“In accordance with all these requests, I am affirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue,” the exiled Tibetan leader stated in a message posted on social media and his official website. He emphasized that only his personal institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, holds the legitimate authority to identify and recognise his reincarnation, warning that no external entities, including governments, have any right to interfere in the sacred process.“I hereby reiterate that the Gaden Phodrang Trust has sole authority to recognise the future reincarnation; no one else has any such authority to interfere in this matter,” the Dalai Lama had asserted.The announcement drew an immediate response from China, which reiterated its long-standing claim to control the selection of Tibetan spiritual leaders. “The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, and other great Buddhist figures must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn and approved by the central government,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday, invoking Qing dynasty-era precedent to justify Beijing’s authority.
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