibetan-buddhists-beijing-official-says-after-tour?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:11 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang Reincarnation must follow Chinese laws and be endorsed by Beijing, Tibetan Buddhist leader Panchen Lama has said in an apparent reference to the succession of the Dalai Lama. Speaking at an official symposium in Shigatse on Monday, the Panchen Lama – the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism after only the Dalai Lama – stated that reincarnated “living Buddhas” must be identified within China and approved by the central government. This must be done “without any interference or control from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335933/panchen-lama-says-reincarnation-must-follow-chinese-laws-be-endorsed-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3335933/panchen-lama-says-reincarnation-must-follow-chinese-laws-be-endorsed-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Dec 2025 01:00:13 +0000 SCMP SCMP Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing. 1. Chinese military ‘warns off’ US destroyer from vicinity of Scarborough Shoal A US destroyer has entered disputed waters in the South China Sea, less than two days after an apparent collision involving a Chinese coastguard vessel and a PLA Navy ship while the former was pursuing a Philippine coastguard vessel in the area. 2. China boosts hybrid crop... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3321757/pla-warns-us-ship-near-scarborough-shoal-china-property-woes-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3321757/pla-warns-us-ship-near-scarborough-shoal-china-property-woes-scmp-daily-highlights?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 13:15:07 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen Beijing has severed ties with Czech President Petr Pavel following his private visit to congratulate the 14th Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday last month. The meeting on July 27 “seriously contravenes the political commitment made by the Czech Republic government to the Chinese government, and harms China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian. He added that China “strongly deplores and firmly opposes” the meeting and that Beijing had lodged... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321694/china-cuts-ties-czech-president-over-petr-pavels-birthday-visit-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3321694/china-cuts-ties-czech-president-over-petr-pavels-birthday-visit-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 08:17:20 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen A historian has called on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend China’s Victory Day parade in September. However, analysts believe this is highly unlikely. Vijay Prashad, director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a network of research institutes in the Global South, said he strongly suggested that Modi attend the parade in Beijing on September 3 and commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with China and Russia. “[China, India, and Russia] can hold a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320536/will-indias-modi-attend-chinas-world-war-ii-victory-parade-what-would-it-mean-home?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3320536/will-indias-modi-attend-chinas-world-war-ii-victory-parade-what-would-it-mean-home?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Aug 2025 04:00:14 +0000 Liu Zhen,Vanessa Cai Liu Zhen,Vanessa Cai China and India will restart mutual personnel travel and direct flights after more than five years of suspension, the two countries’ foreign ministers agreed in Beijing on Monday. “The two sides agreed to take additional practical steps, including travel to each other’s country and direct flight connectivity, for facilitating people-to-people exchanges,” according to a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. However, a readout from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318175/china-urges-respect-thorny-issues-indias-jaishankar-makes-first-visit-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3318175/china-urges-respect-thorny-issues-indias-jaishankar-makes-first-visit-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 12:17:05 +0000 Fan Chen Fan Chen The fallout between China and India over the 14th Dalai Lama’s succession plan has put a strain on their improving relations, but observers say the dispute is unlikely to completely jeopardise the thaw between the neighbours. The dispute was triggered last week by comments from a senior Indian minister, Kiren Rijiju, who said only the Dalai Lama himself and the institution he established had the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. Then on Sunday,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317903/china-india-spar-over-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-recent-thaw-risk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3317903/china-india-spar-over-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-recent-thaw-risk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 10:00:12 +0000 Yuanyue Dang Yuanyue Dang China has protested to India over birthday greetings sent to the Dalai Lama by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “India should fully appreciate the great sensitivity of Tibet-related issues, recognise the separatist nature, honour the commitments it has made to China related to Tibet-related issues, and act prudently, and stop using these issues to meddle in China’s internal affairs,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday afternoon. She added that Beijing had lodged a protest... