OPINION
Professor Tenzin Dorjee* argues that China cannot succeed in erasing Tibet’s identity after turning “China’s Tibet” into “Xizang” and hopes Prime Minister KPS Oli does not turn Nepal into “China’s Nepal” by allowing the China-appointed Panchen Gyaincain Norbu to visit the country to attend the ongoing South China Sea Buddhism Roundtable Conference in Kathmandu and Lumbini.
Communist China has accelerated the weaponizing of Buddhism and erasing of Tibet. Organizing the 9th Nanhai (South China Sea) Buddhism Roundtable Conference in Lumbini over December 12-17, 2024 – as reported in the Tibetan Review and other news outlets – and persuading Nepal to allow China’s Panchen Lama Gyaincain Norbu is an unfolding of China’s action plans to fulfill this goal. Historically, China was a major Buddhist country; but since becoming communist, it has had no business organizing and participating in Buddhist conferences. Communist China is an enemy of all religions. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and its State Department’s Annual reports have rated China as a “Country of Particular Concern” for systematically, egregiously, and continuously violating the freedom of religion or belief. Late Chairman Mao has famously said, “Religion is an opium.”
Ample evidences indicate how Communist China has weaponized Buddhism to advance its political and social influence agenda. Two of its main activities today for this purpose are Sinicizing of all religions, especially calling for Buddhism with a socialist outlook, and controlling the reincarnation system of Tibetan Buddhism. China uses state-of-the-art technology to monitor religious freedom, religious ordination, religious administration, religious education, and religious activities in Tibet. Monks are required to undergo political education and Sinicize Buddhism as a means to accomplish Communist ends for both domestic purpose and with geo-political goals. China unashamedly uses Buddhism as a weapon and soft power tool to counteract India’s power and expand its social influence on China-dependent, debt-ridden countries and beyond.
Buddhism originated in India and spread all over Asia. Tibetan Buddhism follows the systematic study, contemplation, and practice of the Nalanda Tradition and the sixteen Maha Pandits or preeminent Buddhist professors such as Arya Nagarjuna, Arya Asanga, Acharya Shantarakshita, Acharya Chandrakirti, Acharya Shantideva, and Great Atisha. Last year, the Government of India collaborated with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) to hold the first Asian Buddhist Summit in Delhi. But China stayed away because the Summit’s goals did not fulfill its geopolitical ends. Prime Minister Modi-Ji and His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressed the summit on different days. Last November, the second Asian Buddhist Summit in Delhi focused on “the Role of Buddha Dharma Strengthening Asia.” Again, China had no show.
China has also weaponized the Tibetan reincarnation system. Starting with the first Karmapa, Tibetan Buddhism’s reincarnation system is unique. The two most prominent ones are the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. China formulated in 2007 the State Religious Affairs Bureau’s Order No. 5 to regulate the reincarnation system in Tibetan Buddhism. Under it China keeps a registry of so-called “Living Buddhas” that excluded the Dalai Lama and the real Panchen Lama.
When I chaired the USCIRF, I strongly advocated for the release of the Panchen Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who was recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. China abducted him and his family, and no one has heard about or seen in person the real Panchen Lama, who is now in his 30s. In his place, China’s politically appointed Panchen Gyaincain Norbu and parades him across Tibet and abroad to gain legitimacy. China’s latest attempt is to showcase him as the leader of Tibetan Buddhism and a symbol of religious freedom at the ongoing roundtable Buddhist conference in Nepal. China hates and despises the Dalai Lama, a global Buddhist icon, as a “wolf in monk’s robes,” while India hosts him as its honored guest.
China’s game plan is to politically appoint a Tibetan boy as the 15th Dalai Lama in future. The Dalai Lama will only feel compassion for Chinese leaders for their ignorance, for only he can decide on his next reincarnation. In recent years, the Dalai Lama assured Tibetans and the world, at many long-life puja ceremonies offered to him, that he is healthy and plans to live over 100 and possibly 113, and there is no rush to discuss his reincarnation. He will leave no room for China or anybody else to play their agenda game with his reincarnation. When the time is right, he will speak unequivocally. The world will believe his words, not China’s claim. Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists firmly believe in him. They must stay united, follow his precise instructions, and do what is necessary.
Relatedly, China has been embarking on erasing Tibet and Tibetan identity. Tibet and Buddhism are metaphorically the two sides of the same coin, symbolizing Tibetans globally. Buddhism is the heartbeat and soul of Tibet as a nation. Tibet is stored in the memory of the world. Many United Nations experts have objected to China forcibly removing a million Tibetan children from their homes and confining them to boarding schools. China strategically plans to erase its Tibetan identity, language, culture, and faith. Across Tibet, China forbids Tibetan families from teaching their children about faith, worship, and practice.
Domestically, China has systematically, egregiously, and continuously used power, latest technology, and resources in its campaign to erase Tibetan identity. Globally, China wants to erase Tibet from peoples’ minds and literature, forcibly introducing the Chinese label ‘Xizang.” China officially mandated the use of Xizang for Tibet in their diplomatic relations and communication, both written and oral.
Professor Tsering Shakya wrote an insightful article entitled” Tibet Must Stand” on renaming Tibet as Xizang. According to the December 11 post on the SOAS’s China Institute website (University of London), China has launched a two-year social influence campaign to coax “foreign businesses, publishers, and mapmakers to adopt the name “Xizang” in place of “Tibet.” In the 1990s, China took to calling Tibet “China’s Tibet”, which paradoxically suggests Tibet is not China’s. Incidentally, why doesn’t China call Beijing “China’s Beijing”?
Sinicizing Tibetan names does not grant the legitimacy of ownership. Professor Shakya rightly put it, “Internationally, the word “Tibet” has become a symbol of a unique identity with significant cultural “soft power,” one which is now seen in China as evoking a sense of separateness that undermines Beijing’s claim to the region. The Chinese campaign to enforce “Xizang” on foreign individuals and institutions invokes the moral high ground of decolonization while seeking to make the international community complicit in China’s claims to sovereignty and its practices of cultural erasure. But the fact remains that the name “Tibet” is not a Western imposition but a term rooted in indigenous usage, dating from interactions between Tibetans and their neighbors over a millennium ago.”
China is weaponizing Buddhism for geopolitical influence and a communist domination endgame. I hope Prime Minister Oli does not kowtow to China and turn Nepal into China’s Nepal. China aims to reprogram the minds of people around the globe, erasing Tibet and accepting Xizang instead. China needs to develop and install chips into people’s brains to succeed in erasing Tibet and replacing it with Xizang.
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Disclaimer: This personal opinion piece does not represent the institutions to which the author belongs.
* Tenzin Dorjee, Professor, Department of Human Communication Studies, California State University Fullerton, and former Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.