Washington: The Biden Administration said the Chinese government should have no role in the succession process of Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader.
The State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at a daily briefing here that China’s interference in the succession of the Panchen Lama over 25 years ago, including by ‘disappearing’ the Panchen Lama as a child and attempting to replace him with a PRC (People’s Republic of China) government-chosen successor remains as an outrageous abuse of religious freedom.
The previous president Donald Trump in December had signed into law a bill which called for establishing a US consulate in Tibet and building an international coalition to ensure that the next Dalai Lama is appointed solely by the Tibetan Buddhist community without China’s interference.
The Act said United States will take appropriate measures to hold accountable senior officials of the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party who directly interfere with the identification and installation of the future 15th Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, the successor to the 14th Dalai Lama.
