Why is China so afraid of the Dalai Lama?

Tomorrow is National Uprising Day in Tibet, an unofficial commemoration of the 1959 rebellion  against Chinese soldiers who invaded the territory ten years earlier. 55 years after that rebellion, resistance to Chinese rule is still going strong. Last week, President Barack Obama was criticised by China for his White House meeting with the Dalai Lama. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying declared “(If) the US President wishes to meet any person, it's his own affair, but he cannot meet the Dalai Lama.” Yesterday the Dalai Lama gave the opening prayer in the Senate for the first time, saying 'Speak or act with a pure mind, and happiness will follow you like a shadow that never leaves.'

What does China have to be worried about? The Dalai Lama is just a frail old monk, right? According to the White House, “Obama spoke to the Dalai Lama for nearly an hour, praising him for his commitment to peace and nonviolence.”

But is there more to the Dalai Lama than just peace and love?

For one thing, he's a ping pong master. Back in the day he thrashed the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, which can't have done much for peace.

But there's more.

Tibet shares a long, secret and at times violent history with America. After Tibet was invaded (the Chinese prefer, “liberated,”) in the 1950s, Tibet became one of several Cold War hot-spots around the world. The CIA financed and trained Tibetan guerrillas at Camp Hale, Colorado, then re-infiltrated them back to Tibet via parachute drops. From nearby Nepal, they'd go back into Tibet and raid Chinese positions using weapons the Americans gave them. The Dalai Lama says he knew nothing about this program, even though his brother Taktser Rinpoche was the translator when the first group of resistance fighters were trained, and maintained close ties with the State Department afterward. So when the Dalai Lama rocks up at the White House, the Chinese get worried.

China is also worried that the protests that have seen 127 monks self immolate since 2009 will go up a notch from tomorrow, led by the Dalai Lama's followers. Previous March 10 protests have ended in violence and bloodshed. With the recent stabbings in Kunming, and tensions building with Japan, a renewal of violence in Tibet could be a real headache. While there is no evidence the Dalai Lama encourages or incites protest within Tibet directly, the recent talks will no doubt invigorate the resistance within Tibet. According to Tibet's Prime Minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay, the Obama talks send, “a very powerful message to Tibetans inside Tibet because it gives them a sense of hope that their voices are heard, even by the most powerful person in the world.” Yet with the announcement by the Chinese Communist party that military spending will be increased this year to $131.56 billion, rebellious Tibetans may be more concerned about staying alive than being heard.

China’s deep mistrust of the Dalai Lama goes further than boring geopolitics. At its heart is a competition between two powerful ideologies. The Tibetan story goes something like this: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… A young boy is plucked from a small backwater settlement on the far outskirts of a powerful empire and trained in the ways of an ancient mystical tradition. Forced into a David and Goliath struggle against Imperial forces, our reluctant young hero takes leadership of the Rebels, fulfilling his destiny as the chosen one to defend all that is good and innocent against tyranny. Sound familiar? This is the plot of Star Wars. It’s also, according to Tibetans, the biography of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Like a true Jedi, Dalai Lama is both wise monk and guerrilla warlord.

The other story is the Chinese version. Chairman Mao once declared to a teenage Dalai Lama, “Religion is poison.” Extreme ideology is just like any religion — it will tolerate no rival for the hearts and minds of its followers. And the religion of Tibetans is a direct challenge to the hegemony of the Chinese Communist Party. Until Tibetans abandon loyalty to their Dalai Lama, they will continue to resist Chinese rule and face persecution for it.

When the Fourteenth Dalai Lama dies, a crucial power-play will begin. If Beijing can force the appointment of its own Dalai Lama (like they did with the Panchen Lama, the Dalai Lama’s deputy), or abolish the office altogether, it would surely be the final blow to an already disappearing people. In Star Wars, the Jedi were all but extinct, hunted mercilessly by the Sith. But the tradition lived on in Luke Skywalker (a name derived from the Tibetan “dakini,” or sky walker). So long as the flame is carried, it can always spread anew. For Tibetans, this is hope. To China, it’s a threat.

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