edited by: Pathikrit Sen Gupta
Last Update: January 24, 2023, 18:55 IST
The Chinese envoy said that the 14th Dalai Lama is unquestionably not the ‘ordinary monk’ that he claims to be. (File photo/News18)
High-ranking Sri Lankan monks had hoped that the Dalai Lama would visit the island nation and help address its current economic problems.
Sources told CNN-News18 that on January 11, 2023, several Chinese diplomats and their charge Hu Wei reached the Malavathu Chapter of Buddhism in Kandy, Sri Lanka. He warned the monastery not to host the Dalai Lama because of Beijing’s dispute with him, sources said.
This is against China’s promise to the world that it will not interfere in any country’s domestic or foreign affairs.
The date of the Dalai Lama’s visit is not certain as some Buddhist monks who met him expressed their desire to welcome him to Sri Lanka.
Hu Wei visited Kandy and met His Holiness Thibbatuvave Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera, Mahanayake Thera of the Malavathu Chapter of the Siam Nikaya.
He told the Mahavihara how strongly the Chinese government and people, including the Tibet Autonomous Region, oppose His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Sri Lanka.
The Chinese envoy said that the 14th Dalai Lama is unquestionably not an “ordinary monk” as he claims to be. He is the ruler of Tibet’s feudal serfdom and theocracy before 1951, a man in political exile who has long been involved in anti-Semitic activities. Wei said that China is trying to separate separatist activities and Tibet from China.
High-ranking Sri Lankan monks actually hoped that the Dalai Lama would come to the island nation and help deal with its current economic problems.
“Both the economy and we will be blessed as a result,” he said.
The Sri Lankan government claims that its relations with China are only commercial.
China’s belligerence has put Sri Lanka in a difficult position on both political and economic fronts.
Beijing’s hostility towards the Dalai Lama is multi-faceted.
The Dalai Lama also established the Tibetan government in exile, and India Treated Tibet as a de facto country in its diplomatic relations.
It is important to note that China has been pressuring Tibetans to pay less attention to their religion and more support to President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to one report, Tibetan farmers have been relocated to contemporary housing in or near towns and cities.
Muslim Uyghurs, on the other hand, have been placed in “re-education centres”.
The Mandarin spoken in Xinjiang has been compared to a replacement for Tibetan.
Sources said the level of surveillance has increased in Tibet. Smartphones are tapped, and networks of informers transmit information to the state.
It has become very difficult for Tibetans to travel to India to attend religious lectures given by the Dalai Lama.
Also, Uyghurs can no longer make pilgrimages to Mecca.
Since 1949, more than 1.2 million Tibetans have been killed, more than 6,000 monasteries destroyed, and thousands of Tibetans imprisoned by China, according to reports.
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