Dalai Lama’s birthday put Tibet back in Xi's firing line

For millions of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama is a symbol of resistance. For Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, he is simply another annoyance, like with the rebels in Taiwan and the democracy campaigners in Hong Kong, whose defiance must, and will, be dealt with.

- MICHAEL DAY

We know that Xi, the most powerful and ruthless Chinese leader in a generation, has little time for religion, unless it’s the carefully curated cult of Xi himself. Organised religion is a threat to his authority and his vision for China and the world.

The 14th Dalai Lama, an exiled Tibetan with huge influence over a territory that China regards as its own, is a particular irritant. Worse still, from Xi’s perspective, the religious leader, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate with global status, actively campaigns for human rights, China’s most vulnerable area when it comes to international criticism. This week, just days before his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama assured followers that he will, after his death, be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. He also outlined a succession process that sets up a renewed clash with Beijing.