Dalai Lama turns 90 and vows to keep defying China for years
DHARAMSHALA, India (Reuters) -The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, turns 90 on Sunday after a week of celebrations by followers during which he riled China again and spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.
The Nobel laureate is regarded as one of the world's most influential religious leaders, with a following that extends well beyond Buddhism, but not by Beijing which calls him a separatist and has sought to bring the faith under its control.
Fleeing his native Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule, the 14th Dalai Lama along with hundreds of thousands of Tibetans took shelter in India and has since advocated for a peaceful "Middle Way" to seek autonomy and religious freedom for Tibetan people.
Thousands of followers from around the world, celebrities, and officials from the United States and India, will attend his birthday celebrations in Dharamshala, the small Indian town in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Dalai Lama lives.
During the celebrations, which will include cultural performances and remarks by long-time follower and Hollywood star Richard Gere as well as federal Indian ministers, the Dalai Lama is scheduled to deliver a speech.
The preceding week of celebrations was particularly important for Tibetan Buddhists as the Dalai Lama had previously mentioned that he would speak about his succession at his 90th birthday.
On Wednesday, he allayed their concerns about the future of the institution of the Dalai Lama by saying that he would reincarnate as the leader of the faith upon his death and that his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, had the sole authority to recognise his successor.
China has said that the succession will have to be approved by its leaders.
The United States, which is seeking to counter the rise of China, has called on Beijing to cease what it describes as interference in the succession of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist lamas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Asia's Richest Tycoon Is Making America Great Again
From Ottawa to Beijing, President Donald Trump's trade war has made many enemies. But it has also won America some allies. Asia's richest tycoon is preparing to welcome US cargo originally meant for China but rerouted to India. The ship Mukesh Ambani is waiting for is laden with ethane. This colorless, odorless component of natural gas is shipped in liquefied form in special carriers such as STL Qianjiang, which is currently on its way from the US Gulf Coast to billionaire Ambani's terminal in Dahej, Gujarat, on India's western seaboard. There, his flagship Reliance Industries Ltd. has an ethane cracker to produce ethylene, a key building block of plastic products.
UPI
an hour ago
- UPI
Dalai Lama celebrates 90th birthday amid China tensions
July 6 (UPI) -- The 14th Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism, marked his 90th birthday Sunday with a celebration attended by thousands in the city of Dharamshala in India. The event included politically charged remarks subtly referencing China from U.S. and foreign officials. The website for the Dalai Lama said in a statement that the celebration was organized by the Central Tibetan Administration, the Tibetan government-in-exile, formed after the Dalai Lama fled the 1959 failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama did not lead the uprising, but rumors of Chinese plans to kidnap him fueled the resistance, and he was forced to flee to India for his safety -- where he established the CTA. Tibet remains tightly controlled by Beijing despite its classification as an "autonomous region," as does the majority of the population following Tibetan Buddhism. Since his exile in 1959, the Dalai Lama's relationship with China has been marked by decades of tension as Beijing condemned him as a separatist while he advocates for Tibetan autonomy through nonviolence and dialogue. Last week, the aging Dalai Lama signaled that China should refrain from interfering in the process for his succession, while China has increasingly begun to warn off what it views as interference by India and reinforce its position that the succession of the spiritual leader should be held in accordance with Chinese law. Bethany Nelson, Deputy Secretary of State for India and Bhutan, read a statement on behalf of Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the birthday festivities. "The United States remains firmly committed to promoting respect for the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of the Tibetan people," Nelson said. "We respect efforts to preserve their distinct linguistic, cultural and religious heritage, including their ability to freely choose and venerate their religious leaders without interference." Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama also delivered video messages that were shown during the celebrations, praising the Nobel Laureate as a voice for peace. The CTA particularly noted that Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan, which China views as a wayward province, had extended birthday wishes to the Dalai Lama. The birthday celebration also comes days after the administration of President Donald Trump decided to walk back cuts to aid for Tibetans in exile. Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong or, political leader, of the CTA, addressed the cancellation of those cuts in a statement from the celebrations. He mentioned that a "substantial delegation" from the U.S. State Department and staff from the U.S. Embassy in Delhi worked diligently with the CTA to restore some of the funds.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
X blocks Reuters accounts in India
The main Reuters news account, as well as the Reuters World account, have apparently been inaccessible to X users in India since Saturday evening. Reuters reports that Indian users attempting to view the @Reuters account — which has 25 million followers — instead see a message stating that the account 'has been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand.' However, an Indian government spokesperson told Reuters that no government agency has made such a demand. A Reuters spokesperson said the news agency is 'working with X to resolve this matter.' Reuters also says its social media team previously received a notification from X in May stating that the company was withholding content at the Indian government's request, though the notification did not specify which agency made the request or which content was being targeted. The social media platform formerly known as Twitter (which recently merged with another Elon Musk company, xAI) has criticized the Indian government over demands that it block certain accounts and posts. It even sued the government in March, claiming that a new website allows 'unrestrained censorship of information in India' by unlawfully enabling 'countless' public officials to take down content or block accounts. The government said the website only allowed it to notify companies about harmful online content. Last year, X also engaged in a protracted battle with Brazil's Supreme Court, which saw the service shut down operations in the country, then get banned for more than a month. TechCrunch has reached out to X for comment.
