China: Dalai Lama wants theocracy back

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The Dalai Lama plans to restore theocracy to Tibet, the Chinese government charged Thursday.

An article on Xinhua, the official government news agency, attacks a resolution on Tibetan autonomy adopted by Tibetan exiles during a recent meeting in India that called for freedom of religion and the independent organization of Buddhists. The article is signed by Liu Hongji of the China Tibetology Research Center.

Liu argues that religious freedom is guaranteed by the Chinese constitution and laws. He says Tibet has 1,780 Buddhist religious sites, 46,000 monks and nuns, four mosques and a Christian church.

The Dalai Lama, believed by Tibetan Buddhists to be the reincarnation of all his predecessors, was both the head of the Tibetan state and of its religion under the old system. He has said Tibet should have separation of church and state.

Liu charged that the Dalai Lama and his supporters want to restore the "religion first" regime in Tibet with one-10th of the population living as Buddhist monks or nuns and monasteries owning one-third of the country's wealth.

"By denying the fact that the Tibetan people enjoy freedom of religious belief and asking for an amendment to the Constitution with so-called 'international standard,' the Dalai side is attempting to restore theocracy in Tibet," Liu concluded.