Foreign and Military Affairs

Foreign backing gives Dalai Lama no room but doom

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-20 11:25

Self-claimed "Son of India"

When some foreign groups are claiming that they support the Dalai Lama for the protection of the distinct Tibetan religion, culture and language, it is also a question as to whether the monk himself is a Tibetan.

On March 31, 2009, the Dalai Lama said to media in New Delhi that he was a son of India. He repeated the claim at an international conference on Nov 22 later that year. He put it clearer at the opening ceremony of an international Buddhist conference held in Gujarat State in India on Jan 16 this year, saying: "It is indisputable that I am a son of India. In the past 50 years I have been living on Indian foods and India has presented great opportunities for me. For these reasons, I see myself as a son of India and I am proud of that. I am a Tibetan in appearance because my parents are Tibetans, but spiritually I am Indian."

The statements should not be judged as words on a whim. On Jan 23, 2007, he told the Indian media that in 1914, both the then Tibetan government and India, which was under the British rule, recognized the McMahon Line, which meant, according to the then agreement, "Arunachal Pradesh" was part of India.

He said to the British media on August 10, 2009 that the McMahon region was indeed a bit complicated problem but the place belonged to India after 1914 though there were different claims in history. The monk's statement was echoed by senior officials of the "Tibetan government-in-exile." Actually, the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" and McMahon region which cover more than 90,000 square kilometers were all governed by the local government in Tibet in the Chinese history.

It is the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama and boasts temples built by the fifth Dalai Lama. The McMahon Line has never been recognized by the Chinese government at any time.

How can the Dalai Lama, who on the one hand seeks a "Greater Tibet" that would cover not only the Tibet Autonomous Region but also all other Tibetan-inhabited areas in China, and on the other present the land of ancestors to foreign countries, be representative of the Tibetan people? Is such a person in a position to talk about religion, culture, language and human rights? It only testifies to his plot of splitting the nation by counting on foreign forces. And it justifies the necessity of the central government to demand the Dalai Lama recognize that Tibet is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory.

The Dalai Lama told media at a press conference in Tokyo on Oct 31, 2009 that the Chinese government saw him as a troublemaker, so his responsibility was to make more trouble. The act of pressing the central government by sabotaging China's relations with other countries would only worsen his relation with the central government and cause nationwide resentment against him. He will taste the bitter fruits of his plots in the long run.