A ‘Simple Buddhist Monk’ Defies China: The Dalai Lama Says His Successor Will Be Born in a ‘Free Country’
NEED TO KNOW
A ‘Simple Buddhist Monk’ Defies China: The Dalai Lama Says His Successor Will Be Born in a ‘Free Country’
TIBET / CHINA
On July 6, the Dalai Lama turned 90. The spiritual leader, who is regarded as one of the world’s most influential figures, told his followers gathered at his home in exile, Dharamshala, India, to celebrate that he hoped to be around for another 40 years.
“I am just a simple Buddhist monk, I don’t normally engage in birthday celebrations,” said Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. “As for myself, I will continue to focus on my commitments of promoting human values, religious harmony… and Tibetan culture and heritage, which has so much potential to contribute to the world through its emphasis on peace of mind and compassion.”
Just a few days earlier, however, the 14th Dalai Lama had a less peaceful message to deliver: He told the world in a message really intended for China that the institution would go on after his death, ending speculation that he would be the last Tibetan spiritual leader.
He also said his office, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, would pick his successor. The “new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world,” outside of Tibet and China, he added, defying China – which claims control over the succession – and setting up a tussle for the future of Tibet, its identity, and its leadership, analysts say.
“China exercises absolute control over Tibet itself, yet one force remains beyond Beijing’s grasp: the current Dalai Lama…He lives freely in exile but still commands global reverence,” wrote Kelsang Aukatsang of the Atlantic Council, a former Dalai Lama representative and a presidential candidate in the 2021 Tibetan election, in Foreign Policy. “How the Dalai Lama and his office manage this transition will be pivotal in determining whether this ancient lineage retains its spiritual legitimacy amid growing political interference – or risks fracturing under external pressure.”
There has been a Dalai Lama in some form since the late 14th century, with succession, or his reincarnation, usually determined by ancient rituals. Under the Mongols and later the Chinese dynasties, the figure retained absolute religious authority, even as Chinese rulers had long attempted to control the spiritual leader and the succession process. In the 20th century, however, things became more difficult for the Dalai Lama: The current one was forced into exile in northern India after a failed uprising against China in 1959, nine years after China occupied Tibet.
As a result, the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, is, in addition to being a spiritual leader, also a symbol of a free Tibet and its fight for self-determination. China accuses him of fanning the separatist movement and forbids the displaying of his image or open devotion to him.
China wants to control the Dalai Lama to bring legitimacy to its conquest of Tibet, analysts say. It also believes it is the only entity to have the authority to determine how the next Tibetan spiritual leader is chosen, and says it must approve the choice, explaining it is its legacy from imperial China.
“Xizang affairs are purely China’s internal affairs, which brook no external interference,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said last week, using the Chinese name for Tibet. “As is widely known, the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion. He and the so-called ‘Tibetan government in exile’ are in no position at all to represent the people in Xizang, still less decide the future of Xizang.”
Now, analysts believe Beijing will appoint its own candidate as the 15th Dalai Lama and exert pressure on Tibet, as well as India and other countries to accept its choice in a “One Dalai Lama” type of policy, similar to how it has pressured countries around the world to disavow Taiwan under the “One China” policy.
That could bring it in direct conflict with India, say analysts, which has hosted the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government-in-exile, as well as almost 100,000 Tibetan refugees for decades. It could also cause problems with the United States: The Trump administration, in 2020, signed legislation officially supporting Tibet and authorizing sanctions against Chinese officials who interfere in the succession of the Dalai Lama.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio already drew China’s ire this month when he congratulated the Dalai Lama on his birthday, Newsweek reported.
Tibetans say that regardless of what will happen in the future, they are pleased the spiritual leader clarified that there will be a 15th Dalai Lama and how he would be chosen.
“China is trying to grab this institution… for its political purpose,” Dolma Tsering Teykhang, the deputy speaker of the Tibetan parliament-in-exile in Dharamshala, told Channel News Asia. “We want the incarnation of the Dalai Lama to be born not only for the survival of Tibet as a distinct culture, religion, and nation, but also for the well-being of the whole of humanity.”
