NEWSWEEK: Do you think Chinese officials still hope their problems in Tibet will disappear after you pass away?
The Dalai Lama: I don't know. I totally disagree with the view that the Tibet struggl...
NEWSWEEK: Do you think Chinese officials still hope their problems in Tibet will disappear after you pass away? The Dalai Lama: I don't know. I totally disagree with the view that the Tibet struggle will die, and there will be no hope for Tibet, after the Dalai Lama passes away. Both inside and outside [Tibet], the older generation may go away, but the newer generations carry the same spirit. Sometimes it's even stronger. So after my death a younger generation will come up.
If Wen Jiabao or [China's President] Hu Jintao were sitting in this room in front of you, what would say to them? I always like to quote Deng Xiaoping and say, Please seek truth from facts. It is very important. I would urge them to find out what is really going on in Tibetan minds and what is happening on the ground. This I want to tell the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, if he were to come here. Of course, I have great respect for both, particularly Wen Jiabao. He seems very gentle. I would also ask him, "Please prove your recent accusations [that the Dalai Lama instigated the unrest in Tibet.]" [Laughs]
Do you have back channels of communication to the Chinese leadership? Not serious [ones]. The usual channels are still there.
Do new technologies—cell phones, digital photography, e-mail and so on—make it harder for authorities to control the unrest? Oh, yes.
Do they make it impossible? Now authorities are trying to control [things] by shutting down these services. But it is very difficult to control everything.
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