Dharamshala, 2^nd August: China views the Dalai Lama as the greatest of their opponents, whom they cannot defeat, according to Geshe Dorji Damdul, the Dalai Lama’s former interpreter, who visited US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his tour to India. As part of a civil society delegation, Geshe Dorji Damdul met Antony Blinken in New Delhi. After the 2016 meeting in Washington between then-US President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama, this was the largest encounter between a Tibetan leader and the US.

Geshe Dorji Damdul, who is also the director of Tibet House in New Delhi, said in an exclusive interview with India Today TV, “China sees the Dalai Lama as the greatest of their enemies who they cannot overpower. Most importantly, the common people believe that the world is behind the Dalai Lama and not China.”

Geshe Dorji Damdul also urged democratic countries such as the United States and India to get together to prevent China from continuing its aggression. “India is a massive country that has inherited the Ahimsa principle, while the United States is the defender of democracy. So these two countries must work together to explore how much of the Dalai Lama’s universal ideals can be included in the educational system “he stated.

Geshe Dorji Damdul, speaking on China’s assault in Tibet, said: “Tibetans are under the gun. If you say anything about the Dalai Lama, you are arrested. When Xi Jinping visited Lhasa recently, people welcomed him with fear. When the representatives of the Dalai Lama visited Tibet around 20-30 years ago, you could see how people just took out their hearts to welcome them. Even the common people in China visited to take their blessings.”

I was pleased to meet civil society leaders today. The U.S. and India share a commitment to democratic values; this is part of the bedrock of our relationship and reflective of India’s pluralistic society and history of harmony. Civil society helps advance these values. pic.twitter.com/5NL2WiQ13o

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) July 28, 2021

Geshe Dorji Damdul responded to China’s warning to the US over its intervention in the Tibet issue, saying, “If the world is not seeing things that are well ahead of time, then what happened to Tibet can be repeated in many other countries. And then the world may regret it. Eventually, the expansionism of the Communist Chinese can really go out of control. If (China) militarily and economically goes ahead of America then the world would be in their hands.”

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