Transcript of Video-Conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Chinese Activists[Thursday, 20 January 2011, 3:37 p.m.]

Questions put forward to His Holiness the Dalai Lama by Chinese people from various cities in Mainland China.1.
Your Holiness, what is your view about Ngabo Ngawang Jigme? He was the
representative delegated by you to negotiate with the People’s Republic
of China and also the one who signed the 17-Point Agreement [in 1951].
Even if you had not granted him [plenipotentiary] powers [to sign the
Agreement], you had later accepted that agreement. Eventually, most of
the time, he stood against you and acted like the spokesperson of the
Chinese government on the Tibet issue. His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
I knew Ngabo even before 1950. People who knew Ngabo at that time
viewed him as an honest person, someone of integrity. I also viewed
Ngabo as progressive and trusted him. He was then one of the main
people who had my trust and confidence. After the signing of the
Agreement, when I met Ngabo in Lhasa, he told me that they were
compelled to sign that Agreement because, had they refused to sign, it
would have resulted in an ‘armed liberation’ of Tibet. Thus, he felt
that a ‘peaceful liberation’ was better than an ‘armed liberation’. He,
however, also said that when they signed the Agreement, even though
they were carrying the Chamdo governor’s official seal, they did not
use it. They instead had to use a forged seal provided by the Chinese
government.Similarly, in 1979, after Deng Xiaoping displayed
significant flexibility, I dispatched fact-finding delegations to
Tibet. At that time, when my delegates met Ngabo, he told them to be
aware about the fact that whether in times of the Qing dynasty, or for
that matter, the rule of Guomingtang, places within the territory of
Ganden Phodrang [Government of Tibet] never paid taxes to them. Ngabo
thus gave a clear indication of his patriotism. Similarly, in
1989, during a session of Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Congress,
Ngabo refuted as factually incorrect the official Chinese paper
claiming that the Nanjing government (of Guomingtang) made all the
decisions regarding the enthronement of the 14th Dalai Lama, as well as
on matters relating to the identification and recognition of the Dalai
Lama. Ngabo said that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama was
recognized by the regent of Tibet in accordance with religious
tradition and that there was no foreign presider at the enthronement
ceremony. The aforesaid claims, Ngabo said, were not true as asserted
by the Guomintang officials. Even though I was a minor at the time of
the enthronement, I still vividly remember that there were
representatives of British India, China, Nepal and Bhutan uniformly
seated in one row. Thus, in these matters, Ngabo had done his best in
clarifying the actual facts. Following his demise, we organized a
memorial service. In fact, some of our friends criticized our memorial
service for him as inappropriate. We all know it is a fact that people
under fear are forced to speak diplomatically according to the given
circumstances. This is the reason why I always had complete trust in
him. Even though he has now passed away, I always pray for him.2.
Your Holiness, are you losing control over the behaviour of a few
Tibetans in exile? What do you think if that happens and how are you
going to work on this?His Holiness the Dalai Lama: There
are over 150,000 Tibetans living in exile, out of which perhaps 99
percent share common concern and sincerity on the issue of Tibet. Of
course, there will be difference of opinions and it should exist since
here we are following the path of democracy. I tell my people that they
have the right to freedom of speech and freedom of thought, and they
should express themselves freely. So there will be different opinions.
Take the example of the Tibetan Youth Congress. They struggle for
independence and criticize our Middle-Way policy. During my occasional
meetings with them, I tell them ‘the Chinese government expects that I
should arrest some of you’, but we cannot do such things here in a free
country and I would never do such a thing.3. My question to
you, my teacher, is the struggle of non-violence and truth (non-
cooperation) effective in confronting communist China? If yes, in what
ways the Tibetan people are benefited by non-violence and truth?His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
I always tell the same thing to Tibetans. And I want to mention here
that even though our consistent stand of middle-way policy based on the
foundation of non-violence has not yielded tangible result through
dialogue with the Chinese government, it has helped us in getting
strong support from the Chinese intellectuals, students and those who
are interested in and aware of the reality. This is the result of my
efforts.It is difficult to deal with the Chinese government,
but I think despite our inability to maintain extensive contacts with
the Chinese intellectuals and public, our stand will win their support
and it will continue to grow.  It was some months after the Tiananmen
event, I met some Chinese friends at Harvard University as I happened
to be at that time in the US. After I explained to them our position,
they said the entire Chinese people would support the stand of the
Dalai Lama if they know about it.4. Your Holiness, please
explain how reforming the system of reincarnating lamas is permissible?
