By Xinlu Liang
Beijing said the succession of the Dalai Lama should be in accordance with tradition and Chinese law, in a swift rejection of a plan announced by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
The comment was made hours later after the 14th Dalai Lama said his office – the Gaden Phodrang Trust – held the sole authority to recognise the next Dalai Lama.
On Wednesday, four days ahead of his 90th birthday, he posted a statement to X discussing the future of the Tibetan spiritual leadership, particularly his succession plans.
He said that his reincarnation should be decided by Tibetans and Buddhists, echoing his 2011 statement that only this trust, in consultation with Buddhist leaders and protectors, could identify the next Dalai Lama.
“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” he said in the statement on Wednesday.
Hours later, Beijing swiftly rejected his succession plan and maintained that the successor would be selected in accordance with tradition and Chinese law.
“The Dalai Lama’s reincarnation must follow the principles of domestic recognition, the ‘golden urn’ process, and approval by the central government, in line with religious traditions and laws,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference on Wednesday.
The Dalai Lama’s approach marks a clear departure from past tradition, and tensions with Beijing are expected to escalate, observers say.
The Tibetan émigrés’ refusal to acknowledge any role for China’s government in the search and recognition process “diverges from procedures of government certification that have several hundred years of precedence,” said Barry Sautman, a specialist on China’s ethnic minorities and professor emeritus at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.
Historically, the Dalai Lama is believed to be the tulku – an incarnation – of a series of spiritual leaders dating back more than 600 years. Following Tibetan tradition, upon his death, aides and senior lamas identify his successor through rituals and signs.
In the 18th century Qing dynasty, the Qianlong emperor introduced a lot-drawing “golden urn” system to select reincarnations. The process was conducted in multiple languages, including Tibetan, Manchu and Han Chinese, according to a historical document issued by Qianlong called “The 29-Article Ordinance for the More Effective Governing of Tibet”.
Since then, reincarnations of all Dalai Lama and Panchen Erdeni – the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism – were recognised, approved and enthroned with the consent of both local and central governments, except for three cases: the 9th, 13th and 14th Dalai Lamas.
But they also sought special government exemptions and got Beijing’s approval, as Mao Ning pointed out: “The 14th Dalai Lama himself was recognised after the 13th’s death following traditional rituals, but his recognition was granted directly by the then central government, exempting him from the golden urn process”.
Li Decheng, deputy director general of the China Tibetology Research Centre, said that while the Dalai Lama “clique” and some anti-China forces had claimed the process was “an internal religious affair to be decided by the reincarnated individuals themselves,” historical facts have demonstrated that past reincarnation “has never followed such a precedent”.
Reincarnation was not just an “internal religious matter” but also a matter of “national sovereignty, government authority, religious principles and the sentiments of lay followers”, he wrote in an article published by Xinhua on Tuesday.
“There is simply no basis for the reincarnated individual alone to decide the matter, and any attempt to politicise the reincarnation of Living Buddhas will ultimately prove futile.”
In 2007, the traditional ceremony was incorporated into China’s official regulations, along with a clause explicitly banning interference by overseas individuals and parties.
“I believe that sinicisation of religion is not about restricting religious practice; rather, all religions must adapt to the social, cultural and historical context of the country. Tibetan Buddhism in China is a prime example of a religion that has integrated Chinese characteristics, exemplifying the process of sinicisation,” Mao said on Wednesday.
The differences in the succession issue have come to a head in the past.
After the death of the 10th Panchen Lama in 1989, Beijing and the Dalai Lama recognised two separate boys as his successor, with the Dalai Lama’s choice disappearing from public view in the decades since.
In a rare public comment on the issue, Zhao Lijian, then spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, told a press conference in May 2020 that the boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was a working adult and that he and his family preferred not to have their everyday lives disrupted.
China views the 14th Dalai Lama as a separatist and accuses him of inciting unrest, particularly in the 1980s and during the 2008 protests in Tibet.
He denies the charges and has promoted a “Middle Way” policy, which seeks to maintain Tibet under Chinese sovereignty while securing guarantees for Tibetan culture and religious practices.
The Dalai Lama had said previously that he would make public his succession plan on his 90th birthday. In recent months, Beijing has appeared to be on alert for signs of social instability.
Last month, China’s top security official, Chen Wenqing, asked political and legal bodies in Qinghai province, where the present Dalai Lama was born, to “enhance emergency preparedness, ensure safety and stability during major events, important periods and sensitive key points, and resolutely win the fight against separatism related to Tibet”, according to Xinhua.
The Panchen Lama has been in the Tibetan regional capital Lhasa since Friday, carrying out duties such as office work, social research and religious activities, according to local media. Lhasa has traditionally been a power base of every Dalai Lama, and the centre of unrest in 1959, the 1980s and 2008.
The Panchen Lama met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on June 6, when Xi told him to “carry on the glorious tradition of Tibetan Buddhism of loving the country and religion, and resolutely safeguard national and ethnic unity”.
According to tradition, the next Dalai Lama will be recognised by the 11th Panchen Lama, but the current Panchen Lama is disputed by the current Dalai Lama.
The Dalai Lama has been in exile in India since 1959 following a failed uprising in Tibet.
Efforts at dialogue between Chinese officials and the Dalai Lama’s representatives began in the early 2000s but have stalled since 2010.
Beijing insisted it was still willing to negotiate with the Dalai Lama about his “personal future”, but emphasised that the core issue of Tibet’s status was off the table.
“In any case, the popular influence of the institution of the Dalai Lama is likely to recede, because the global trend of secularisation is being experienced in Tibet and because the institution of the Dalai Lama has over three-quarters of a century rested on the persona of Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th incarnation, an impactful persona unlikely to be duplicated,” Sautman said.
The United States has historically supported greater Tibetan autonomy and passed legislation to counter Beijing’s role in the succession process and its framing of Tibetan history.
However, recent shifts in US policy, including budget cuts and changing diplomatic priorities, have complicated Washington’s support for the exiled Tibetan community.
“In an era where US and Indian support for Tibetan separatism has receded for various reasons, the Dalai Lama’s passing may create a disjuncture that leads to the realisation – at least among younger and non-aristocratic/theocratic émigrés – that the time has come to abandon separatism, accept that Tibet is legitimately a part of China, recognise Tibet’s rapid development, and contribute to enhancing the prosperity of Tibetans,” Sautman said.
“That means that while there will almost certainly be acrimonious contestation between the Chinese government and the émigrés after the Dalai Lama’s passing, at least part of the Tibetan diaspora may opt for reconciliation, which the Chinese government will welcome.”