Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian on Monday criticized Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama’s first Grammy win. He described the music industry prize for an audiobook, narration and storytelling as “a tool of anti-China political manipulation”.
The Dalai Lama won in the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording category at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards (PTI).The Dalai Lama, who lives in exile in India, received the award on Sunday for his book “Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
Speaking against recognition, Foreign Ministry spokesman Jian said it was well known that the 14th Dalai Lama was “not just a religious figure” but “a political exile engaged in anti-Chinese separatist activities under the guise of religion,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
He objected to the decision to award the award to the Dalai Lama, claiming it was being used “as a tool for anti-China political manipulation”.
Lama, meanwhile, said in a statement that he saw the award as “recognition of our shared universal responsibility.”
“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility,” he added.
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The Dalai Lama won the Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording category at the 68th annual Grammy Awards held in the United States on Sunday.
Other nominees in this category include Kathy Garver (Elvis, Rocky & Me: The Carol Connors Story), Trevor Noah (Into the Uncut Grass), Ketanji Brown Jackson (Lovely One: A Memoir) and Fab Morvan (You Know It’s True: The Real Story of Milli Vanilli).
Although many see the Dalai Lama as the face of Tibet’s struggle for autonomy, he has lived in exile since 1959, when Chinese troops suppressed an uprising in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.
China, which rules Tibet as an autonomous region, has been accused of trying to erase Tibetan language, culture and identity.
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Beijing and the Dalai Lama are at odds over the question of the ultimate successor to Tibet’s spiritual leader. Tibetan Buddhists believe that the Dalai Lama is the reincarnation of a spiritual figure whose lineage dates back to 1391.
China insists the next Dalai Lama must be born in Tibet and identify under the authority of the ruling Communist Party, while the Dalai Lama has said his successor will emerge from an independent country and Beijing has no role in the election process.
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(with input from AP)
