On Nov.7, 2013, Amy Kazmin, a reporter with the Financial Times of the UK published an article about his interview of the 14th Dalai Lama. Zhang Yun, director of the Research Institute on History and a researcher of the China Tibetology Research Center commented the Dalai Lama’s remarks as "clichés without new thoughts". Zhang Yun's rebuttal are as follows:　

"Tibet independence"

Apart from condemning the Chinese political system and its Tibet policy, the Dalai Lama continued to make groundless remarks, distort the history and advocate "Tibet independence".

In his interview, the 14th Dalai Lama repeated to the reporter that "In history, Tibet is an independent country, and Our Tibetans were independent."　

China is a multi-ethnic and unified country, which was constructed by all the ethnic groups including the Tibetan. Every ethnic group has formed close bond with one another during the long period of economic, political, religious and cultural development. The ethnic Han and Tibetan even share a kinship and the same family of languages. Even the Tubo Kingdom established by the Tibetan ancestors during China’s Tang Dynasty (618-908 A.D.) was also constituted by all the nationalities on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau as well as its neighboring places, including the Han, the biggest ethnic group in China.

Only from the provincial perspective the Chinese history cannot be clearly interpreted, nor can the concept of nationalism be explained in its full context.

In contrast, the understanding of nationalism of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government as well as its ethnic policy and the principle in dealing with ethnic relationship is much better than that of the Dalai Lama who still has a selfish and insular mindset.

Even from the administrative point of view, the Chinese central government had exercised administrative jurisdiction over Tibet since the Yuan Dynasty was established in the 13th century. The dynamics of governance may be different in different times, but it had lasted for as long as 700 years.

Why hasn't the Dalai Lama ignored all of these facts? Instead he often took Tibet in the era of the Republic of China as an example.

In fact, although China was undergoing many hardships during that period of time, the issue of "Tibet independence" or the "De facto independence" had never existed. Despite the intervention of the imperialist forces and the collusion of some ethnic separatists, the scheme of “Tibet independence” had never been realized for the following reasons:

First, all people of the Chinese nation including the Tibetan objected to "Tibet independence". Weak as the regimes of the Republic of China, they had insisted on maintaining its sovereignty over Tibet as the constitution and all the laws and regulations confirmed that Tibet is a part of China. The patriotic forces of Tibet’s upper class such as the 9th Panchen Lama and Rinpoche Razheng both held the same position, so did the major forces of Tibet’s local government. The Lungshar and other local officials clearly stated that Tibet is undoubtedly a part of China.

Even the 14th Dalai Lama himself was recognized by the Committee of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs of the government of the Republic of China, and so was the 10th Panchen Lama. And the Committee exercised political and religious governance of Tibet, and the Tibet dispatched representatives to attend the congress of the national assembly of Kuomintang, or the Nationality Party.

Although Tibet's local authority headed by the 13th Dalai Lama was hesitant about "Tibet’s independence" at the beginning of the Republic of China and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, after a deliberation, he clearly expressed his stance that Tibet is a part of China in his late years.

In mid- and late 1940s, the plot of "Tibet independence" went abortive. The international community, including the British government itself who had intervened in and coined the "Tibet issue" had never recognized "Tibet independence", and leaders of the United States and India expressly stated that Tibet is a part of China.

Therefore, Tibet has never been "independent" in history, and the history of "Tibet independence" was a sheer scheme to separate China.

Self-immolations

In this interview, the Dalai Lama also talked a lot about self-immolations. He said that "the hardline officials should be responsible for this issue," which was a little different from his previous remarks.

Tibet is in its prime time in terms of the economic development and social conditions, and so are other Tibetan-inhabited areas including southwest China’s Yunnan and Sichuan and northwest China’s Gansu and Qinghai. With the improved living standard, why did self-immolations occur?

One peculiarity is that most of the victims were young people, and the incidents mostly happened in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan, especially at the Kirti Monastery.

