By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, December 29: The Chinese Communist Party head of the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), Wu Yingjie on Thursday said that Beijing’s ‘control over religion in Tibet can only increase’.
“The party’s leadership work over religion can only strengthen and not weaken,” he said adding that Tibetan Buddhism needs to march with the times.
The recently elected party secretary for TAR also stated strong steps to expose the ‘sinister intentions’ of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who is reviled by Beijing as ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’.
“Educate and guide the broad mass of monks, nuns and believers to clearly recognize the reactionary nature and sinister intentions of the Dalai clique to split the motherland,” Wu said in his speech on religious policy published in the official Tibet Daily.
The 59-year old Chinese official maintained that opposing the Dalai Lama would be his top priority. He had said that the struggle against Dalai clique should be made the highest priority in carrying out China’s ethnic affairs and its long-term mission of strengthening ethnic unity.
Wu is currently the longest serving Chinese official of TAR and was appointed as the party secretary in August this year. He has been deputed in the TAR since 1974 and was appointed as Deputy Party Secretary in 2011. During his service he has worked for various departments including Education, Science and Technology, and a short stint in the Propaganda department.
