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Scholars in Tibetology from China and overseas have shared studies and discussed the fixed religious rituals and historical conventions of Living Buddha reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism through a sideline event of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, during which the jurisdiction of Chinese central government over Dalai Lama’s reincarnation was further reaffirmed. The event, namely the “International Webinar on the Religious Rituals and Historical Customs of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas,” was held on Monday from an offline venue at the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing. “The affairs related to the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama belong to the domestic affairs of Tibetan Buddhism in China, which must respect the wishes of the Chinese Tibetan Buddhist community and the majority of religious believers, and accept the management of the Chinese government,” Zheng Dui, Senior Fellow and Director-General at the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC), said at the event in Beijing on Monday. “This not only has sufficient historical basis, but also conforms to the provisions of the current law, which cannot be shaken by any separatist forces,” he pointed out in his keynote speech. Ten experts and scholars of related studies made speeches during the event, demonstrating the development of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, the religious rituals and historical customs of the reincarnation, and the practice of the sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism. The reincarnation of Living Buddhas is an institution of succession unique to Tibetan Buddhism and is governed by fixed religious rituals and historical conventions. The institution of reincarnation of the Dalai Lama has been in existence for several hundred years, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 14th Dalai Lama himself was found and recognized following religious rituals and historical conventions and his succession was approved by the then central government. Xizang (Tibet)-related affairs have been a tool of the US and other Western countries used to smear China on human rights and other issues. In December 2021, the US named Undersecretary of State Uzra Zeya as “special coordinator for Tibet.” A year before, then US president Donald Trump signed the so-called “Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2020” – a bill which grossly interfered in China’s internal affairs. For a period of time, overseas “Xizang independence” forces and Western politicians have hyped up the issue of the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama for political purposes, ignoring the tradition of the Buddhism, and acting as an adverse influence on the religion. The central government and relevant local governments in China have never relaxed and never given up their management of the reincarnation of the Living Buddha. The Chinese central government of today adheres to the historical conventions of the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, managing the social and public affairs of the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, while overseeing institutionalized and regulated processes based on relevant laws, Zheng stressed. Xiao Jie, deputy director at the Institute of Contemporary Studies of CTRC, noted that the reincarnation of living Buddhas has been practiced in China for hundreds of years. It has long been known as religious rituals and historical conventions, and has been confirmed by Chinese laws and regulations. He believed that some countries’ proposing that “Tibetan Buddhism has become a world religion” and regard the Chinese government’s management of the reincarnation of Living Buddhas as “undermining the freedom of religious belief,” is a great distortion of the reincarnation of Tibetan Buddhist living Buddhas. “The main believers of Tibetan Buddhism are in China, and in the familiar environment of this group of people, it is undoubtedly reasonable to search for and identify the reincarnated living Buddha in the way they are used to, which also reflects the Chinese government’s ‘people-oriented’ concept,” Xiao said. The management of the reincarnation affairs of the Living Buddhas, including the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama, is a social responsibility that the Chinese central government must perform throughout the course of history, Wang Yanzhong, director at the institute of Ethnology and Anthropology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences noted. “The issue of the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation has never been a purely religious issue, nor the personal power of the Dalai Lamas in the past, but a major political issue involving the ownership of sovereignty,” Fang Sanping, a scholar from the Sichuan Tibetology Institute, pointed out at the webinar. “After hundreds of years of development and evolution, the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation system has formed a complete set of religious rituals and historical conventions, the core of which is that the central government is the highest authority and has the highest decision-making power,” Fang said. Jewon Koondhor, a Member of the CPPCC National Committee and Vice President of Xizang Branch of Buddhist Association of China, detailed at the event that after more than 1,300 years of development, Tibetan Buddhism has completed integration with the local natural geographical environment, humanities and folk culture with characteristics and background of Chinese culture. “This historical process has fully proved that the localization and sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism is an inevitable requirement for the survival and development of the religion itself,” said Jewon Koondhor, a returned Tibetan from Switzerland and is also serving as the Vice Chairman of the Xizang Autonomous Region of the Overseas Chinese. Sarbottam Shrestha, First Vice President of Arniko Society in Nepal, said at the event that the reincarnation system of Living Buddhas is one of the iconic characters of the sinicization of Tibetan Buddhism. He said that religions adapting to socialist society is an important component of the sinicization of Buddhism and other religions in China. At the webinar, Birgit Kellner, director of the Institute for the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, shared the achievements in cooperation between Chinese and Austrian experts in protecting Sanskrit texts from Southwest China’s Xizang Autonomous Region. She noted that Xizang’s Sanskrit texts hold rich historic and cultural value, and protecting and studying on them has become a part of Chinese government policy. She hopes to maintain close communication with Chinese colleagues and further promote academic research of Sanskrit. (Shan Jie/Global Times)

