Note: Several hours ago Phayul reported that the Dalai Lama has no plans to visit Hong Kong. That report seems very much to be in response to the blog post translated below which Woeser first posted at RFA and then put on her own website a few days ago. If one of the points raised in the post has thus been answered, there are others that also deserve consideration, particularly the point that China is very much concerned that a situation similar to what they now have with the Panchen Lama (i.e., two individuals designated as such, the official Chinese choice being largely rejected by the Tibetan population) not happen with regard to the Dalai Lama’s next incarnation. To that end, Woeser notes, China seems to be trying to manipulate the Dalai Lama and the exile authorities to accept that the next Dalai Lama will be born and recognized within China, in part by holding out hope for movement in negotiations and even a resolution of Tibetan issues. With that in mind, one may rightly wonder if the anti-democratic moves by the exile authorities, including the rejection of democracy as a Tibetan goal, interference from Tibetan exile leaders in the management of RFA’s Tibetan service, and, most recently, the effective castration of a cravenly apologetic TYC are supposed to be part of a reorientation meant to align the exile community with signals coming from China. Read the full story »

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