‘Dalai Lama can’t deny China’s right to confirm his successor’
China today marked 50 years of Tibet’s amalgamation with the Communist giant, holding a grand parade in Lhasa showcasing its grip on the strategic Himalayan region even it adopted a tough stance against the Dalai Lama, calling for a crackdown on “separatist forces”.
Earlier this summer, when USA band Maroon 5 dropped a Shanghai concert from its tour without explanation, fans surmised that the reason was a tweet by the band’s keyboardist, Jesse Carmichael, linking to a photo of an event he attended to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday.
There was no immediate comment from the 80-year-old Dalai Lama, who is in Britain this month for a series of speaking engagements.
Yu, who exactly drove the exact…
Schoolchildren waved flags and paramilitary troops marched in full battle dress as the Chinese government on Tuesday staged a mass spectacle marking 50 years since Tibet’s establishment as an ethnic autonomous region firmly under the control of Beijing.
This year marks several sensitive anniversaries for the remote region.
According to a regulation introduced by the central government in September 2007, all reincarnations must be approved by the government, including high-ranking Tibetan religious leaders. In 1951, the Tibetans signed an agreement affirming China’s sovereignty over Tibet, on the condition of an autonomous administration led by the Dalai Lama.
“Tibet is an important shield of national and ecological security, an important strategic resources reserve base, an important place to preserve distinctive culture of the Chinese nation and an important passage for opening up to south Asia”.
The fate of Gendun Choekyi Nyima is part of an ongoing struggle between the Chinese government and Tibetan spiritual leaders over the right to confirm reincarnations, a right that the government claims to be fully entitled to.
Norbu Dundub accused the Dalai Lama of violating historical conventions and religious rituals by designating a Panchen Lama at will. “The designation is illegal and invalid”, he said. On Monday, a Tibetan official said at a press conference for the 50th anniversary ceremony that the vanished Panchen Lama is “living a normal life” and “does not wish to be disturbed”.
“His interaction with leading thinkers at Oxford and Cambridge highlights his ground-breaking collaboration with scientists and scholars, while his dialogues with young people will inspire a new generation”, said Chonpel Tsering, representative of the Dalai Lama in northern Europe.
Yu told the crowd that “sabotage attempts” by the Dalai Lama and his associates had been “foiled”, without giving details.