China recently hinted that it was ready to meet the Dalai Lama; however, the Tibetan spiritual leader has made it clear that he is not interested in meeting the Chinese officials.

The 86-year-old 14th Dalai Lama shared his views on China and its policies during an online news conference anchored in Tokyo on November 10. Japan hosted the news conference to discuss whether the Global Community should boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics over the suppression of minorities, including the Uyghur Muslims, by Beijing. Speaking at the conference from his base in India, the spiritual leader strongly criticised the top Chinese Political Leadership, saying: “They don’t understand the variety of different cultures.” It is unfortunate that the main Han Ethnic Group is still controlling the Political Affairs, there, he stressed.

At the same time, the Dalai Lama told the Japanese media that he had nothing against “Chinese brothers and sisters“, and that he broadly supported the Communist and Marxist values. “I have known Communist Party leaders since Mao Zedong. Their ideas (are) good. But sometimes they do extreme, tight control,” he stressed. The Buddhist leader believes that things would change in China under a new generation of leaders. He explained the cultural aspect of Chinese society, saying: “Regarding Tibet and also Xinjiang, we have our own unique culture, so the more narrow-minded Chinese Communist leaders, they do not understand the variety of different cultures.” He mentioned that one should not forget the fact that China consisted not only of ethnic Han people, but also other groups. “In reality, there is too much control by Han people,” he added.

The Dalai Lama also expressed serious concern over the future of Taiwan, saying that the Global Community should help decrease the military tension in the region. He further said that the island was a fine example of Ancient Chinese Culture and Traditions, as the Mainland China has been “too politicised“. He told the media: “Economically, Taiwan gets a lot of help from mainland China. And culture, Chinese culture, including Buddhism, I think mainland Chinese brothers and sisters can learn a lot from Taiwanese brothers and sisters.“

Although the Dalai Lama has no plan to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, he wants to visit the country mainly to see old friends. However, he prefers to stay in India, which according to him, is a centre of Religious Harmony. “All religions carry the message of love and use a different philosophy of views. So now, the problem (is) the politicians, in cases some economists… use this difference of religion. So now, religion is also politicised – so that is a problem,” he said.

The Dalai Lama had arrived in India in 1959, nine years after China seized control of Tibet in 1950. Since the ‘Peaceful Liberation’ (as claimed by Beijing), Tibet has become one of the most restricted and sensitive areas in China. The Chinese Authorities have always considered the Dalai Lama as a dangerous Separatist. However, the Spiritual Leader has worked hard for the past six decades to ensure global support for the Linguistic and Cultural Autonomy of Tibet.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das