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China Warns Sri Lankan Buddhists Against ‘Sneaky’ Visit by Dalai Lama

© AP Photo / Ashwini BhatiaTibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, center, in a yellow ceremonial hat, watches a welcome dance performed by Tibetan artists, as he arrives at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharmsala, India, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022.
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, center, in a yellow ceremonial hat, watches a welcome dance performed by Tibetan artists, as he arrives at the Tsuglakhang temple in Dharmsala, India, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022. - Sputnik India, 1920, 17.01.2023
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Beijing considers the Dalai Lama as a “dangerous separatist”, strongly protesting governments in the region who host the Tibetan spiritual leader.
China’s top diplomat in Sri Lanka Hu Wei has cautioned Sri Lankan Buddhist monks against entertaining a “sneaky visit” by the Tibetan Buddhist figurehead the Dalai Lama to the island nation, as per an statement issued by the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday.
The embassy underlined that the “intention” of the Dalai Lama to visit Sri Lanka figured during the discussions between the two sides, adding that Beijing opposes any foreign country which would receive the Dalai Lama.
Hu, the charge d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Colombo, met Sri Lanka’s leading Buddhist monk Siddhartha Sumangala Thero, who heads the influential Buddhist monastery Malwathu Maha Viharaya in the central city of Kandy, as well as heads of other prominent Buddhist shrines in the country.
Over 70 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population is Buddhist, as per the latest census carried in 2012.
The Chinese diplomat told local Buddhist monks that the Dalai Lama is not a “simple monk”, but a “political exile disguised as a religious figure who has long been engaging in anti-Chine separatist activities”.
The Dalai Lama making his way around the Mahabodhi Temple - Sputnik India, 1920, 09.01.2023
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Tibetan Gov't in Exile Rejects China's Stance on Dalai Lama's Succession
The meeting comes several weeks after the Dalai Lama paid a visit to the town of Bodh Gaya for his annual retreat in eastern Indian state of Bihar.
During his engagements with various international delegations in Bodh Gaya, the Dalai Lama also met a contingent of top Sri Lankan Buddhist monks who invited him over to visit their country.

Dalai Lama’s Stay in India

The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959, after Beijing cracked down on a failed uprising by the Tibetan population.
Although the Tibetans were granted refuge by the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, Delhi has always committed itself to the One-China Policy.
In recent years, the question of succession of the 87-year-old Buddhist monk has emerged as a contention issue between the exiled Tibetan Buddhists and Beijing.
Beijing has always maintained that the successor to the Dalai Lama will have to be vetted by the Chinese government. However, the Tibetans in India have maintained that Beijing has no role in appointing the successor to the head of the Tibetan Buddhism.
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