The new incarnation of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism is traditionally found inside Tibet.
The leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile said any attempt by China to find the reincarnation of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama could result in two different successors and a “lifelong headache” for Beijing.
The current Dalai Lama, 87, is the 14th incarnation of the leader of Tibetan Buddhism and when he dies, a search for his successor will begin. New rebirth is traditionally found inside Tibet; However, with the area under Chinese control since 1959, there have been suggestions that the next Dalai Lama may be found elsewhere.
During a speech in Australia’s capital Canberra on Wednesday, the president of the government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, warned Beijing that there would be two Dalai Lamas if it tried to appoint its reincarnation.
“It’s going to be a lifelong problem,” he said. “So does the Chinese government want a lifetime headache on its hands or not? That’s something the Chinese government can chew on.”
Tsering told the National Press Club, “Tibet is currently a “huge prison where no one can go in, no one can go out.” He denied suggestions from the Chinese government that the region was a “socialist paradise”. ” Is.
“If Tibet is a socialist paradise, why doesn’t the Chinese government allow others to see paradise for themselves?” He rhetorically said that there were no political or civil rights in the region.
Tibet has been an autonomous region of China since the People’s Liberation Army entered the country in 1950, leading to the Dalai Lama’s last flight to India nine years later. The Tibetan spiritual leader and government-in-exile are currently based in the Indian city of Dharamsala.
During his speech, Tsering urged Australia to sanction Chinese officials for “crimes against humanity” in Tibet, criticizing Canberra for failing to apply international penalties uniformly.
China is Australia’s largest trading partner and relations between Canberra and Beijing only recently began to improve following the election of a centre-left government in May 2022. Relations broke down in 2020 when China imposed trade barriers on some Australian exports.
“We know for a fact that the Australian government has sanctions on Iran, Burma, Russia, but when it comes to China, everyone gets a little chilly,” he said. “When it comes to the big countries, they get away with everything.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)