China Should Investigate Real Causes of Self-Immolations: His Holiness

Responding to questions from reporters at Okinawa about the critical situation in Tibet on Monday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the Chinese government should carry out a thorough probe into the real causes of self-immolations by Tibetans.

“Responding to questions from reporters at Okinawa about the critical situation in Tibet on Monday, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the Chinese government should carry out a thorough probe into the real causes of self-immolations by Tibetans.
“The self-immolations are very sad, but the Chinese government is not investigating the real causes of the self-immolations. They are taking the easy way out by simply blaming us for all the problems in Tibet”, His Holiness said.
“Even during 2008, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blamed me for everything. I asked them to come to India and check all my files and speeches. Recently, a Chinese foreign ministry official in Delhi blamed me and even that time also, I invited them to check all my records,” he said.
“The Tibetan issue is related to the history of the last 2,000 years especially the last 60 years. Generations have changed in Tibet but the resentment towards the Chinese government is still continuing, therefore the Chinese government should study the real causes of the resentments through a holistic and realistic way,” he added.
Speaking about the huge blanket of censorship in China, His Holiness said “censorship is totally immoral. The 1.3 billion Chinese people have every right to know the reality. The Chinese people can decide what is right and what is wrong,” he said.
Answering questions about political reform in China, His Holiness said the political system in China is very difficult to predict. But he said that Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has made many remarks about democratic reforms in recent times, which in a way could be the foundation for implementing reforms in the future.
About 20 reporters from media organisations like Kyodo News, Okinawa TV, Ryukyu Shimpo, Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, International News Magazine and Okinawa Times attended the press conference.
His Holiness left Okinawa Island for Tokyo city later that day. His Holiness was scheduled to give a talk to about 150 Japanese Parliamentarians on ‘Human Values and Universal Responsibility’ on Tuesday.
Later in the afternoon, His Holiness will attend a panel discussion on Balancing Body and Mind in which Dr Suzumi Tonegawa, 1987 Nobel laureate for Medicine, will also take part.”, His Holiness said.

“Even during 2008, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao blamed me for everything. I asked them to come to India and check all my files and speeches. Recently, a Chinese foreign ministry official in Delhi blamed me and even that time also, I invited them to check all my records,” he said.

“The Tibetan issue is related to the history of the last 2,000 years especially the last 60 years. Generations have changed in Tibet but the resentment towards the Chinese government is still continuing, therefore the Chinese government should study the real causes of the resentments through a holistic and realistic way,” he added.
Speaking about the huge blanket of censorship in China, His Holiness said “censorship is totally immoral. The 1.3 billion Chinese people have every right to know the reality. The Chinese people can decide what is right and what is wrong,” he said.

Answering questions about political reform in China, His Holiness said the political system in China is very difficult to predict. But he said that Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has made many remarks about democratic reforms in recent times, which in a way could be the foundation for implementing reforms in the future.

About 20 reporters from media organisations like Kyodo News, Okinawa TV, Ryukyu Shimpo, Ryukyu Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, International News Magazine and Okinawa Times attended the press conference.
His Holiness left Okinawa Island for Tokyo city later that day. His Holiness was scheduled to give a talk to about 150 Japanese Parliamentarians on ‘Human Values and Universal Responsibility’ on Tuesday.