Does such a reform contravene the Buddha’s teachings?His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
From the outset, I want to ask the questioner to read a little of the
Buddha’s teachings as contained in Kagyur (teachings of the Buddha) and
Tengyur (Commentaries by Buddhist masters). The custom of recognizing
reincarnate lamas did not develop in India. Similarly, the tradition of
reincarnation of lamas did not develop in many Buddhist countries such
as Thailand, Burma and China. There is a system of recognizing someone
as a reincarnation of an enlightened being, but the system of
recognizing someone as Tulku or Lama does not exist. In Tibet, the
first ever reincarnation was recognized after a little child who
clearly remembered his past life and which was proved to be true. Later
on, this system slowly and gradually nearly became a class structure in
society. Because of this I have made it well known that there is a
difference between Tulku and Lama. A Lama need not be a Tulku and a
Tulku need not be a Lama or one could be both Lama and Tulku. The one
who is qualified as a result of one’s own study and practice is known
as Lama. A Tulku, even without such a standard of education, enjoys
status in society in the name of the former Lama. And there are many
who lack the Lama’s qualification and even bring disgrace. So I used to
say since some forty years ago that there needs to be some system to
regulate the recognition of Tulku. Otherwise it is not good to have
many unqualified ones.I consider my interest in the system of
reincarnation as a service to the Buddha’s teachings. In the case of
the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, the four hundred year old tradition of
the Dalai Lama as both spiritual and temporal leader ended with the
direct election of political leadership by the Tibetans in exile in
2001. In 1969, I made it well known in my official statement that
whether the institution of the Dalai Lama should continue or not would
be decided by the Tibetan people. In future, to decide whether to have
the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation and if there is a need, it is not
necessary to always follow the past precedence but we can act in
accordance with the given circumstances. This conforms to the teachings
of the Buddha and do not go against them. When I explain about the
possibility of reincarnation of Lamas in general and that of the Dalai
Lama in particular, some Tibetans from inside Tibet and as well as
Chinese friends wonder if this is in line with our religious tradition.5.
At present there are a lot of people in China who have a deep-seated
anger and animosity to you. What do you have to say to them?His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
At one point the Dalai Lama was called a demon. On a few occasions I
was asked what I thought on the Dalai Lama being called a demon and I
told them in good humor, “I am a demon. I have horns on my head”.This
is understandable since the Chinese people have access only to
one-sided and distorted information. For example during the Olympic
torch relay, I especially requested the concerned people that the
Olympic Games were a matter of pride for the 1.3 billion Chinese people
and that we must never create any problem. Moreover, even before the
right of hosting the Olympic Games was awarded to China, when I was
visiting the US capital city of Washington, D.C., some journalists
asked me about my viewpoint. I told them that China being the most
populous country with a rich cultural heritage and history was worthy
of hosting the Games. This is a factual account.But still the
Chinese government greatly publicized that we were creating obstacles
for the Olympic Games. Because of such propaganda, the Chinese people
are not aware of the entire situation and thus we cannot blame them.While on the other side, there are many people around the world who respect me.  Therefore,
I want to urge my Chinese brothers and sisters to examine the minute
details and thoroughly research the information you receive from all
sources.  When I meet Chinese students, I tell them that being in a
free country they should fully utilize both eyes and ears.6.
As far as we know, the central government of the Republic of China
participated in the selection process and enthronement ceremony of the
reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. So, Your Holiness, do you recognize
the Taiwan-based Republic of China and how much of an influence do you
think the Taiwan government will again have in the reincarnation
process?His Holiness the Dalai Lama: It is similar
to my earlier account of Ngabo’s story. Generally, when I am in Taiwan,
I have supported the call for ‘One China’. But eventually it is up to
the people of mainland China and Taiwan to decide whether they want to
be united in the future. What is more important is that Taiwan’s
democracy, its robust economy and Taiwan’s good standard of education
should be properly safeguarded. This is what I usually say.Wang
Lixiong: We have virtually seen the Dalai Lama, just that, as Your
Holiness said we could not smell each other. Using the Internet in the
21st century, we consider this opportunity of interacting with Your
Holiness as of fundamental importance.  Thus, if interactions like
these are deemed constructive for Sino-Tibetan relations and
understanding each other further, then in the future I think and I hope
that many Chinese scholars and concerned people will take part. Tashi
Delek.His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Very good. If it is
convenient for you, I am always available and fully prepared to
interact using modern technology and clear the doubts of Chinese
friends. I always say, “Han zang da tuan jie” (Friendly relations
between Chinese and Tibetans).If we get the opportunity of
frequently holding similar meetings and interactions, it will help
build genuine trust and understanding amongst us. We will not be able
to build trust by standing far apart. The clearer we discuss our issues
the more trust we will gain in each other. If there is trust then there
will be cordial relations and with cordial relations, even if there is
a problem, we can solve it.Can you see my face clearly? Can see my grey eyebrows? See you later. Tashi Delek. Thank You.      N.B. Translated from the Tibetan original. In case of any discrepancy please consider the Tibetan as final and authoritative.