Tibetan leader calls for ‘true autonomy’ within China

Tibetans seek ‘Middle Way Approach’ formulated by spiritual leader Dalai Lama for the end of the Sino-Tibetan conflict

People in Tibet would accept Chinese rule if Beijing grants true autonomy to the region, said the leader of Tibet’s government-in-exile.

“If those kinds of autonomies are granted to the Tibetans, they will be happy to live under the framework of the People’s Republic of China’s constitution,” said Sikyong Penpa Tsering, the head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), during an address at National Press Club of Australia in Canberra, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on June 21.

He referred to the status of Scotland and South Tyrol within the context of British and Italian rule.

“It is not a matter of who rules; it is the quality of the rule,” he said while speaking on “resolving Sino-Tibet conflict and securing peace in the region.”

Tsering reiterated the CTA’s commitment to resolving the Sino-Tibet conflict through the “Middle Way Approach” formulated by Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. The strategy promotes true autonomy for Tibetans under Chinese rule, as written in China’s constitution.

But he highlighted the historically independent status of Tibet and said that unless that status is recognized, China would have no reason to negotiate with the CTA.

Penpa Tsering’s address also touched on the Chinese government’s attempts to control the reincarnation process of the Dalai Lama, surveil Buddhist monasteries and restrict the movement of Tibetans.

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