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3317261/china-protests-narendra-modis-birthday-greeting-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3317261/china-protests-narendra-modis-birthday-greeting-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jul 2025 11:15:37 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang Beijing said the succession of the Dalai Lama should be in accordance with tradition and Chinese law, in a swift rejection of a plan announced by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader. The comment was made hours later after the 14th Dalai Lama said his office – the Gaden Phodrang Trust – held the sole authority to recognise the next Dalai Lama. On Wednesday, four days ahead of his 90th birthday, he posted a statement to X discussing the future of the Tibetan spiritual leadership, particularly his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316626/beijing-says-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-breaks-tradition-tensions-set-rise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316626/beijing-says-dalai-lamas-succession-plan-breaks-tradition-tensions-set-rise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jul 2025 10:06:58 +0000 William Zheng William Zheng The head of China’s United Front Work Department, the Communist Party body that oversees religious organisations, has warned faith groups to guard against “hidden dangers in the religious field and resolutely resist foreign infiltration”. Li Ganjie visited a number of religious organisations this week to deliver the warning, state news agency Xinhua reported. It follows a series of similar warnings by senior figures, including President Xi Jinping, who called for continued efforts to promote the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3315289/chinese-religious-groups-warned-hidden-danger-foreign-infiltration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3315289/chinese-religious-groups-warned-hidden-danger-foreign-infiltration?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 06:00:20 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse The Dalai Lama will issue a message on July 2, Tibet’s government in exile said on Wednesday, days ahead of his 90th birthday and a hugely anticipated decision as to whether he will have an eventual successor. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk is expected to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 6 with huge crowds in northern India, his base since leaving his homeland fleeing Chinese troops in 1959. He has said his landmark birthday will also be a time to encourage people to plan for an eventual... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3314977/dalai-lama-issue-july-2-message-expected-address-succession?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3314977/dalai-lama-issue-july-2-message-expected-address-succession?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Jun 2025 17:15:45 +0000 Xinlu Liang Xinlu Liang China’s top security official has called for the defeat of “separatism” during a trip to Qinghai province, birthplace of the exiled Dalai Lama, three weeks before the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader is expected to announce his succession plan. During a three-day inspection tour of the northwestern province that ended on Sunday, Chen Wenqing, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission and a member of the 24-strong Politburo, said political and legal bodies must fully... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3314812/china-warns-against-separatism-moves-ahead-dalai-lamas-expected-succession-decree?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3314812/china-warns-against-separatism-moves-ahead-dalai-lamas-expected-succession-decree?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Jun 2025 11:14:37 +0000 Finbarr Bermingham Finbarr Bermingham During thorny human rights talks with China on Friday, the European Union voiced concerns about what it called a “deterioration of fundamental freedoms” in the country. The EU cited “government interference” in the succession plan for the Dalai Lama, an ongoing crackdown in Hong Kong, and jailed Uygur and Tibetan activists as examples in its statement on the 40th edition of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in Brussels. The bloc accused China of “persistent restrictions on freedom of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314459/eu-warns-deterioration-fundamental-freedoms-china-during-human-rights-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3314459/eu-warns-deterioration-fundamental-freedoms-china-during-human-rights-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Jun 2025 11:02:53 +0000 Sylvie Zhuang Sylvie Zhuang Before becoming a senior fellow with Georgetown University’s Initiative for US-China Dialogue on Global Issues, Dennis Wilder served in the George Bush Jnr and Barack Obama administrations in a number of national security positions, including as the CIA’s deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific from 2015 to 2016. In the latest instalment of the Open Questions series, Wilder shares his views on President Donald Trump’s cuts to the US federal government’s bureaucracy as well as the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305386/they-will-never-use-signal-anything-again-dennis-wilder?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3305386/they-will-never-use-signal-anything-again-dennis-wilder?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Apr 2025 22:00:31 +0000 This latest interview in the Open Questions series features Dennis Wilder, a former senior intelligence official who served in the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations in a number of positions, including as the CIA’s deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific from 2015 to 2016. Currently a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Initiative for US-China Dialogue on Global Issues, he says that Beijing would do well to take a cue from TSMC, which is investing in the United... