China Frowns While 142 MPs from 29 Countries at 9th WPCT Unite for Tibet Resolution Ahead of Dalai Lama’s 90th Birthday

By Tenzin Chokyi

DHARAMSALA, 4 June: China has strongly opposed recent remarks made by Tibetan parliamentarians in Japanese media, for asserting that the next Dalai Lama would reincarnate in the “free world” and sought to have other countries exert pressure on China at the 9th World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet (WPCT).

In a report published by China’s state-run media Global Times on Tuesday, an unnamed spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in Japan condemned the claim as a “deliberate distortion” and “misrepresentation” of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and reasserted that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama must follow “Chinese laws and historical religious conventions”. 

“The claim that the next reincarnation will appear in the ‘free world’ is a deliberate distortion and misrepresentation” of Tibetan Buddhism. “The reincarnation of living Buddhas, including the Dalai Lama, must comply with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as established religious rituals and historical conventions”, the spokesperson has said.

The Chinese spokesperson’s remarks came as the 9th World WPCT, organised by the Tibetan Parliament-in-exile in collaboration with the Japan Parliamentary Support Group for Tibet, opened in Tokyo, Japan, on the same day.

In the same report by the Global Times, the spokesperson has explicitly reinforced China’s stance on the Tibetan government in exile as a “separatist political organisation that violates China’s constitution and laws”. 

Calling it an “illegal entity”, the embassy spokesperson has further stated that the 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile have no right to represent the people in “Xizang region” – a reductionist Chinese term for Tibet– or to determine the future of the region.

“The Tibetan government-in-exile has no right whatsoever to represent the people in the Xizang region or to determine the future of the region”, the spokesperson said, according to Global Times.

A delegation of Tibetan leaders from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), including Speaker Khenpo Sonam Tenphel, Sikyong Penpa Tsering, and Deputy Speaker Dolma Tsering Teykhang, and 11 Tibetan parliamentarians, along with the Representative of the Liaison Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Japan and East Asia, is currently in Japan for the 9th WPCT, accompanied by researchers from the Tibet Policy Institute and the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

The two-day convention commenced on 3 June and was attended by 142 parliamentarians and representatives from 29 countries.

 It concluded on Wednesday with the passage of a unanimous resolution to celebrate the 14th Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday on July 6, 2025, and to outline comprehensive action plans to support Tibet advocacy.

The resolution recognised the Dalai Lama’s lifelong contributions to peace, nonviolence, and human rights, while acknowledging ongoing human rights violations and environmental degradation in Tibet under Chinese rule.

The resolution also called for multi-level action including parliamentary measures (such as adopting Tibet-related legislation, supporting the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), and protecting the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation process from interference), governmental initiatives (like institutionalising support for the CTA, monitoring transnational repression, and promoting Tibetan cultural preservation), and UN-level advocacy (including pushing for China’s accountability at the UN Human Rights Council and supporting Tibet’s inclusion in climate dialogues). 

The resolution further emphasises strengthening international support for Tibetan autonomy, environmental protection, and the preservation of Tibetan culture and religious freedom, while urging democratic nations to counter China’s repression and support the Tibetan people’s legitimate aspirations for dignity and self-determination.

The WPCT, first inaugurated in India in 1994 and subsequently held in New Delhi, the United States, and across Europe, functions as a global platform for lawmakers to play a leading role in advocating for the preservation of Tibetan identity and culture, promoting human rights and religious freedom in occupied Tibet, and urging renewed dialogue between representatives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the People’s Republic of China toward a negotiated resolution.