China Furious at the Dalai Lama’s Televised Comments

By Aparna Kathuria / March 21, 2017;

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was interviewed by comedian and satirist John Oliver for the American television network HBO’s show Last Week Tonight which aired on March 6 and became an internet hit, delighting Tibetans and supporters worldwide as it was shared on social media.

However, some of His Holiness’s comments enraged Beijing. His Holiness said that Chinese leaders have portrayed short-sightedness while dealing with the question of his reincarnation and that leaders in Beijing have only been concerned with the image of the communist party. “Without using the human brain properly. It’s harmful… Our brain usually, you see, [has] the ability to create common sense. The Chinese hardliners, in their brains, that part of the brain is missing”, he said. China has retaliated, calling the Dalai Lama a “deceptive actor”.

The Dalai Lama was not to be drawn on details concerning his reincarnation while reiterating comments he has made before that he may be the last Dalai Lama in the long line of his predecessors in the institution revered by Tibetans and Buddhists from Himalayan regions over centuries. There is speculation that China is poised to go down the same road they did with the second highest Tibetan Lama, the Panchen Lama, who they abducted at the age of six and followed this by appointing their own Panchen Lama and installing him in Tibet.

In response to the televised interview, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has been quoted as saying”The Dalai Lama’s comments in the interview perhaps appeared humorous and funny, but these words are all lies that do not accord with the facts…We often say that the 14th Dalai Lama is a political exile who wears religious clothing to engage in anti-China separatist activities. Now it seems he is an actor, who is very good at performing, and very deceptively”.

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In his introduction, Oliver described His Holiness as “of profound importance to the Tibetan people as a spiritual leader and a figurehead”. The show featured a relaxed and casual Dalai Lama who spoke authoritatively, albeit with his trademark humour, on the current plight of the Tibetan people and the spate of self-immolations over the last few years.He addressed the issues raised by Oliver in depth and spoke of his compassion in the face of the Chinese regime imposed on his people.