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3304978/xi-trump-meeting-far-away-former-cia-official-says-china-needs-take-positive-steps-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3304978/xi-trump-meeting-far-away-former-cia-official-says-china-needs-take-positive-steps-fentanyl?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Apr 2025 06:00:11 +0000 Beijing will not recognise the Dalai Lama’s proposal for a foreign successor and will deal with reincarnation according to Chinese law, according to an official scholar on Tibetan Buddhism. “If the next Dalai Lama is declared to have been reincarnated abroad, I think it is illegal,” Li Decheng, deputy director general of the official China Tibetology Research Centre, told a forum in Beijing on Thursday. Li said that the concept of a foreign successor to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader “does... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3304350/overseas-dalai-lama-reincarnation-could-not-be-recognised-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3304350/overseas-dalai-lama-reincarnation-could-not-be-recognised-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Mar 2025 12:00:18 +0000 The Dalai Lama has been in exile in India since the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) crushed an armed uprising in Tibet in 1959. As he approaches his 90th birthday in July, the controversy over his successor is expected to reignite, with possible implications for social stability and China’s relations with the United States and India. According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Dalai Lama will be reincarnated and he has repeatedly said he would resolve the issue this year. In a new book published... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3302564/why-choice-next-dalai-lama-such-sensitive-issue-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3302564/why-choice-next-dalai-lama-such-sensitive-issue-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Mar 2025 01:00:20 +0000 The elder brother of the Dalai Lama and former chairman of the Tibetan government-in-exile in India, Gyalo Thondup, who led several rounds of talks with China and worked with foreign governments for the Tibetan cause, has died. He was 97. Thondup died at his home in Kalimpong, a hill town in the Himalayan foothills of eastern West Bengal state, on Saturday evening, media reports said. No other details were immediately released about his death. Tibetan media outlets credited Thondup for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3298014/dalai-lamas-brother-architect-talks-china-dies-97?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3298014/dalai-lamas-brother-architect-talks-china-dies-97?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Feb 2025 03:47:41 +0000 China’s top political adviser has made a rare trip to view an exhibition about the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhas, a sign that Beijing is getting ready to face the Dalai Lama succession issue ahead of the exiled spiritual leader’s 90th birthday next year, according to an analyst. Wang Huning, China’s fourth senior official and chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country’s top advisory body, led a group of its members to visit the semi-official China... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292260/chinas-ideology-tsar-views-buddhism-reincarnation-exhibition-signal-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292260/chinas-ideology-tsar-views-buddhism-reincarnation-exhibition-signal-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Dec 2024 12:00:18 +0000 Senior Buddhist figures in China have emphasised the importance of government approval in the recognition of reincarnated Tibetan religious leaders, at a meeting this week less than a year before the Dalai Lama is expected to announce his succession plan. More than 50 Tibetan Buddhist monks and religious experts attended a seminar in Lanzhou, Gansu province, on Tuesday about policies and regulations for the “reincarnation of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism”, according to Tibet.cn, an official... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3277343/chinas-tibetan-buddhists-urged-obey-reincarnation-rules-dalai-lama-mulls-successor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3277343/chinas-tibetan-buddhists-urged-obey-reincarnation-rules-dalai-lama-mulls-successor?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 04:00:12 +0000 Some 25 years before Deng Xiaoping first proposed “one country, two systems” as a creative political solution to facilitate Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau’s return to China, Mao Zedong tasked him with finding an answer to the Tibet issue. It was 1957, six years after Beijing and Lhasa signed the Seventeen-Point Agreement that confirmed Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China and its autonomous status. Tensions started to flare between the two sides shortly afterwards. The central leadership... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3276947/how-deng-xiaopings-one-country-two-systems-dates-back-1957-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3276947/how-deng-xiaopings-one-country-two-systems-dates-back-1957-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Sep 2024 01:30:08 +0000 Some 25 years before Deng Xiaoping first proposed “one country, two systems” as a creative political solution to facilitate Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau’s return to China, Mao Zedong tasked him with finding an answer to the Tibet issue. It was 1957, six years after Beijing and Lhasa signed the Seventeen-Point Agreement that confirmed Tibet as part of the People’s Republic of China and its autonomous status. Tensions started to flare between the two sides shortly afterwards. The central leadership... