China slams Dalai Lama’s Grammy win, warns against anti-China activities’
Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated Beijing’s long-standing position, alleging that the spiritual leader is engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion.
A file image of Elderly Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (Photo: IANS)
Beijing, Feb 2: China on Monday criticised the Grammy Award conferred on the Dalai Lama, stating that it “firmly opposes” the Tibetan spiritual leader using the international recognition to carry out what it termed “anti-China activities”.
The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, won his first Grammy on Sunday in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording for his spoken-word album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Responding to queries on the award, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated Beijing’s long-standing position, alleging that the 90-year-old spiritual leader is engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion.
“The Dalai Lama is not purely a religious figure. He is a political exile committed to anti-China separatist activities disguised as religion,” Lin said during a media briefing.
Beijing, he added, firmly opposes any attempts by “relevant parties” to use the award as a tool to promote anti-China activities.
The Dalai Lama has been living in exile in Dharamsala since fleeing Tibet in 1959. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his consistent non-violent struggle for the rights and freedom of the Tibetan people.
At the Grammys, the Dalai Lama edged out nominees including 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).
Reacting to the recognition, the Dalai Lama expressed gratitude and humility, saying he did not see the award as a personal achievement.
“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility,” he said.
Emphasising his core message, he added, “Peace, compassion, care for our environment and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I am grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely.”
PTI