Beijing [China], August 7 (ANI): In a renewed display of its authoritarian control over Tibet, China has once again asserted its exclusive authority over the reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama, dismissing the spiritual leader’s role in determining his successor.
The declaration was made by Gama Cedain, chairman of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), during a news conference in Beijing marking the 60th anniversary of TAR’s founding, according to Tibetan Review. Cedain, who also serves as deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party’s TAR committee, stated that “the central government has the indisputable final say in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.”
He stressed that the process must occur “domestically” using Communist Party-sanctioned procedures, including the controversial “golden urn” lot-drawing ritual, and only with Beijing’s explicit approval, Tibetan Review reported.
This rigid stance directly contradicts the Dalai Lama’s publicly stated position. During his 90th birthday celebrations last month, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader reaffirmed that his reincarnation would be determined solely by a non-profit institution he established for that purpose and would not fall under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. He also made it clear that there is “no question” of his reincarnation being born in any territory ruled by Beijing.
China has long labeled the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, as a separatist, although he has consistently advocated for genuine autonomy for Tibet within China—not full independence. Nonetheless, Beijing continues to seek complete ideological and religious control over Tibet, Tibetan Review noted.
This is not the first instance of Chinese interference in Tibetan religious succession. In 1995, Beijing abducted a six-year-old boy recognized by the Dalai Lama as the 11th Panchen Lama—Tibet’s second-highest spiritual figure—and replaced him with a state-approved loyalist. The original child, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, remains missing to this day.
Cedain’s latest comments underscore China’s ongoing efforts to co-opt Tibetan Buddhism for political gain, suppressing the spiritual freedoms of the Tibetan people. What was once a sacred religious tradition—the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama—has become another battleground in China’s broader campaign against Tibetan identity and autonomy, Tibetan Review concluded. (ANI)
About The Author