Responding to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's calls for peace, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday said that Kyiv will not conduct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  PM Modi earlier held a phone call with Zelenskyy and said that the endangerment of nuclear facilities amid the Russia-Ukraine war could lead to catastrophic consequences for the environment. During the phone call, the Prime Minister expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India's readiness to contribute to any peace efforts. He again called for the cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of diplomacy.  Reacting to the referendum in four Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine - Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Zelenskyy noted that all the aggressor's decisions aimed at attempting illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories are null and void and do not change reality.  Zelenskyy emphasized that under such conditions, Ukraine will not conduct any negotiations with the current President of the Russian Federation, and noted that our state has always been committed to a peaceful settlement through dialogue, said Zelenskyy readout.  "However, Russia did not stand for dialogue and put forward ultimately instead deliberately undermining this process. During my speech at the session of the UN General Assembly, I outlined our clear formula for peace. We are ready to work together with our partners to achieve it," added the President of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy thanked PM Modi for India's support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and also emphasized the importance of the Indian leader's recent statement that now is not the time for war.  During the conversation, the Ukrainian President emphasized the importance of strengthening the Ukrainian-Indian partnership against the backdrop of Russian aggression against Ukraine.  Zelenskyy also noted the significant humanitarian aid provided by the government and the private sector of the Republic of India to Ukraine, added the readout. Both leaders separately discussed the issue of global food security. Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is ready to continue acting as a guarantor of the world's food security. In this regard, the support of the entire international community, in particular India, for further implementing the grain initiative is important.  The interlocutors paid due attention to the issue of nuclear safety. "Nuclear blackmail by Russia, particularly regarding the Zaporizhzhia NPP, is a threat not only to Ukraine but also to the whole world," Zelenskyy said.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reiterated its deep concern about landmine explosions close to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). IAEA is also continuing its consultations and other efforts to agree on and implement a nuclear safety and security zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible. The Prime Minister's Office said Prime Minister Modi reiterated the importance of respecting the UN Charter, International Law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.  "The Prime Minister emphasized the importance India attaches to the safety and security of nuclear installations, including in Ukraine. He underlined that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences for public health and the environment," the statement said.  Separately, Zelenskyy and Modi discussed cooperation within international organizations, primarily the UN. During the conversation, the parties noted mutual interest in deepening regular full-scale Ukrainian-Indian contacts, as well as the implementation of tasks on the agenda of bilateral relations of comprehensive partnership.  Further, Zelenskyy invited PM Modi to visit Ukraine. (ANI)

The United States and South Korea launched four missiles off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday morning, in response to North Korea's provocative test launch of a ballistic missile over Japan.  This test was the allies' second exercise within 24 hours, following North Korea's launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday morning, CNN reported. Earlier, on Tuesday, the US and South Korea initially responded to the launch with a precision bombing exercise, which involved a South Korean F-15K fighter jet firing two air-to-surface munitions at a virtual target in a firing range west of the Korean Peninsula, per the South Korean joint chiefs.  "Through the combined flight of the air strike package and precision strike drills, South Korea and the United States demonstrated their will to respond sternly to any Northern threats as well as their capabilities to conduct a precision strike at the origin of provocations based on the alliance's overwhelming forces," the JCS said in a press release.  The allies typically respond to missile tests by North Korea with military exercises, according to CNN. According to CNN citing South Korean joint chiefs, in Wednesday's launch, four ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles were involved. The ATACMS are surface-to-surface missiles that can fly around 200 miles (320 kilometers).  According to John Kirby, the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, the launch was designed to demonstrate that the US and their allies have "the military capabilities at the ready to respond to provocations by the North." "This is not the first time we've done this in response to provocations by the North to make sure that we can demonstrate our own capabilities," Kirby as quoted by CNN.  "We want to see the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, (North Korean leader Kim Jong Un) hasn't shown an inclination to move in that direction, quite frankly he's moving in the opposite direction by continuing to conduct these missile tests which are violations of Security Council resolutions," he added. Tuesday's missile launch was the first such missile launch in years, prompting a warning for residents to take cover in northern Japan. Last week, North Korea fired missiles in an apparent protest against joint naval drills involving the United States and South Korea.  Under the Kim Jong-un regime, North Korea this year has tested a record number of missiles as it expands its weapons arsenal. (ANI)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday and said that the endangerment of nuclear facilities amid the Russia-Ukraine war could lead to catastrophic consequences for the environment.  The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reiterated its deep concern about landmine explosions close to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). IAEA is also continuing its consultations and other efforts to agree and implement a nuclear safety and security zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible.  During the phone call, the Prime Minister expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India's readiness to contribute to any peace efforts. He again called for the cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of diplomacy.  The Prime Minister also reiterated the importance of respecting the UN Charter, International Law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. "Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation today with His Excellency Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.  "Prime Minister reiterated his call for an early cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy," the statement added. The PMO said Prime Minister Modi reiterated the importance of respecting the UN Charter, International Law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.  "The Prime Minister emphasized the importance India attaches to the safety and security of nuclear installations, including in Ukraine. He underlined that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences for public health and the environment," the statement said.  The two leaders also touched upon important areas of bilateral cooperation, following up on their last meeting in Glasgow in November 2021. Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.  The meeting comes after the US and France hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the Ukraine war. On the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand on September 16, PM Modi had said "today's era isn't of war" while emphasizing the need to find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. (ANI)