Dalai Lama Declares Succession Will Defy Chinese Control: No Beijing Influence Allowed

The Dalai Lama, the revered Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has emphatically affirmed that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama will persist after his death — but with a crucial caveat: the Chinese Communist Party has no role in selecting his successor. Speaking at religious ceremonies ahead of his 90th birthday in Dharamshala, India—where he has lived in exile since fleeing Tibet following China’s brutal 1959 crackdown—Tenzin Gyatso made clear that the traditional process of finding the next Dalai Lama remains solely in the hands of Tibetan Buddhists. He specifically pointed to the Gaden Phodrang Trust,...