TAR Governor: It's Not Time for the Dalai Lama to Come Home; Next Dalai Lama To Be Chosen by Lot According to Qing Dynasty Rules

July 29, 2005

Jampa Phuntsog (Qiangba Puncog), the Governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), told reporters in Hong Kong that it is too early to consider the Dalai Lama's return to his homeland, according to a July 19 South China Morning Post (SCMP) report. Accusing the Dalai Lama of continuing to work for Tibetan independence, Phuntsog complained that the Tibetan government-in-exile "has set up a parliament," "expanded its separatist activities," and "made the Tibet problem an international issue."

Jampa Phuntsog (Qiangba Puncog), the Governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), told reporters in Hong Kong that it is too early to consider the Dalai Lama's return to his homeland, according to a July 19 South China Morning Post (SCMP) report. Accusing the Dalai Lama of continuing to work for Tibetan independence, Phuntsog complained that the Tibetan government-in-exile "has set up a parliament," "expanded its separatist activities," and "made the Tibet problem an international issue." He made the remarks during "Tibet Culture Week," a program that is sponsored by the State Council Information Office, the TAR government, and the Hong Kong Liaison Office, according to a July 20 Xinhua report.

Jampa Phuntsog referred to the Dalai Lama's advancing age, telling the reporters that the next Dalai Lama will be identified by "the traditional rules of Tibetan Buddhism since the Qing dynasty," and that, "The choice [of reincarnated lamas] has never been arranged by the Chinese Communist Party." (Phuntsog is also the deputy Party secretary of the TAR.) In 1995, however, senior Party member Luo Gan, who is now a Politburo member, presided when Gyalsten Norbu's name was pulled from a golden urn and the boy was announced as the reincarnated Panchen Lama. Months earlier, the Dalai Lama had recognized five-year-old Gedun Choekyi Nyima as the Panchen Lama, but Chinese leaders declared the announcement "illegal and invalid" and set about installing Gyaltsen Norbu.

Governor Phuntsog's comment about the rules of Tibetan Buddhism refers to a 1793 Qing Dynasty edict demanding that the Tibetan government in Lhasa reform religious, administrative, economic, and military practices to suit the Qing court. The first of the edict's 29 articles directed that the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama be selected by drawing lots from a golden urn, and that a high-ranking Chinese official must be present to confirm the result. Tibetans used their own methods, however, to identify the current Dalai Lama and his predecessor.

Article 27 of China's new Regulation on Religious Affairs includes the principle of the Qing directive. The article says that "the succession of living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism shall be conducted under the guidance of Buddhism bodies and in accordance with the religious rites and rituals and historical conventions, and be reported for approval to the religious affairs department of the people's government."

Additional information about dialogue between China and the Dalai Lama or his representatives, and about religious freedom for Tibetans in China, is available in the CECC 2004 Annual Report.