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3276952/how-deng-xiaopings-one-country-two-systems-dates-back-1957?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3276952/how-deng-xiaopings-one-country-two-systems-dates-back-1957?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Sep 2024 04:42:14 +0000 China warned the US not to allow the Dalai Lama to engage in “separatist activities” while visiting the country and made “solemn protests” to Washington after senior American officials met the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader in New York on Wednesday. “China firmly opposes any country allowing the Dalai Lama to visit under any pretext, and firmly opposes any government officials of any country meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3275506/china-warns-us-not-allow-dalai-lamas-separatist-activities-or-talks-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3275506/china-warns-us-not-allow-dalai-lamas-separatist-activities-or-talks-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Aug 2024 11:01:09 +0000 A group of seven bipartisan US lawmakers met with exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at his monastery in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala on Wednesday, drawing the ire of Beijing but receiving a welcome from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following the audience. The US delegation was led by Michael McCaul, a Republican congressman from Texas who also chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and included former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Beijing, which asserts that Tibet... https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267483/tibet-meeting-summer-davos-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/plus/article/3267483/tibet-meeting-summer-davos-and-more?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2024 09:04:07 +0000 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted American lawmakers, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, in New Delhi on Thursday, shortly after they had an audience with the Dalai Lama, a meeting that defied stern warnings from Beijing. “Had a very good exchange of views with friends from the US Congress in a delegation,” Modi posted on X, formerly Twitter, adding that he “deeply” valued the “strong bipartisan support in advancing the India-US comprehensive global strategic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267435/us-lawmakers-meeting-modi-after-dalai-lama-signals-new-delhi-shift-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3267435/us-lawmakers-meeting-modi-after-dalai-lama-signals-new-delhi-shift-china-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2024 21:12:47 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping has issued a call for national unity at a Tibetan Buddhist heritage site as Tibet again becomes a point of contention in relations with the United States. The Chinese leader visited a middle school for Golok Tibetans and the Tibetan Buddhist Hongjue Temple in the northwestern province of Qinghai on Tuesday, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday. Both sites are in the provincial capital Xining. The historic temple has been key to Beijing’s communication with... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267341/chinese-president-xi-visits-tibetans-and-temple-western-china-calls-ethnic-unity?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3267341/chinese-president-xi-visits-tibetans-and-temple-western-china-calls-ethnic-unity?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jun 2024 06:25:30 +0000 A group of US lawmakers who met the Dalai Lama in India on Wednesday said they would not allow China to influence the choice of his successor, comments expected to anger Beijing, which calls the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader a separatist. The remarks come as Washington and Beijing seek to steady rocky ties while India pushes China to secure lasting peace on their disputed Himalayan frontier, four years after a military clash strained ties. The lawmakers also signalled that Washington would... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3267298/us-lawmakers-meet-tibets-dalai-lama-say-wont-let-china-influence-choice-successor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3267298/us-lawmakers-meet-tibets-dalai-lama-say-wont-let-china-influence-choice-successor?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 18:50:47 +0000 After a US congressional delegation arrived in Dharamshala, India, on Tuesday to meet with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, Beijing issued a stern warning vowing “resolute measures” if Washington fails to honour its commitment to recognise Tibet as part of China. “It’s known by all that the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure, but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267142/china-warns-us-over-congressional-delegations-trip-meet-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3267142/china-warns-us-over-congressional-delegations-trip-meet-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2024 19:30:09 +0000 Republican congressman Michael McCaul is expected to lead a bipartisan US congressional delegation to India in the coming days, where he and other lawmakers, including Democratic former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, plan to meet Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. McCaul, Pelosi and a group of other US lawmakers will visit Dharamsala – the town in the northern Indian Himalayas where the 88-year-old Tibetan monk lives in exile – on June 18 and 19, an official of the Tibetan government... