Penpa Tsering, Sikyong of CTA raises concern as China imposes restrictions ahead of Dalai Lama's 89th birthday

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], July 5 (ANI): President of the Central Tibetan Administration of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering Sikyong, expressed regret that Tibetans cannot celebrate the 89th birthday of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on July 6 in his birthplace due to China's restrictions.
Conveying his message to all Tibetans, Sikyong said, "It is a joyous occasion for us who have the freedom to celebrate his birthday, but for Tibetans inside, of course, they still have to be bound by the restrictions that the Chinese government has imposed on not being able to celebrate Dalai Lama's birthday in the place of his birth."
The 14th Dalai Lama, known to the Tibetan people as Gyalwa Rinpoche, is the current Dalai Lama, also the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibet. The Chinese government is intensifying already stringent social media restrictions on Tibetans to keep them from celebrating the July 6 birthday of the Dalai Lama.
While speaking to ANI on Friday, he urged Tibetans to unite and support the Dalai Lama's efforts to keep the Tibetan issue alive.
"So that is very unfortunate but people have learned to understand the situation and the Chinese government is always very nervous around this time. Dalai Lama is going to be 89 this year, so to all the Tibetans inside and outside, I keep saying we see his holiness reincarnation of Aviloteshwara and so far, he alone travelled around the world with his folded hands and made sure that the Tibet issue is alive and one form of Avilokteshvara is a thousand eyes, thousand hands, now I ask Tibetans inside and outside to be one eye and one hand of Dalai Lama," said Sikyong .
Dalai Lama is in United States these days, as he went there for knee surgery. Talking about Dalai Lama's health, Sikyong said, "Dalai Lama's health is improving. The surgery went very well on the 28th of the last month and it was a short surgery and now he is in the recovery section and he will move somewhere to have physiotherapy for a complete recovery."
The US has also come up with a new law in support of Tibet and Tibetans are waiting for US President Biden to sign new legislation, the 'Tibet Resolve Act'.
Commenting on the government of India's vision or policy towards China, Sikyong said, "I keep saying that I am nobody to advise the Indian government and they are much smarter. People working at the top there and we of course work with them and yeah when a lot of things are happening, when there are lot of things on the table, it is also important to think about recalibration depending on the changing political scenario..."
The Chinese government labels Tibet as a "socialist paradise," but the CTA President questions why they don't allow people to see it for themselves if that's truly the case.
"Sometimes we get to know only after things have happened, one or two weeks or sometimes even one month after things have happened because the Chinese government knows that the world community and the media need evidence so they don't allow people to come and see for themselves. They call Tibet a socialist paradise so we keep asking, If Tibet is a socialist paradise, then why don't you allow people to see for themselves?," said CTA President
"Instead of going into a very single detail about what is happening inside Tibet, all I could say is that we're dying a slow death," he added.
Tibetan Buddhism originated from India and Tibetans consider themselves a part of Indian culture, said Tsering, adding that China is trying to erase Tibetan culture and replace it with Chinese culture, which will also affect India.
"Tibetan Buddhism came from India. We consider ourselves as an extension of Indian culture. Because we have translated every available Sanskrit and Pali text into Tibetan way back from the 8th to 13th century. So today it is being destroyed and this will also have implications for India because what China is trying to do is turn every young Tibetan into a Chinese," said Tsering.
China considers Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in India for decades, a separatist intending to split the formerly independent region from the control of China, as per UCA News.
Chinese forces invaded and annexed Tibet in the 1950s under the pretext that it had always been a part of China. (ANI)