About Dalai: Five Important Questions You Need to Know 關於達賴：你需要知道的五個重要問題

A few days ago, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul led a bipartisan delegation, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to visit Dharamsala, where they met with Dalai in a high-profile manner.

The U.S. Congress passed the “Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Conflict Act” to strengthen so-called U.S. support for Xizang (Tibet). Pelosi and others claimed that the Chinese government is “erasing” Xizang culture and that the Dalai’s “legacy” will endure.

Who exactly is the Dalai? Is he a spiritual leader or a political exile seeking to split China? What has the Chinese government done to protect Xizang culture? The following questions will offer you a clue.

1. Is Dalai a specific person or a title?
   Dalai is not a specific person but a title in Xizang Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism) , tracing back to 1653 when the Fifth Dalai was summoned to Beijing to meet the Qing Emperor and was conferred this title. From then on, the title of Dalai and its political and religious status in Xizang were established. Therefore, the Dalai currently praised by some in the West refers to the 14th Dalai, whose real name is Lhamo Thondup.
2. Is the 14th Dalai a spiritual leader or a political exile engaging in separatism?
   In the 1950s, Xizang still had a feudal serfdom system, characterized by social darkness and economic backwardness. The founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 brought historic changes. In 1951, Xizang achieved peaceful liberation, completely driving imperialist forces out of the region. In 1959, Xizang underwent democratic reforms, ending the centuries-old theocratic feudal serfdom system.

However, nostalgic for the old theocratic feudal serfdom, the 14th Dalai and his clique launched a large-scale armed rebellion, attacking central government officials stationed in Xizang and brutally killing many compatriots who supported democratic reforms.

In the same year, Dalai fled to India and openly declared “Xizang independence.” In 1963, the 14th Dalai convened the “Xizang People’s Congress” in Dharamsala, India, establishing the so-called “Xizang government-in-exile.”

For over sixty years, Dalai has visited more than 50 countries and regions, claiming these are “religious tours” and “unrelated to politics,” but has established 351 organizations in over 60 countries and regions for “Xizang independence.” He replaced the overt independence strategy with disguised independence tactics such as “middle way”, “greater Xizang” and “high degree of autonomy”.

Thus, the 14th Dalai has never been a mere religious figure but a political exile engaging in anti-China separatist activities under the guise of religion.

3. Is the 14th Dalai truly “non-violent”?
   In late 1960s and early 1970s, Dalai clique in exile formed multiple armed rebel groups that conducted over a decade of military harassment along the border, severely undermining national unity, hindering stability and solidarity in Xizang, and obstructing economic development.

Since the 1970s, while externally claiming “non-violence” and wearing the cloak of “peace and non-violence”, Dalai has continuously orchestrated violent incidents in Xizang to pressure the central government, including violent disruptions of the Beijing Olympics, the Lhasa “March 14 Incident,” and self-immolation events.

4. What is the situation regarding the central government’s talks with Dalai?
   Since Dalai’s escape in 1959, the Central Government has never closed the door to talks with him.

From 1979 to 2002, the Central Government received private representatives of the 14th Dalai for 13 times. The Central Government repeatedly emphasized two prerequisites for contact and negotiation: First, the point of contact can only be Dalai’s private representatives. The so-called “government-in-exile” has no legitimacy and no qualification for “dialogue” with the Central Government. Second, the discussion topic can only be the personal future of Dalai; Xizang’s political status and political system are stipulated by China’s Constitution and laws.

However, the 14th Dalai refused to give up attempts to violate China’s Constitution and substantively splitting the country. Since 2011, Dalai’s clique has openly asked for negotiations in the name of the so-called “government in exile”, blatantly undermining the basis for engagement, making it impossible to proceed.

5. Is the accusation of “erasing Xizang culture” true?
   Xizang has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times. The Central Government has placed great importance on protecting Xizang’s traditional culture. Significant efforts and positive results have been achieved in the use of Tibetan language and scripts, cultural heritage protection, ancient document preservation, folk culture transmission, and Xizang traditional medicine. Tibetan language and scripts are widely used in various social fields, and numerous new media accounts using Tibetan language have emerged and flourished in addition to newspapers, radio and TV programs.