Chinese leader Xi Jinping has made a rare trip to Tibet and hailed the crushing of “separatism” in the once-restive region, as Beijing prepares for a looming struggle over the successor of the aging and exiled Dalai Lama and the hearts and minds of millions of Tibetans.
Communist Party cadres waved Chinese flags, People’s Liberation Army soldiers marched with rifles, and Tibetans in colorful robes performed traditional dances at a ceremony marking 60 years since the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
From a stage in front of Lhasa’s towering Potala Palace, Xi watched the meticulously choreographed celebration of Beijing’s firm control over the remote, resource-rich region that has a long history of resistance against Chinese rule.
The Potala Palace once served as the winter residence of successive Dalai Lamas who ruled Tibet as its spiritual and political heads for centuries – until the current Dalai Lama fled into exile after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
On Thursday, the square in front of the palace was packed with a massive audience, including schoolchildren, who clapped in unison during official speeches and a parade attended by thousands. The crowd was flanked by two giant portraits — one of Xi alone, and another of him alongside his predecessors.
Xi’s attendance of the event marked a break with precedent. In the past, Beijing sent senior Communist Party leaders to Lhasa for each decennial celebration of the regional government — but never the top leader himself.
At 72 years old, Xi is the oldest top Chinese leader ever to visit Lhasa, the capital of the Himalayan region that sits at 3,700 meters (12,139 feet) above sea level. He last visited the city in 2021 to mark 70 years of what Beijing calls Tibet’s “peaceful liberation” – when Chinese Communist troops took control of the region. Tibetan exiles see it as the brutal invasion and occupation by a foreign army.
“To govern, stabilize and develop Tibet, the first thing is to maintain political stability, social stability, ethnic unity and religious harmony,” Xi told senior Tibet officials at a meeting after landing in Lhasa on Wednesday, state news agency Xinhua reported. He did not speak at Thursday’s ceremony.
Circle of rebirth
The top leader’s trip comes as Tibet is bracing for a pivotal moment in its future.
The current Dalai Lama, who has spent more than six decades in exile in India but remains deeply revered by many in Tibet, is preparing for a showdown with Beijing over who will control his reincarnation.
Tibetan Buddhists believe in the circle of rebirth, and that when an enlightened spiritual master like the Dalai Lama dies, he will be able to choose the place and time of his rebirth through the force of compassion and prayer.
In a memoir published in March, the Dalai Lama states that his successor will be born in the “free world” outside China, urging his followers to reject any candidate selected by Beijing.
And just days before his 90th birthday in July, the Dalai Lama announced that he will have a successor after his death, and that his office will have the sole authority to identify his reincarnation.
That declaration sets him on a collision course with China’s officially atheist Communist Party, which insists it alone holds the authority to approve the next Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism.
That could lead to the emergence of two rival dalai lamas: one chosen by his predecessor, the other by the Chinese Communist Party.
During his trip to Tibet, Xi did not name the Dalai Lama in comments reported by state media. But he made a veiled reference to the spiritual leader on Wednesday in the meeting with Tibet officials.
According to state media, Xi touted the regional government’s efforts over the past six decades in “carrying out a thorough struggle against separatism.”
Beijing brands the Dalai Lama a dangerous “separatist” and blames him for instigating Tibetan protests, unrest, and self-immolations against Communist Party rule.
The Dalai Lama has rejected those accusations, insisting that he seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet, not full independence – a nonviolent “middle way” approach that has earned him international support and a Nobel Peace Prize.
The Chinese Communist Party has waged a decades-long campaign to discredit the current Dalai Lama and erase his presence from Tibetan life, while tightening restrictions on religious and cultural practices.
Since coming to power, Xi has ramped up security and surveillance in China’s frontier regions, intensified efforts to assimilate ethnic minorities, and rolled out a nationwide campaign to “sinicize” religion – ensuring it aligns with Communist Party leadership and values.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Xi called for more efforts to systematically advance “the sinicization of religion,” improve the governance of religious affairs and “guide Tibetan Buddhism to adapt to socialist society,” according to state media.
The top leader also called for local officials to advance key infrastructure projects in Tibet, including a plan to build the world’s largest hydropower facility on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river.
“Major projects such as the Yarlung Tsangpo hydropower project and the Sichuan-Tibet Railway must be advanced forcefully, systematically, and effectively,” Xi was quoted as saying.