The row sparked by China concerning the succession of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is gaining momentum with an article published by The Hindu.
The International edition of The Hindu published the article on April 21, entitled India’s policy on Tibet is clear: scholar. The article includes an interview with Wang Xiaobing, research fellow at the China Tibetology Research Centre, who said that in the matter of the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, he was confident about New Delhi’s positive response and that “India is unlikely to side with Washington”. He continued, referring to “a string of legal documents in the fifties”, and saying, “With regard to the core issues, that are central to national interests on China, the Indian government has a very clear policy. It knows that Tibet belongs to China; so on those central core issues concerning China, India has a very clear position.”
The Hindu offers no response from India to this assertion.
Initially just a comment in one of China’s directives concerning Tibet, that China has the right to ratify all reincarnations, the row escalated when China asserted that this includes that of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. While His Holiness himself is well and expects to live for many more years, there is international interest in the issue with statements being made at government level and questions raised during media interviews with His Holiness.
United States Congressional Leader Senator Cory Gardner, Chairman of the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cyber security Policy, said on April 9: “Let me be very clear – The United States Congress will never recognise a Dalai Lama that is selected by the Chinese.” This comment was made amid a trade war between the US and China.
In an interview with Reuters, His Holiness said recently that his successor could be born in India and that “nobody will trust, nobody will respect” a Dalai Lama chosen by China.
The Hindu article reports that analysts are concerned that “if the Dalai Lama enforced his assertion, it could undermine the ‘One China’ principle by compromising the legitimacy of the Beijing approved successor”. China has stated, “The reincarnation system has been there for hundreds of years. The 14th Dalai also was recognised in the religious rituals and was approved by the central government.” Foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang is quoted as saying in March: “The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama should be following the national laws and regulations and the religious rituals.”
And in Germany, a recent parliamentary statement detailing and criticising China’s human rights abuses in Tibet prompted China to accuse such critics of being “enchanted by the Dalai Lama”.
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