Through careful investigations, the public police uncovered many criminal cases of plotting self-immolations by several organizations. The fact is that the Kirti Rinpoche who fled to India in a failed rebellion in 1959 played a negative role, in the meanwhile, the separatist forces overseas attempted to spoil the good development momentum in the Tibet-inhabited areas. They even dared to conduct unlawful and inhumane measure to incite innocent young people to commit suicides, which hurt their families, but pleased the inciters. Someone even compiled and printed the Guide to self-immolations in an attempt to direct them to burn themselves, or lure them to do so by the excuse of "buying their corpses" or "donating for the dead". Some "senior lamas" also showed their consent or support by praying for blessings.

But what has the 14th Dalai Lama has done? The public can see it very clearly.

In face of blames, he replied, "it is hard for him to say ‘you must live on to endure the unendurable hardship.’ If I ever had some ideas for them, I (may) say, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t shorten your life, and live longer. Then we can do this and that.’ But I have no other option to offer. In a moral sense, it is very difficult because I have no other choice."

There is a saying that saving one life is better than setting up a seven-storey pagoda. As one of the Rinpoches of the Gelug Sect of Tibetan Buddhism，how could the 14th Dalai Lama stay indifferent and aloof? Is it so hard to offer some comport for the self-immolators？ The benevolence he always lectures is a mere lip service.

"In a word, these self-immolators were not drunk, nor had any family problems," added the Dalai Lama.

"But it is obvious that they had been brainwashed, and turned out to be pathetic and lamentable scapegoats."

Illogic in his remarks

However, we can easily find some inconsistencies in his remarks during the interview.

The reporter clearly described his impression on the good feeling of the Dalai Lama at the moment: Compared with his depression after March 14th Incident in 2008, "Now he looks very relaxed and confident, claiming that he could convince most of the Tibetans-even those in support for ‘Tibet independence’ accept China’s rule under the precondition of Tibet’s “genuine autonomy’".

The Dalai Lama also said to the reporter in person that "I have some moral authority over the Tibetans, with which I can convince those seeking for ‘independence’".

At this point, you may be as puzzled as me: How come a Rinpoche so morally powerful and being able to talk pro-"Tibet independence" activists into giving up the idea cannot help those innocent self-immolators? If he cannot convince the young self-immolators, how can he convince those who pursue "Tibet independence"?

Moreover，the Dalai Lama stressed that he is a simple monk, but after his "political retirement", he has never stopped conducting political activities such as traveling overseas, trying every way to meet foreign leaders and politicians, or making political speeches in his religious capacity. It seemed that he was more active politically than before "retirement".

And in this interview, he had said almost nothing related to the Tibetan Buddhism, but all about politics instead.

His future action plan is, namely, to promote human value, religion and protection of Tibetan culture, but in essence centers on promoting his scheme of "greater Tibet" and "high degree of autonomy" (or "real autonomy").

So it is easy to tell whether he is a monk or a politician.

If the Dalai Lama really means to protect the Tibetan culture as he always says, he can certainly offer his suggestions to Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited areas. It is not necessary at all to promote "pseudo-independence", making himself the most controversial Rinpoche of the Gelug Sect in Tibetan Buddhism.

In fact, the Dalai Lama also disclosed some of his true thoughts, especially on why he would not go back to China, which was sensationalized by someone.　　

He responded to the reporter: "I’ve got a lot of messages, orally or written from Tibet, especially some aged people asking me to ‘return, and the sooner, the better.’ But a sensible people such as writers, students and retired officials think I’d better live in a free country. And they hold that 'we want a representative in a country with freedom.’ This is their message."

It seems that the Dalai Lama is destined to act as the representative of the so-called "free country". But we might as well shift to another perspective on this status, which is understood as the tool for the western anti-China forces to scheme separate, segregate and contain China.

In the meanwhile, the Dalai Lama added another reason.

"I told them ‘by now the Chinese government regards me as a demon. If a demon appeared at the airport, he would be shackled with handcuffs and sent to jail, a demon’s palace."

It is certainly understandable if this remarks showed that he is worried about being convicted of many unlawful deeds he has done. However, he could also stop harming national unification, ethnic unity and social stability from now on, and turn a new page by declaring that he had broken with his past.

In addition, if he still considers himself a Chinese, he would do something for the stability, development and well-being of it own country, Tibet and other Tibetan-inhabited area as well as the sound development of Tibetan Buddhism. In this sense, he will open a new path in cracking this hard nut.