THE WORLD, BRIEFLY
New Caledonia Wins “State” Status in France
NEW CALEDONIA
France and New Caledonia reached an agreement Saturday that would grant the South Pacific archipelago more autonomy but still keep it as part of France, a move aimed at resolving long-standing tensions between Paris and its overseas territory that spiraled into violence last year, Euronews reported.
The 13-page accord calls for the creation of the new “State of New Caledonia,” which will remain French and be inscribed in the French constitution. The agreement also allows for the creation of a new Caledonian nationality, which can be held alongside French nationality.
Saturday’s deal comes after 10 days of negotiations between French and New Caledonian representatives and follows decades of political tensions between Paris and the islands.
Located more than 10,600 miles from Paris, France colonized the archipelago in the 1850s and gave it overseas territory status in 1957. Many of the islands’ indigenous Kanaks resent French rule and have demanded independence, according to Agence France-Presse.
A series of independence referendums between 2018 and 2021 rejected full sovereignty, but the results were contested by Kanak leaders.
Tensions escalated in May 2024 when riots broke out in New Caledonia after Paris pushed legislation to expand voting rights to thousands of long-term, non-Indigenous residents. Kanaks viewed the change as a threat that would cement their minority status and weaken prospects for future independence.
The unrest left 14 people dead and caused more than $2 billion in damage, according to French officials.
Both French and New Caledonian leaders welcomed the agreement, with President Emmanuel Macron hailing it as “historic.” Kanak lawmaker Emmanuel Tjibaou, who participated in the negotiations, said the deal will get the islands “out of the spiral of violence.”
The accord also proposes measures to help the territory’s struggling economy, including a financial recovery pact and efforts to revive its nickel industry, which was severely impacted by last year’s unrest.
The agreement is expected to be ratified by the French parliament later this year and will be put to a referendum in New Caledonia in 2026.
As part of the agreement, only residents who have lived in the territory for at least 10 years will be eligible to vote.
Greece Suspends Asylum Applications From North Africa
GREECE
Greece’s parliament voted over the weekend to temporarily suspend the processing of asylum applications from migrants arriving by sea from North Africa, prompting condemnation from human rights groups and opposition lawmakers who say the move violates international law, Reuters reported.
On Friday, lawmakers approved the new measure, which will halt asylum processing for at least three months and allow authorities to detain and repatriate migrants without reviewing their asylum claims.
Government officials said the European Union-member country would not accept new arrivals, while also warning that traffickers and migrants attempting to reach Greece would likely fail.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described it as a “difficult but absolutely necessary decision” to protect Greece’s borders. He added that the policy echoes a similar legal justification used to block land border crossings from Turkey in 2020, the BBC wrote.
Officials said the move comes in response to a sharp rise in arrivals on the southern islands of Crete and Gavdos: More than 9,000 migrants have landed in Crete this year – an increase of 350 percent over the same period in 2024 – placing heavy strain on local infrastructure.
The decision also follows recent EU-backed efforts to curb crossings from Libya.
However, a planned visit by Greek, Italian, and Maltese officials to Libya this week was blocked by the eastern-based Government of National Stability, which accused the delegation of violating the country’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, human rights groups condemned the suspension as “both illegal and inhumane,” warning that denying access to asylum procedures is a breach of human rights law.
They also criticized the EU’s attempts to forge deals with Libyan authorities to reduce the flow of migrants to the bloc.
Advocates cautioned that refugees and migrants intercepted by the Libyan coastguard are often imprisoned in detention camps, where they are subjected to inhumane treatment.
Cambodia To Allow Citizenship Revocation From Those ‘Betraying’ Nation
CAMBODIA
Cambodian lawmakers unanimously approved a constitutional amendment over the weekend to allow the revocation of the citizenship of individuals deemed to have conspired with foreign powers to harm the national interest, a move that human rights groups said targets political opponents, Al Jazeera reported.
