By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Nov. 12: Chinese spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Wednesday said that China has been “always open” for dialogue with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, but noted that it will only be limited to the issue of his succession and not about the “so-called Tibet issue”. The response from the foreign ministry came after the Tibetan leader’s exchange with Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) on Nov. 10.
The 86-year-old leader, in his dialogue with the journalists, was asked if he had any plans on meeting with Xi Jinping, “No specific plan [but], however, for several years I’ve expressed a desire to visit Wu Tai-shan on pilgrimage. If I were able to do that, I could stop off in Beijing to meet with Chinese leaders.”
In response, Wang Wenbin said that the “door for such contacts is always open” but further remarked that the potential meeting could only be “things related to the personal future of the Dalai Lama, rather than the so-called Tibet issue”. A report in the Chinese state media Global Times pointed out that the Dharamshala-based Tibetan government-in-exile is a “complete secessionist political clique and an illegal organization in complete violation of Chinese Constitution and laws”.
The Nobel laureate expressed both hope and despair in the Chinese communist ideology as he recalled his meeting with Mao Zedong, “When I was in China [1954-55], I met Chairman Mao and other leaders. I was impressed by their Marxist values. However, on one occasion Chairman Mao declared that religion is poison and at that moment I realized how opposed he was to religion.” When asked about his opinion on Xi’s possible third five-year term, the Dalai Lama said he had no comments about the present leader, but stated that the government is too extreme and has “tight control” over the public.
“Regarding Tibet and East Turkestan [Xinjiang], we have our own unique cultures. More narrow-minded Chinese communist leaders, they do not understand the variety of different cultures. In reality, too much control by Han people,” he further commented.
There have been nine rounds of talks between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Chinese counterparts till date. The decade-long diplomatic stalemate between the two sides has stalled any further discussion in His Holiness’ return to Tibet. “I’ve lived here in Dharamshala in the Kangra valley for several decades now, and I enjoy it. I can communicate with everyone from here wherever they are. I’m free. Some years ago, I told former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh that I’d like to remain here for the rest of my life because here I have complete freedom,” the octogenarian leader responded when asked if he would prefer to live in Tibet.
3 Responses
As long as the Communist China remains in China, there is totally no hope to begin any meaningful dialogue with the exile Tibetan government nor visit of His Holiness to Wutaishan. The Middle Way is a great vision and win win for both the Chinese and Tibetans but it is not possible to seek solution with the Red Chinese. We must fight to get political recognition for the exile government and fight solely for freedom as long as the Communist government exist in China. No negotiation will happen and useless to maintain hope. The Communist government’s breach of Hong Kong agreement for democracy (One China two system) is enough for us not to trust the Communist government. I trust His Holiness but not the Communist leaders and their government.
Secondly, when something minor political differences happens between Righteous and Lefties in our community, no leaders judiciously stand to resolve issues amicably then how our leaders keeping hope with the Communist leaders to resolve major issues without conditions?
CCP plays his game . We are at the extrem end of the kali yuga , it is the reign of chaos, murders and injustice . CCP destroyed the last real theocraty named “Land of snow” Because at the end of this present manvantara Theocraty have unfortunatly no place to live . More and more suffering will come soon everywhere and for everyone .
The arrogance of the CCP is breath taking. There is no way of any talk about the future of the present Dalai Lama, be it his “return” as the CCP terms it or least of all his reincarnation. I believe the previous Sikyong made a mistake of coining the word “return of HH to the Potala”. It was a electoral gimmick than anything else.
The Dalai Lama was at pains to extricate himself from the Tibet issue and his personal well being. He emphasised that the Tibet issue was not about the Dalai Lama’s personal status or his position. He wanted to tell the world that the Tibetan issue was about the six million Tibetans, whose country has been illegally occupied by communist China. He said clearly and emphatically, ང་ཚོའི་འཐབ་རྩོད་འདི་བོད་མི་ས་ཡ་དྲུག་གི་བདེ་དོན་ལ་རེད་མ་གཏོགས་ ང་མི་གཅིག་གི་ཐོབ་ཐང་ལ་རྩ་བ་ཉིད་ནས་བརྩོད་ཀྱི་མེད་ (our movement is for the well being of six million Tibetans and not for the personal status of myself).