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3266534/us-lawmakers-meet-dalai-lama-india-trip-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3266534/us-lawmakers-meet-dalai-lama-india-trip-next-week?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:08:51 +0000 A bipartisan bill seeking to counter Beijing’s narrative about China’s control over Tibet and promote dialogue between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama is heading to US President Joe Biden’s desk. The House of Representatives voted 391-26 on Wednesday to approve the Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act, which passed the Senate last month. The bill, introduced in the Senate by Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley, would direct funds to counter what it calls “disinformation” from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3266374/us-lawmakers-pass-tibet-policy-bill-questions-chinas-narrative-leaves-status-unresolved?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3266374/us-lawmakers-pass-tibet-policy-bill-questions-chinas-narrative-leaves-status-unresolved?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:29:07 +0000 Tibetans’ spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, will travel to the United States this month to undergo medical treatment for his knees and will not hold his usual public engagements from June 20, his office said on Monday. The 88-year-old was advised against any travel last October following a bout of flu, but after recovery he visited Bodhgaya, one of the holiest Buddhist sites in eastern India, in January. “His Holiness the Dalai Lama is scheduled to travel to the United States for medical... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265247/dalai-lama-visit-us-medical-treatment-month-his-office-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3265247/dalai-lama-visit-us-medical-treatment-month-his-office-says?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Jun 2024 16:29:48 +0000 Hundreds of Tibetans in exile marched on the streets of New Delhi on Sunday to commemorate the 65th Tibetan National Uprising Day against China. Over 300 protesters gathered near India’s Parliament House and chanted slogans including “Tibet was never a part of China” and “China should leave Tibet”. The protesters carried Tibetan flags and photographs of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The 88-year-old Dalai Lama has made the Indian hillside town of Dharamsala his headquarters since... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3254861/hundreds-exiled-tibetans-march-india-uprising-anniversary-asking-china-leave-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3254861/hundreds-exiled-tibetans-march-india-uprising-anniversary-asking-china-leave-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 12:13:44 +0000 A top Beijing policy office has pledged to tighten control of ethnic minority-related discussion on the internet and in print, in a move to stamp out what it calls ideological risks related to these minorities in China. In an article published on Thursday in the Communist Party’s theoretical journal Qiushi, the National Ethnic Affairs Commission called for greater oversight of public opinion and discussion around ethnic minority groups and related issues online. The article referred to “risks”... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3250702/china-more-tightly-control-ethnic-minority-discussion-online-and-publications-temper-ideological?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3250702/china-more-tightly-control-ethnic-minority-discussion-online-and-publications-temper-ideological?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Feb 2024 06:33:07 +0000 As we bid farewell to 2023, here is a selection of the most peculiar stories published by This Week in Asia in the last 12 months. 1. Dalai Lama’s slip of the tongue The Dalai Lama, the 87-year-old spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, set tongues wagging globally after a viral video of him asking a young boy to suck his tongue drew widespread condemnations. The video shows the Dalai Lama planting a kiss on the boy’s lips as the child leans forward to pay his respects. The Buddhist monk is then... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3246476/asias-weird-2023-dalai-lamas-gaffe-puking-mullet-bird-stories-amuse-and-enrage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3246476/asias-weird-2023-dalai-lamas-gaffe-puking-mullet-bird-stories-amuse-and-enrage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Dec 2023 07:00:09 +0000 Once rare foreign trips by senior officials from Tibet could be aimed at drumming up support for Beijing’s choice of the next Dalai Lama, analysts said. Yan Jinhai, chairman of the Tibet autonomous region, and its Communist Party chief Wang Junzheng went on multiple-stop tours of South and Southeast Asia last month. Yan led a delegation to the Maldives, Thailand and Myanmar from November 19 to 28, to “comprehensively promote the successful practice and rich experience of the Communist Party in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3244340/are-china-officials-aiming-charm-neighbours-over-next-dalai-lama-choice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3244340/are-china-officials-aiming-charm-neighbours-over-next-dalai-lama-choice?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Dec 2023 04:59:56 +0000 Academics have called for Beijing to use the Chinese name for Tibet – Xizang – when referring to the autonomous region in English to help “reconstruct” its image. The call came during an official seminar on Tibet that was held in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday, according to a report on Tongzhan Xinyu, a WeChat account run by the United Front Work Department, which oversees ethnic and minority affairs. “To establish China’s dominant position in the international discourse related to Tibet,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3231421/chinese-academics-want-tibet-be-known-xizang-help-reconstruct-image?