Tibetan Govt in Exile President Penpa Tsering points to Chinese involvement in viral video of Dalai Lama

President of the Tibetan Govt in Exile, Penpa Tsering, has accused the Chinese government of orchestrating the recent viral video controversy surrounding the Dalai Lama. Tsering stated that the resurfacing of the video, which showed the Dalai Lama kissing a child at a public event, was part of a larger campaign to malign the reputation of the Tibetan spiritual leader.

Speaking to WION's Diplomatic Correspondent Sidhant Sibal, he said, "Everybody knows who benefits from the maligning, destruction of the reputation of His Holiness and the legacy of his holiness - it is the Chinese government."

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Tsering who is the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration also spoke out against Chinese aggression at India's northern border, stating that their actions were not helping anybody. Additionally, Tsering challenged the Chinese government to properly study Tibetan Buddhism before attempting to interfere in the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, warning that their actions could lead to a "lifelong problem."

Talking about the controversy involving the Dalai Lama, Tsering said, "It's really unfortunate that His Holiness’ actions have been taken in a totally different way. If you watch the whole video, then you will understand the grandfatherly affectionate demeanour of His Holiness Dalai Lama. His Holiness is 87 years old. Please understand, he is no more a young man to be accused of all the names. We also need to understand where it's coming from. You know that this event happened publicly in the presence of the media on the 28th of February. Now this resurfaced one month and 10 days later and who were the first instigators of the resurfacing of these viral videos."

"And everybody knows who benefits from the maligning, destruction of the reputation of His Holiness and the legacy of his holiness - it is the Chinese government, we all know that but unfortunately, what was going around in the social media was picked up by the mainstream news," he added.

On being asked whether Beijing was behind this entire saga, Tsering said that from prima facie evidence, this was spread widely inside China to create a perception of the Dalai Lama, adding it moved internationally.

"And if you look at the scale and the extent of how it was orchestrated, there is a bigger force. There's no doubt about it," the President of the Tibetan Govt in Exile added.

As China came out with its views regarding the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, Tsering said if Beijing wants to be responsible for reincarnation, it should study Tibetan Buddhism first.

"This is unique to Tibetan Buddhism, without understanding the concept of life after death, how can you be responsible, my challenge to the Chinese government is, do you want one lifelong problem? When the time comes, of course, His Holiness assures us that he would live for over another two decades, up to 113 years. I also keep saying that it remains to be seen whether his holiness outlives the Communist Party, or the Communist Party outlives the Dalai Lama. But then, again, China wants to use this as a political tool," he added.

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