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Penpa Tsering, the head of an India-based organization known as the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), which serves as Tibet’s government-in-exile, has said that the latest round of “backchannel” negotiations with China focused on a range of issues, including the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet, have been taking place since the start of the year.
In an interview with DW in Vienna, Tsering said the talks are still at an early stage, but stressed that both sides wanted to re-establish formal contact.
The statement gains significance as formal talks between the Chinese government and the CTA stalled in 2010. Tsering declined to name the officials involved in the talks.
Will the talks lead to a breakthrough?
China’s communists, after coming to power in 1949, overthrew the Buddhist theocracy running Tibet in 1951.
Beijing says Tibet has been a part of China for many centuries, a claim it uses to support their sovereignty over the territory. But many Tibetans reject China’s claim, pointing to periods of Tibetan history when it enjoyed self-rule.
In 1959, following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the Dalai Lama, the head of the dominant school of Tibetan Buddhism, fled into exile. He has since been living in Dharamsala, a hillside city in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The CTA is also based in the city.
Beijing doesn’t recognize the CTA and has denounced them and the Dalai Lama for “attempting to separate Tibet from China.”
For years, Chinese authorities have also slammed the exiled spiritual leader as a “separatist” and a “wolf in monk’s robes.” But the Dalai Lama has repeatedly said that he’s only seeking genuine autonomy for Tibet, not separation from China.
Against this backdrop, Harsh V. Pant, professor of international relations at King’s College London, said it would be very surprising if something came out of these backchannel talks.
“Such backchannel discussions in various forms have been going on for quite some time but so far there has been nothing to show for them,” he said.
However, Pant pointed out that Chinese President Xi Jinping, after opening several fronts at the global level, is now trying to take a step back.
“There has been a stronger-than-expected pushback from various global players and the Chinese economy is weakening, so Xi has an incentive to loosen up,” he said. However, he added, “it is highly unlikely that Tibet would be an area where Xi would do it.”
Raising awareness about human rights in Tibet
Many Tibetans fear their Buddhist culture is at risk of erosion by Chinese political and economic domination.
Tsering recently visited the US, Canada, Latin America and Europe to raise awareness about the human rights situation in Tibet.
He painted a grim picture of life there, accusing Chinese authorities of imposing monoculturalism on Tibetans, eradicating ethnic identities and suppressing political activities.
He also denounced Beijing for creating a constant state of fear through extensive surveillance, anti-espionage laws and the widespread collection of sensitive data, among other measures.
Furthermore, China is accused of running colonial-style boarding schools in Tibet, where Tibetan children are separated from their families, from their culture, from their language and from their religion.
The United States even said in August it was imposing visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing “forced assimilation” of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families.
Tsering said the Chinese government wants to avoid ethnic problems by changing every young Tibetan into Chinese.
“I think they are looking for a way to manage the situation in Tibet without losing face,” Tsering said. “They know that the status quo is unsustainable.”
Who will have the final say over the next Dalai Lama?
Tsering also spoke about the question of the Dalai Lama’s succession.
He said they are “not concerned” about the Chinese government’s attempts to control the process of selecting the successor.
The Dalai Lama, now 88, has already said he may break Buddhist tradition and pick his own reincarnation or declare the institution over, fearing officially atheist Beijing will identify and groom a pliant successor.
Tsering said that the Chinese government “does not believe in life after death” and that they “do not understand” the Tibetan Buddhist concept of reincarnation.
“How can an atheist government which does not believe in religion, be responsible for finding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama?” he asked.
Tsering also called for greater international support for the Tibetan cause, noting that the US is the only country that has a law on Tibet, the Tibetan Policy and Support Act passed by US Congress in 2020.
The legislation makes it official US policy that the succession of Tibetan Buddhist leaders, including the succession of the Dalai Lama, be left solely to Tibetan Buddhists to decide, without interference from the Chinese government.
Stating that the European Union is “fractured in many ways,” Tsering urged the bloc to have a more uniform foreign and trade policy toward China.
Tsering said he’s in regular contact with the about 150,000-strong Tibetan diaspora communities worldwide. They represent just 2% of the overall Tibetan population – about 6.3 million Tibetans remain in China.
He underlined that some Tibetans in exile are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in dialogue with the Chinese government.
Tsering, however, remains “hopeful” for the future of the Tibetan cause.
“There is an unwavering spirit of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet and we will never give up on our struggle.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru
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