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3231421/chinese-academics-want-tibet-be-known-xizang-help-reconstruct-image?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:45:33 +0000 The Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, has said Chinese officials are seeking to contact him but restarting talks might be challenging, observers said. The Dalai Lama, who celebrated his 88th birthday earlier this month, said last week that Chinese officials had sought contact with him, “officially or unofficially”. He did not provide further details, but said he was “always open to talk”. “Chinese officials have now realised that the Tibetan people’s spirits are very strong, so in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3228384/clock-ticks-beijing-ready-renew-talks-dalai-lama-tibets-spiritual-leader?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3228384/clock-ticks-beijing-ready-renew-talks-dalai-lama-tibets-spiritual-leader?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Jul 2023 03:00:11 +0000 The head of an India-based organisation known as Tibet’s government-in-exile said in Australia on Wednesday that a destabilising economic downturn in mainland China could prompt Beijing to attack Taiwan or India, and this dynamic should be closely watched. Penpa Tsering, known as the Sikyong of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), was speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, and compared Chinese policies to move Tibetan children into boarding schools, and DNA collection, to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3224859/downturn-mainland-china-could-prompt-attack-taiwan-or-india-exiled-tibetan-leader-warns?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3224859/downturn-mainland-china-could-prompt-attack-taiwan-or-india-exiled-tibetan-leader-warns?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:30:18 +0000 Did Tibet’s highest spiritual leader sexually assault a child? This question was sparked after a video showing the Dalai Lama asking a young boy to “suck” his tongue went viral earlier this month. In the clip, the Dalai Lama is approached by a boy – whose identity remains unknown – for a hug. He then asks the child to kiss him on the cheek, holds the boy’s chin and kisses him on the lips. He then says “suck my tongue” and sticks his tongue out. The crowd laughs and the leader hugs the child... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3217863/dalai-lama-asking-young-boy-suck-my-tongue-tibetan-tradition-or-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3217863/dalai-lama-asking-young-boy-suck-my-tongue-tibetan-tradition-or-abuse?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Apr 2023 03:30:16 +0000 The president of the Tibetan government-in-exile on Thursday defended the Dalai Lama over a viral video clip of him asking a child to suck his tongue, saying he has been misinterpreted. Penpa Tsering said at the New Delhi branch of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia that the spiritual leader’s compassion and love are beyond all the misunderstandings that the video has created. The negative reaction to the video “really hurts us,” Tsering said. “We are hurt by the insinuations.” Will... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3217053/tibetan-exile-leader-defends-dalai-lama-over-suck-my-tongue-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3217053/tibetan-exile-leader-defends-dalai-lama-over-suck-my-tongue-video?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Apr 2023 06:59:30 +0000 The Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama apologised on Monday after a video which showed him asking a young boy to suck his tongue triggered a backlash on social media. The video, which has gone viral, shows the Dalai Lama, 87, planting a kiss on the boy’s lips as he leaned in to pay his respects. The Buddhist monk is then seen sticking his tongue out as he asked the child to suck it. “Can you suck my tongue,” he is heard asking the boy in the video. The footage is from an event in McLeod... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3216569/dalai-lama-apologises-asking-boy-suck-his-tongue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/3216569/dalai-lama-apologises-asking-boy-suck-his-tongue?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 10 Apr 2023 09:30:07 +0000 About 100,000 ethnic Tibetans gathered at the Buddhist holy site of Bodhgaya in India’s Bihar state at the end of 2022 to listen to the teachings of the Dalai Lama. The 87-year-old Buddhist leader needed help to ascend the stage, but his mind was sharp and he spoke without hesitancy during his hour-long sessions. Uppermost in the minds of many Tibetans is the legacy he will leave behind and how that could preserve peace in Asia. In a 2019 book published just before the border flare-up between... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205819/will-tibetans-middle-way-china-approach-preserve-peace-himalayan-region?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3205819/will-tibetans-middle-way-china-approach-preserve-peace-himalayan-region?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 04:00:19 +0000 Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has unleashed a diplomatic blitz as he meets with envoys and heads of states from around the world on the sidelines of the annual United Nations General Assembly, with more than 50 official engagements scheduled during an 11-day visit to the United States. But there’s one notable exception in his public itinerary: no bilateral meetings are planned with China, India’s biggest neighbour. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also in New York... