Dalai Lama reveals WHEN his successor will be chosen, sidelines China, says THIS

The Dalai Lama on Wednesday (Jul 2) said that the 600-year-old institution will continue after his death and that he would have a successor after he dies. “I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” he said in a video broadcast at the start of a meeting of religious leaders in the Indian Himalayan town where he has lived for decades. The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader said that after he dies, a foundation appointed by him will choose his reincarnation and stressed that China won't play any role in appointing the 15th Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama slams China: “No one else has the authority to interfere”

While speaking about his reincarnation, the Dalai Lama dismissed China's participation in selecting his successor. The Tibetan spiritual leader said that only a foundation founded by him, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, will recognise his future reincarnation. He insisted that no one, China or anyone else, has “authority to interfere” in the process. China claims historical precedent, citing the Qing dynasty, to justify its right to approve the next Dalai Lama. This claim has sparked tensions that Beijing might try to appoint its own successor as the Dalai Lama, as it did in 1995. Back then, a major dispute arose between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government regarding the recognition of the 11th Panchen Lama. While the Dalai Lama recognised Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the Panchen Lama, the Chinese government subsequently abducted him and his family and installed their candidate, Gyaltsen Norbu.