ISTANBUL

Beijing said on Wednesday that the successor of the Dalai Lama, the Buddhist religious leader, must get approval from the Chinese government.

“The reincarnation of the living Buddha is a unique succession of Tibetan Buddhism that has continued over 700 years,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a news conference in Beijing.

"The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, and other Grand Living Buddhas must go through the golden urn lot-drawing procedure and be subject to approval by the central government,” Mao Ning said.

Beijing's statement came after the 14th Dalai Lama, whose birthday falls on July 06, had said on Wednesday that his successor would be decided by his Ganden Phodrang Trust.

The spokeswoman noted that Beijing regulates the reincarnation of living Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism to “protect the tradition of reincarnation of living Buddha in accordance with the law.”

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, has also been involved in controversial acts, including the one in which he asked one of his students to "suck my tongue," triggering public outcry in 2023.

The Tibetan Plateau, known as the "roof of the world," covers an area of around 2.5 million square kilometers (965,255 square miles) with an average elevation of roughly 14,370 feet (4,380 meters) above sea level.

In 1951, China established sovereignty over Tibet through the 17-Point Agreement, calling it a "peaceful liberation."

After a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, the Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala in northern India, where he set up the Tibetan parliament and government in exile.

China does not recognize this government, claiming that Tibet has been part of China since the 13th century, while the Dalai Lama claims that Tibet was an entirely independent state when the Chinese People's Liberation Army entered.