On Friday, the National Assembly voted to amend Article 33 of the constitution, which previously specified that Cambodian citizens could lose their citizenship only “through mutual agreement.”
But the change now stipulates that “receiving, losing and revoking Khmer nationality shall be determined by law.”
It will now allow lawmakers to draft legislation permitting authorities to strip Khmer nationality from both lifelong and dual citizens, as well as foreign nationals granted Cambodian citizenship.
Justice Minister Koeut Rith dismissed criticism about the move.
“If you betray the nation, the nation will not keep you,” he noted.
Prime Minister Hun Manet and his father, former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who retains significant power in the country, also defended the move as necessary to safeguard national interests.
Hun Manet claimed 150 countries have similar legislation, including the United States, the Associated Press added.
But critics and human rights advocates warned that the changes will be used to silence dissent and political opponents in the Southeast Asian country, with Amnesty International calling it a “repressive amendment” that risks leaving opponents stateless.
The change comes a month after Hun Sen called for legal action against opposition figures critical of the government’s handling of an ongoing border dispute with Thailand.
On May 28, a Cambodian soldier was killed in a clash in a contested border zone, an incident that reignited nationalist rhetoric and led Cambodia to file a complaint with the International Court of Justice over temple sites.
Former Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy – currently in exile since 2016 – accused Hun Sen of using nationalism as a “political smokescreen” to distract from the government’s alleged ties to Chinese-run cyber scam networks in border regions.
DISCOVERIES
Going Backward
Organisms usually move upward on the evolutionary ladder, losing some traits to gain better ones.
And then there are those who move backward.
A new study has found that some wild tomatoes from the Galápagos Islands are undergoing a possible “reverse evolution,” de-evolving to a primitive genetic state by recreating a toxic molecular cocktail that serves as a defense mechanism, and one that has not been seen in millions of years.
“It’s not something we usually expect,” lead study author Adam Jozwiak said in a statement. “But here it is, happening in real time, on a volcanic island.”
Nightshade plants, like tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, produce bitter-tasting molecules known as alkaloids to protect themselves from fungi, insects, and larger animals. However, too many alkaloids can make the plants toxic and dangerous for humans, explained New Atlas.
Researchers were studying crops on the Galápagos Islands to understand how to control alkaloid synthesis when they noticed the tomatoes’ unique behavior.
Analyzing more than 30 tomato samples collected from different parts of the archipelago, the team found that those from the eastern islands produced the same alkaloids found in modern cultivated tomatoes.
Meanwhile, the samples from the western islands were producing the “wrong” kind: A version with the molecular fingerprint of eggplant relatives from millions of years ago.
The difference is in how atoms are arranged in three-dimensional space, namely, stereochemistry. Two molecules can have the same atoms but behave differently depending on how the atoms are arranged.
To understand the difference between the eastern and western samples, researchers analyzed the enzymes that assemble these alkaloid molecules. By changing just four amino acids in one enzyme, they could reverse the molecule’s structure from modern to ancestral.
To reach this conclusion, they synthesized the genes coding for these enzymes in the lab and then inserted them into tobacco plants, which immediately started producing the old structure.
Through DNA modeling, the team explained the connection between the tomatoes’ behavior and geography. Crops on the eastern, older islands make modern alkaloids as the soil is more stable and biologically diverse. In contrast, those on the western islands adopted the old structure as the soil is less developed there.
“It could be that the ancestral molecule provides better defense in the harsher western conditions,” Jozwiak said.
Researchers say that evolution is traditionally understood as a one-way street. While some species can regain similar characteristics to those of their ancestors, they rarely do so following the exact same genetic pathways.
As a result, the concept of “reverse evolution” is controversial: “Some people don’t believe in this,” Jozwiak said. “But the genetic and chemical evidence points to a return to an ancestral state. The mechanism is there. It happened.”