But the anniversary has also put the question of who will succeed the ageing Dalai Lama into sharp focus, with the choice likely to spark a controversial geopolitical contest. Buddhist monks walk past portraits of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Mcleodganj. “Nothing is permanent,” he said, sitting in front of a Tibetan flag in the hills above the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where the Dalai Lama also lives. “So I chide my Chinese friends, saying: ‘You are waiting for this Dalai Lama to die. “Let us see whether His Holiness the Dalai Lama outlives the Communist Party, or the Communist Party outlives His Holiness,” he added.

Source: Taipei Times February 23, 2024 17:59 UTC