“Although the Dalai Lama is currently outside China, his reincarnation is still part of the Gelug tradition and under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, as most temples are located within China,” Laxianjia said, referring to the Gelug – or “Yellow Hat” – sect of the exiled Dalai Lama.
“Therefore, it is only natural that the Chinese government would implement [the 2007] system and apply these principles to ensure control over Tibetan Buddhism.”
Laxianjia also said his field research showed that the general public in Tibet were not as reverential towards the 14th Dalai Lama as they had “become more aware of his political identity and his political moves abroad”, though they did acknowledge that his 13 predecessors had made significant contributions to the development of Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetans regard the Dalai Lama as the living incarnation of the Buddha. The sitting Dalai Lama, who will be 89 this week, has hinted that he will address the issue of his reincarnation when he turns 90.
He previously suggested terminating the institution of the reincarnated Dalai Lama, but also said Beijing should have no say in this. Beijing insists that the process must follow Chinese law.
Beijing has blamed him for past unrest among Tibetans in China – in the 1980s and 2008 – and there have long been concerns if his death could be another flashpoint for such social tensions.
Experts at the forum in Beijing on Thursday also blamed the Dalai Lama for the lack of communication with Beijing.
“There has been no progress in this regard for many years because the Dalai Lama himself has not understood or implemented the central government’s requirements. Instead, he seeks to achieve Tibetan independence, semi-independence, or de facto independence through negotiations,” said Zhang Shigao, director of the Institute for Contemporary Tibetan Studies at CTRC.
The panellists also argued that Beijing’s use of the name “Xizang” instead of “Tibet” in English-language articles was a way to exercise its sovereignty over the autonomous region on China’s Western border.
“Xizang” is the pinyin, or Chinese romanisation, of the Mandarin script for “Tibet”.
Liang Junyan, a researcher at CTRC, said the term “Tibet” had taken on “more political connotations”, and Beijing had the “right to modify this name to avoid generating ambiguity”.
Liang said the name “Tibet” was misleading, as it was too broad and inaccurate from a geographical perspective. The Tibetan language is spoken not only in the autonomous region, but also in neighbouring provinces including Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai and Gansu, she argued.
Thursday’s forum, which aimed to address 65 years of reforms in Tibet, was attended by several Chinese and international media outlets.
Liang also pointed to several US congressional bills related to Tibet as the basis for Beijing’s adoption of the term “Xizang”.
A slew of Tibet policy bills passed by the United States in recent years had referred to the area as “Greater Tibet”, a term long advocated by the 14th Dalai Lama, and Beijing made the change to avoid any misunderstanding, Liang said.
The Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is regarded by Beijing as a “separatist” seeking independence for Tibet, a claim he denies.
The bipartisan delegation, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, said they would not allow China to influence the choice of Dalai Lama’s successor and would pressure Beijing to resume talks with him.
In response, China’s foreign ministry said that its policy was “consistent and clear” – that in order to resume contact and talks with Beijing, the 14th Dalai Lama “must thoroughly reflect on and completely correct his political propositions”.
