China says Dalai Lama less and less influential, but must reincarnate

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama is becoming less influential, both abroad and in Tibet, but his suggestion he will not reincarnate is still a "betrayal" of the religion and the country, a top Chinese official said on Wednesday. China says the Dalai Lama, who fled into exile in India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, is a violent separatist. The Buddhist monk denies espousing violence and says he only wants genuine autonomy for Tibet. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is these days being received by fewer and fewer foreign leaders, because of the anger it draws from China, the world's second-largest economy. Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the ethnic and religious affairs committee of the top advisory body to China's parliament, said such meetings would cause these people "who don't know right from wrong" to "lose status" in the eyes of Chinese people. "At the same time, the international media is less and less interested in the Dalai Lama," Zhu, known for his hardline stance on Tibet, told reporters on the sidelines of parliament's annual session. Even in Tibet, he is exerting less influence, as demonstrated by the decline in the number of people immolating themselves, Zhu added Read More

Source: Reuters