The Chinese communists portrayed the Tibet issue as that of a disgruntled Dalai Lama who is holding a personal grudge for losing his political power and status in Tibet! They had to because they claimed to have supposedly “liberated” Tibet according to their propaganda narrative. By mixing up the Dalai Lama’s person with the issue of Tibet has drastically reduced the Tibet issues importance and scope for the consumption of the international community. It has in fact validated the Chinese claim that there is no Tibet issue other than his return. It has drastically belittled the Tibet issue and in fact against the wishes of the Dalai Lama himself.
There is not the slightest doubt that HH is indeed the centre of the movement but when you present it to the outside world, it must not be made to look like an individual’s issue which clearly it is not. The Dalai Lama is the leading light of the movement but the movement is not about Dalai Lama. It is about the fate of the six million Tibetans under brutal Chinese communist occupation and relentless oppression.
HH The Dalai Lama has no interest to return to Tibet or China for good. He had spoken to Ex-PM Manmohan Singh by telling him, he wants to spend his life in Dharamsala. So, there is nothing to talk about HH’s future in terms of his return from exile.
The issue of HH’s future reincarnation is prerogative of the Dalai Lama himself and the Tibetan people alone and brooks no interference from any quarter especially not from heathen communist China. It is entirely the realm of holy beings like the Dalai Lama and not lowly blood thirsty dictators of China. HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA IS THE SPIRITUAL AND POLITICAL SOVEREIGN OF TIBET AND HENCE ONLY HE AND HE ALONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE AND NOBODY ELSE LEAST OF ALL COMMUNIST CHINESE DICTATORS.
The exile Government and its leadership will not be forgiven if, it in any way compromises or diminishes the sovereign right of the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people’s prerogative to choose OUR OWN Dalai Lama. The CCP is an illegal occupier of our nation and it has no right whatsoever to poke its nose in the divine world of holy beings. The CCP is a mass murderer and is therefore sacrilegious even to talk about holy beings like the Dalai Lama.
I find it odd that HH wants to visit Wutaishan. I am sure his main reason would be to meet Chinese Buddhists but as he tells his story of his visit to Taktser in 1954 during his China visit, he was kept away from even meeting the Tibetan locals!!! The Taktse locals wanted to offer him a meal but it was refused by his Chinese minders. According to Sandhutsang Rinchen’s memoir, during the Dalai Lama’s China visit in 1954, Tibetan officials lost all their contact with the Dalai Lama. He was completely taken over by the Chinese! The Tibetans were given the job of going ahead to pitch the tent and collect firewood before the Dalai Lama arrived at the spot where they were going to have meals or spend the night. Other than that the Chinese kept him far away from any Tibetan officials. So, from my perspective, HH should be more circumspect about the treatment he will be meted under absolute Chinese control from his own experience and relinquish such fanciful idea of meeting Chinese Buddhists. We know that the Chinese don’t issue visas to Lama’s and Geshes to go to Tibet for fear of them attracting people that might pose headache for the occupiers. We can assume with absolute confidence that the Dalai Lama will be treated like a gold fish in an aquarium to bring good will from the Tibetan and Chinese people but still a captive surrounded by over zealous CCP minders.
The greatest danger as I see it is, he will not be allowed to return to India even if he is able to visit Wutaishan. The CCP wants the 15th Dalai Lama in its pocket. The only way they can do it is, to detain the Dalai Lama in China until his demise and then produce “solemn promise and pledges of the Dalai Lama to be born in the Chinese motherland according to the decree of the Central Government of the PRC” !!! They will produce fake, manufactured letters purportedly written by the Dalai Lama and bring the “reincarnation” of the “fourteenth Dalai Lama” home to the dear motherland!!!
In such a scenario, the exiles will be left with their jaws gaping in the air!