China demands veto on Tibet's 'living buddhas'

"...
In a striking display of Beijing's determination to tighten control
over Tibet, a 14-chapter notice published by the state religious
affairs bureau set out "approval procedures" for new living buddhas
and said monasteries that did not follow them would be punished.
...."


China demands veto on Tibet's 'living buddhas'

By Richard Spencer, in Beijing
Last Updated: 12:52am BST 05/08/2007

Chinese authorities demanded the right yesterday to veto the
reincarnation of "living buddhas", the holy figures most revered by
the Tibetan faithful.

The Dalai Lama: China demands veto over Tibet's 'living buddhas'
The exiled Dalai Lama is in his 14th incarnation

In a striking display of Beijing's determination to tighten control
over Tibet, a 14-chapter notice published by the state religious
affairs bureau set out "approval procedures" for new living buddhas
and said monasteries that did not follow them would be punished.

Supporters of the exiled Dalai Lama, the pre-eminent living buddha who
is 72 and currently in his 14th incarnation, will see the rules as an
ominous sign that the authorities are determined to appoint his
replacement when he dies.

In 1995, they put the six-year-old boy appointed by the Dalai as the
new Panchen Lama, the second-highest living buddha, under house
arrest, and announced their own candidate for the position.

The publication of the rules followed new restrictions placed on
travel by foreigners in Tibet and widespread reports of greater
intrusion into monastic life.
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Pro-Tibetan rights groups and the Tibetan government-in-exile said
they were intended to discourage protests and public displays of anti-
Chinese feeling in the run-up to next year's Beijing Olympics. But
they also coincided with rumours that the "Chinese Panchen" may have
begun to resist co-operating with the authorities.

The rumours, said to be prevalent in Tibetan areas, were triggered by
his failure to appear in public for three months, though he visited a
temple near Beijing last weekend and overseas Tibetan representatives
said they had found no evidence to back up the story.

The Communist Party has fought a running battle for control over
Tibet's monasteries since the region was "liberated" by the People's
Liberation Army in 1951.

Apart from the opposition represented by the Dalai Lama, some local
lamas have also defied the authorities.

Many monasteries, particularly in ethnic Tibetan areas outside the
officially designated "Tibetan Autonomous Region", continue to
venerate photographs of the Dalai despite orders not to do so, while
even in the major temples in Lhasa there are regular signs of dissent.

In 2005, the authorities began a campaign to try to force monks to
denounce the Dalai in the name of "patriotic education".

The latest regulations are similar to those governing the appointment
of bishops, which is the root cause of the refusal of the Vatican to
recognise the official Chinese Catholic Church.

Tashing Tseri, the London spokesman for the Tibetan government-in-
exile, said the new controls showed that the authorities lacked
confidence in their claim that their rule was popular.

"In the past they always maintained that the people in Tibet are very
happy but people can go and see for themselves," he said. "In a
peaceful way people are showing their dislike for Chinese rule, and
the authorities are getting desperate."

from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/08/04/wtibet104.xml

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