A regent was appointed during the Dalai Lama's minority, but in 1950, at just 16 years old, he was forced to assume full political power. The crisis was precipitated by the Chinese communist invasion. Much of the country was occupied and armed Chinese garrisons were established. With the Tibetan army no match for the invading forces, the Dalai Lama's only option was to negotiate.
In 1954 he was invited to Beijing where he and his party met Chairman Mao, Chou En Lai and other Chinese leaders intent on convincing them they would be better off under Chinese rule. In 1956 His Holiness visited India, where he met Nehru but won little support for the Tibetan cause. In 1959 the Tibetans rebelled, the Chinese crushed the uprising and the Dalai Lama was forced to flee across the Himalayas to neighbouring India.
His Holiness immediately established a democratic government-in-exile dedicated to work for the freedom of Tibet and the welfare of Tibetan refugees. With the help of the Indian Government, he set up schools, including English, Hindi and western-style education, along with Tibetan language and culture. Then came handicraft factories, hospitals, orphanages, monasteries and cultural institutions -- the foundation for a new Tibetan society. There are now 53 Tibetan refugee settlements in India. In the early days of exile the Dalai Lama found it difficult to rally international political support for his people. However three UN General Assembly resolutions were passed in 1959, 1961 and 1965 condemning China for "violations of the fundamental human rights of the Tibetan people". Then in August 1991, after the violent repression of political demonstrations in Lhasa, the United Nations again passed a resolution criticising Chinese policies in Tibet and calling on the Chinese "to fully respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Tibetan people." Recently a number of governments, including the United States, Germany and France, have spoken out against continued Chinese repression in Tibet.
In the last decade, at the invitation of groups and governments, the Dalai Lama has travelled the world, seeking support for the Tibetan cause and sharing his belief in kindness and compassion as the ultimate solution to personal and political conflict.
Since his first visit to the West in 1973, he has met many world leaders, among them the Presidents of the United States, France and Germany, the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, members of European royalty, including Prince Charles and the King of Norway, and civic and religious leaders, including His Holiness Pope John Paul II. The Dalai Lama has addressed the United States Congress, the European Parliament, and innumerable University, inter-faith and civic gatherings. In September this year he will be the keynote speaker at a major environmental conference in Sydney.
Contact with West and East
Since 1967, His Holiness initiated a series of journeys which have taken him to some 46 nations. In autumn of 1991, he visited the Baltic States at the invitation of Lithuanian President Vytautas Landsbergis of Lithuania and became the first foreign leader to address the Lithuanian Parliament. His Holiness met with the late Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1973. At a press conference in Rome in 1980, he outlined his hopes for the meeting with John Paul II: "We live in a period of great crisis, a period of troubling world developments. It is not possible to find peace in the soul without security and harmony between peoples. For this reason, I look forward with faith and hope to my meeting with the Holy Father; to an exchange of ideas and feelings, and to his suggestions, so as to open the door to a progressive pacification between peoples." His Holiness met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988 and 1990. In 1981, His Holiness talked with Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, and with other leaders of the Anglican Church in London. He also met with leaders of the Roman Catholic and Jewish communities and spoke at an interfaith service held in his honor by the World Congress of Faiths: "I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."
The Five Point Peace Plan
In his address to members of the United States Congress in Washington, D.C. on 21 September 1987, His Holiness proposed the following peace plan, which contains five basic components:
1. Transformation of the whole of Tibet into a zone of peace.
2. Abandonment of China's population transfer policy that threatens the very
existence of the Tibetans as a people.
3. Respect for the Tibetan people's fundamental human rights and democratic
freedoms.
4. Restoration and protection of Tibet's natural environment and the abandonment
of China's use of Tibet for the production of nuclear weapons and dumping of
nuclear waste.
5. Commencement of earnest negotiations on the future status of Tibet and of
relations between the Tibetan and Chinese peoples.
Strasbourg Proposal
In his address to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 15 June 1988, His Holiness made another detailed proposal elaborating on the last point of the Five Point Peace Plan. He proposed talks between the Chinese and Tibetans leading to a self-governing democratic political entity for all three provinces of Tibet. This entity would be in association with the People's Republic of China and the Chinese Government would continue to remain responsible for Tibet's foreign policy and defence.
Recognition and Awards
Since his first visit to the west in the early 1973, a number of western universities and institutions have conferred Peace Awards and honorary Doctorate Degrees in recognition of His Holiness' distinguished writings in Buddhist philosophy and for his leadership in the solution of international conflicts, human rights issues and global environmental problems. In presenting the Raoul Wallenberg Congressional Human Rights Award in 1989, U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos said, "His Holiness the Dalai Lama's courageous struggle has distinguished him as a leading proponent of human rights and world peace. His ongoing efforts to end the suffering of the Tibetan people through peaceful negotiations and reconciliation have required enormous courage and sacrifice."