It is not easy for any modern secularist country to deal with a faith-based institution that is far older than itself and refuses to be domesticated. Imagine a state that is professedly communist; tolerates religious beliefs for ordinary citizens, but not for the members of the dominant ruling party; and has within its territory a deeply religious ethnonationalist people who find most of their traditional leaders in exile accused of separatism. Yes, that state is the People's Republic of China; the people concerned are Tibetans; and the institution is that of the Dalai Lama.
What makes life difficult for the rulers in China is the fact that the Dalai Lama is more than a political and religious leader of Tibetan people; he is also a globally recognised personality known for his universalist values. The 14th Dalai Lama is a figure like no other, he is also a person who has shown himself to be remarkable.
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