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3193208/chill-lingers-over-china-india-relations-amid-jaishankars-diplomatic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3193208/chill-lingers-over-china-india-relations-amid-jaishankars-diplomatic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Sep 2022 19:50:11 +0000 A bipartisan bill introduced by US lawmakers on Wednesday would make it official government policy that Tibetans have the right to “self-determination” and that the dispute over Tibet’s status remains “unresolved”. In the latest effort by Congress to challenge the Chinese government on its human rights record, the bill’s backers hope that the hardening of language around Washington’s position on Tibet could pressure Beijing into resuming long-stalled negotiations with the Dalai Lama, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3185203/us-house-bill-aims-press-china-restart-tibet-talks-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3185203/us-house-bill-aims-press-china-restart-tibet-talks-dalai-lama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Jul 2022 21:49:24 +0000 Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama urged the public to reduce fossil fuel use during a meeting with activists to mark Earth Day, warning that the climate change crisis transcends national boundaries. The 86-year-old – who is now living in exile in India’s Dharamsala – was presented with a block of ice carved from one of the fast-melting glaciers in India’s Himalayan Ladakh region. Mounted on a wooden stand, the hunk of ice was meant to highlight the effects of climate change on the Tibetan... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3175317/dalai-lama-urges-move-renewable-energy-combat-climate-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3175317/dalai-lama-urges-move-renewable-energy-combat-climate-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Apr 2022 15:55:27 +0000 The US State Department appointed a high-ranking official as its special coordinator for Tibetan issues on Monday, as Washington seeks to restart long-stalled talks between Beijing and the Dalai Lama and gain US diplomats greater access to the region. Naming Uzra Zeya – the under secretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights – the Tibetan coordinator signalled US President Joe Biden’s commitment to advancing the human rights of Tibetans and addressing environmental... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3160480/us-announces-new-special-coordinator-tibetan-issues?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3160480/us-announces-new-special-coordinator-tibetan-issues?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Dec 2021 19:12:28 +0000 It isn’t the smell of smoke that greets you when you walk through the doors of Lhasa, it’s the sight of it. Located beneath the Zabarwan hills and just across from Dal Lake, the partly open-air restaurant seems out of place among the eateries that dot the iconic Boulevard Road of Srinagar, Kashmir. The roof isn’t a typical Kashmiri one, either. It is in the style of the pagodas of the Tibetan highlands. Inside, not Kashmiri but traditional Chinese lanterns cast a red glow over dozens of... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3155053/how-momos-spared-exiled-tibetans-violence-kashmir?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3155053/how-momos-spared-exiled-tibetans-violence-kashmir?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Nov 2021 07:30:16 +0000 In many ways, Jalue Dorje is a typical American teenager – he grew up in a suburb of Minneapolis, loving American football, Pokémon and rap music. Yet a few years from now, he’s expecting to say goodbye to his family and homeland and join a monastery in the foothills of the Himalayas – from an early age, he was recognised by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders as a reincarnated lama. Since that recognition, he’s spent much of his life training to become a monk, memorising sacred... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3143406/pokemon-loving-us-boy-14-hopes-become-leader-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3143406/pokemon-loving-us-boy-14-hopes-become-leader-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Aug 2021 13:43:40 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Tibet was a way for Beijing to flex its muscles and send a clear message about its dominance of the region, according to analysts. The president’s latest policy edict on Tibet – summarised in eight Chinese characters that translate as “stability, development, ecology and border-area consolidation” – and the stage-management of the event were meant to send a clear message to domestic audiences and to India and the Dalai Lama. The official reason for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3142911/what-message-was-xi-jinping-trying-send-his-visit-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3142911/what-message-was-xi-jinping-trying-send-his-visit-tibet?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jul 2021 15:00:16 +0000 More than 100 Nobel Prize winners have accused the Chinese government of trying to “bully the scientific community” by trying to stop two laureates – the Dalai Lama and Taiwanese chemist Lee Yuan-tseh – from speaking at the Nobel Prize Summit earlier this year. “We Nobel Laureates are greatly concerned about a series of incidents that occurred before and during the Nobel Prize Summit,” said the statement published online on Wednesday. The signatories included past winners in all categories,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3142893/more-100-nobel-prize-winners-accuse-china-bullying-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3142893/more-100-nobel-prize-winners-accuse-china-bullying-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 28 Jul 2021 12:00:21 +0000