Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said.
-By Chen Yu-fu and Sam Garcia for Taipei Times
China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community.
The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.”
China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times, Liu Han-cheng (劉漢城), author of Tibet Has Never Been a Part of China, said at the forum.
Before 1949, China never exercised sovereignty over Tibet, so it has no right to decide the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, Liu said, citing sources from China.
The process for the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation does not originate from religious rituals or laws in China, so Beijing has no historical, legal or moral basis for interfering in how Tibetans select the newest person to bear the title, he said.
He said that the early Republic of China (ROC) was too consumed by internal turmoil and wars to exert control over Tibet, and that after the Qing Dynasty fell, British support enabled Tibetans to expel remaining Qing forces.
Before the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established in 1949, the ROC had virtually no influence in Tibet, Liu said.
Hu Ping (胡平), editor of the New York-based Chinese-language magazine Beijing Spring, said that none of China’s three requirements in its regulations on the reincarnations of Tibetan Buddhist living Buddhas are tenable.
The requirement that the Dalai Lama must be found in China is a nonstarter because there is a historical precedent of choosing a Dalai Lama from outside the country’s borders, he said, adding that the fourth Dalai Lama, Yonten Gyatso, was born in Mongolia.
The search for reincarnated living Buddhas is based on the spread of Tibetan Buddhism and the spread of its followers, which is not limited by countries’ borders, he said.
The second requirement, that the “Golden Urn” lottery method should be used, lacks significant historical precedent, as this method was only used during the Qing Dynasty to identify one or two Dalai Lamas, he said.
Lastly, the requirement that the Dalai Lama be approved by the Chinese government, as if the Dalai Lama were an “official” appointed by Beijing, does not work because the appointee would be rejected by most Tibetan Buddhists and ultimately become a historical embarrassment, Hu said.
Fooyin University professor Su Chia-hung (蘇嘉宏) said that there could eventually be two Dalai Lamas, one selected by the overseas Tibetan Buddhist community and another by the Chinese government.
If the Dalai Lama was reincarnated in Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, Beijing’s position that the reincarnation must occur within China would collapse, as any political justifications it has would backfire, said Kelsang Gyalsten Bawa, chair of the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Bawa reiterated that Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso said in July that the highest authority on his reincarnation is the Gaden Phodrang Foundation of the Dalai Lama.
National Medical University professor Chang Kuo-cheng (張國城) echoed Bawa’s viewpoint, saying that China would face a narrative contradiction if the Dalai Lama was reincarnated in Taiwan.
If Taiwan were ever to fall under Beijing’s control, it would suffer repression worse than Tibet, Chang said, emphasizing that by supporting Tibet, Taiwan is supporting itself.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
Click here to read the original report on Taipei Times
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