China View: The Dalai Lama’s Lasting Struggle to Save Tibetan Culture
Pier Marco Tacca
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, has said he will discuss the details of his reincarnation when he turns 90 in July 2025. In response, the China Tibetan Buddhist Academy, a government-backed institution, convened to discuss this process, underscoring the necessity of state approval for identifying reincarnated Tibetan religious leaders. Beijing asserts its 'natural' authority over identifying the Dalai Lama's successor.
In addition to these efforts to control religion, China has been heavily involved in transforming the region through investment in infrastructure and increased influence on local governance. Many local and exiled Tibetans have expressed concern that their cultural and religious freedom are deteriorating under Beijing’s control. Some have even resorted to extreme measures to protest this wrongful treatment. Between 2009 and 2022, 157 people committed self-immolations in Tibet calling for freedom for Tibetans. Beijing has vehemently refuted these accusations and has insisted that it fully respects the religious and cultural rights of the Tibetan people.
Tibet has remained under China’s reign since 1950, when Mao Zedong’s, the 1st Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), launched a military invasion of Tibet. Following the incursion, the Tibetan government led by the 14th and current Dalai Lama was forced to sign the Seventeen Point Agreement in 1951. This accord ceded Tibet’s sovereignty to China and established an autonomous administration under Chinese supervision. This process of assimilation was not met without resistance. In 1959, there was a revolt sparked by growing discontent among Tibetans over Chinese government policies, including the suppression of Tibetan culture and religion, forced assimilation, and economic exploitation. In response, the Chinese government implemented harsh and repressive policies including the imprisonment and torture of thousands of Tibetans.
In the aftermath of this uprising, rumors spread that the Dalai Lama would be abducted or assassinated, which pushed the Dalai Lama to escape and seek refuge in India. Tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees followed him, which led to the establishment of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala. Following his departure, the CCP continued to denounce the “backwardness” of Tibetan society and the destructive nature of the Dalai Lama’s politics of independence for Tibet. To further integrate Tibet into China, the government focused on promoting industrialization and infrastructural development in the region. How will these state-led development efforts effect the lives and culture of local Tibetans?
The Dalai Lama is considered a “living Buddha of compassion, a reincarnation of the bodhisattva Chenrezig, who renounced Nirvana in order to help mankind”. He is also believed to have the ability to choose the person that will inherit his role. The Chinese government wants to control this process to ensure the successor follows and promotes the CCP. Command over the Dalai Lama would also solidify its control over Tibet. China continues to claim sovereignty over Tibet, and insists that it liberated Tibetans from poverty and slavery. In response, the Dalai Lama has rejected calls for Tibetan independence since 1974 and has instead advocated for greater autonomy as well as religious and cultural freedom for Tibetans.
Despite escaping to India, Beijing still sees the Dalai Lama as a dangerous threat and firmly opposes any country that meets with him. As China has grown into a superpower, fewer governments have met with the Dalai Lama for fear of harming economic relations with China. By the 1990s, Chinese authorities banned prayers to the Dalai Lama as well as the display of his image. Tens of thousands of monks and nuns in Tibet were also forced to publicly denounce him. The Chinese press regularly refer to him as a traitor and “the source of all turmoil in Tibetan society”. In addition to this rise in propaganda, Beijing has convened a committee composed of government-selected Tibetan monks and key Communist Party officials who will be involved in the selection of the next Dalai Lama. In 2007, the Chinese government also passed a measure outlining 14 rules to formalize its control over all future reincarnations.
Insisting that the reincarnation process requires state approval, the Chinese government faced condemnation from the Dalai Lama in 2011 for its attempts to control this tradition. He reaffirmed that only the individual set to be reincarnated has authority over determining where and how his rebirth will happen. He also stated explicitly that if he dies in exile, his reincarnation will be born outside of China. The last time the Dalai Lama identified a reincarnated lama inside Tibet in 1995, the six-year-old was kidnapped and replaced by China.
Beijing has been pouring billions of dollars into Tibet in an effort to cement its control in the region. These massive infrastructure projects include new airports and highways with planned investment totaling $97 billion. China has also spent over $450 million renovating Tibet’s major monasteries and other religious sites since the 1980s. However, due to this state-led development, millions of Tibetans living in rural areas have been forced to build homes and give up their traditional nomadic lifestyles. China has consistently defended its policies in Tibet by highlighting improvements in stability and development in the region.
“These relocations of rural communities erode or cause major damage to Tibetan culture and ways of life, not least because most relocation programs in Tibet move former farmers and pastoralists to areas where they cannot practice their former livelihood and have no choice but to seek work as wage laborers in off-farm industries,” -Human Rights Watch
Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, the government has also closed down most local schools and expanded the use of boarding schools.Local Tibetans have argued that this shift has given the Chinese government the power to shape the worldview and identity of young Tibetans. There are also concerns about the use of predominantly Mandarin at these schools. Chinese officials defended the use of Mandarin by claiming that the Tibetan language “lacks the vocabulary for teaching science and mathematics”. Children who attend these schools are unable to easily communicate with older relatives who grew up studying Tibetan, creating a generational rift and exacerbating fears of losing Tibetan culture and identity.
Across Tibet, Chinese authorities have also heightened surveillance and access to the region is rarely given to foreign journalists. Under Chinese government rules, ethnic Tibetans are also banned from contacting or sharing news with people outside the region. While China’s presence in Tibet has led to progress in economic development, social stability, and environmental protection, many Tibetans are displeased with China’s continued involvement and influence. Fears of losing culture and identity have resulted in protests and revolts against the state. In response to these concerns, organizations and countries have focused on raising global awareness of this issue. In 2024, the United States passed the Resolve Tibet Act, which aims to promote “negotiations that advance freedom for the Tibetan people and a peaceful resolution to the CCP’s conflict with the Dalai Lama”. Countries should continue to bring awareness to this issue and condemn China’s treatment of Tibetans.
