Not content to do everything it can to cruelly obliterate Tibetan culture, China claims to have authority over the religious processes of Tibetan Buddhism. For example, a recent official Chinese statement proclaims: “…all confirmations of the Dalai Lama have required approval by the central Chinese government, which has deemed the process an important issue concerning sovereignty and national security” [ Xinhua Chinese news, 19 July 2015, http://news.xinhuanet.com, edited by Xiang Bo]. The illogical stupidity of this statement reflects the idiocy of a totalitarian regime. How can a mystical Tibetan Buddhist process of choosing the next reincarnation of the Dalai Lama be a matter of Chinese sovereignty? Of course it cannot be. How can choosing a spiritual leader who teaches tolerance, compassion, kindness, and love be a matter of national security? There may be some validity in that statement, in that anybody who teaches those virtues is a danger to the evil communist state, which does not respect human rights or value individual freedom.
Someday–it may take a long time–the Chinese people will be free of the totalitarian communist government and live in a free democracy that respects human rights. Maybe then Tibet will be free. Hopefully, at that time China will not have succeeded in totally destroying Tibetan culture. Meanwhile, the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism reverberate around the world, spreading joy, guidance, and compassion everywhere.