Tibet - The Dalai Lama's Family Owned Business

[vajratruth]

In 2011 the Dalai Lama relinquished his political power supposedly after successfully setting up a democratic government in the form of the CTA. And yet, we do not see much changes at all and the CTA continues to be merely enforcers of the Dalai Lama's will. Take Lobsang Sangay for instance. When he was elected as the Prime Minister, I for one thought that with his human rights background, that perhaps he would progressively remove the Dorje Shugden ban which is after all, illegal and counter-productive for the Tibetan society. But that didn't happen and instead he seems to be a clone of the Dalai Lamanthoughts without the spiritual and charisma spin. Lobsang Sangay has not done anything on his own that seems to be a departure of the Dalai Lama's preference but which the Tibetan people need. In fact the entire CTA is like that.

But then again, no one should be surprised because even as the Dalai Lama and CTA were trying to convince the world of their liberal leanings, the Dalai Lama has padding up his government with his cronies in preparation for perhaps his greatest charade as the supreme ventriloquist. This is an older report of how key positions in the CTA were filled by the Dalai Lama's family members and although there has been a new elected Parliament since, I have little reason to believe that the Dalai Lama's puppets are no longer still "in power":

Extracted from "Behind The Dalai Lama's Holy Cloak" by Michale Backman, 2007:

In recent years, three of the six members of the Kashag, or cabinet, the highest executive branch of the Tibetan government-in-exile, have been close relatives of the Dalai Lama.

An older brother served as chairman of the Kashag and as the minister of security. He also headed the CIA-backed Tibetan contra movement in the 1960s.

A sister-in-law served as head of the government-in-exile's planning council and its Department of Health.

A younger sister served as health and education minister and her husband served as head of the government-in-exile's Department of Information and International Relations.

Their daughter was made a member of the Tibetan parliament in exile. A younger brother has served as a senior member of the private office of the Dalai Lama and his wife has served as education minister.

The second wife of a brother-in-law serves as the representative of the Tibetan government-in-exile for northern Europe and head of international relations for the government-in-exile. All these positions give the Dalai Lama's family access to millions of dollars collected on behalf of the government-in-exile.

The Dalai Lama might now be well-known but few really know much about him. For example, contrary to widespread belief, he is not a vegetarian. He eats meat. He has done so (he claims) on a doctor's advice following liver complications from hepatitis. I have checked with several doctors but none agrees that meat consumption is necessary or even desirable for a damaged liver.

What has the Dalai Lama actually achieved for Tibetans inside Tibet?

If his goal has been independence for Tibet or, more recently, greater autonomy, then he has been a miserable failure.

He has kept Tibet on the front pages around the world, but to what end? The main achievement seems to have been to become a celebrity. Possibly, had he stayed quiet, fewer Tibetans might have been tortured, killed and generally suppressed by China".


Source: http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/behind-dalai-lamas-holy-cloak/2007/05/22/1179601410290.html?page=2

[Kim Hyun Jae]

We normally read the more popular news about the Dalai Lama and as it's been reported in the news article, there are too few information we know about the himself, other than his popularity.

It would be interesting to find out further news about his personal activities including his immediate family members.

[yontenjamyang]

Don't whether to laugh or to cry! How can a leader be effective when family members are involved in running the "business". How do you "fire" your family members. Would it be more prudent to have "non-related" people helping to run the government?

Also, how do a leader account for any gains made by the family members? So easy and open to corruption and criticism. This is really unwise.

Can you imagine Barrack Obama run the US this way? All hell will break loose. No wonder the CTA do not achieve their objectives. The world will see it as a "mom-and-pop" operations. Not serious. And to blame their failures on the Protector top the cake.

Sigh!

[Rihanna]

Is CTA using the wealth amassed from sincere practitioners hard earned donation to fund the violence and suppression towards Dorje Shugden practitioners?


Dalai Lama family owned 6,000 serfs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-20 07:41
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How much property did the 14th Dalai Lama own before fleeing Tibet in 1959?

A great deal, according to a white paper titled Fifty Years of Democratic Reform in Tibet, recently published by the Information Office of the State Council. Following is an article published in the People's Daily yesterday in response to readers' inquiries:

In 1959, the Dalai Lama personally owned 160,000 liang (a Chinese weighing unit equal to 50 grams) of gold, 95 million liang of silver, more than 20,000 pieces of jewelry and jadeware, and more than 10,000 pieces of silk and satin fabric and rare fur clothing, including more than 100 robes inlaid with pearls and gems, each worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Before sweeping democratic reform was launched by the central government in 1959, Tibetan people had suffered under a system of feudal serfdom at the hands of religious-political rulers.

The serf-owner class, consisting of three major estate-holders - local administrative officials, aristocrats and upper-class monastery lamas - exerted extremely brutal political suppression and economic exploitation on the serfs and slaves.

About 90 percent of old Tibet's population was made up of serfs, called tralpa in Tibetan (namely, people who tilled plots of land assigned to them and had to provide corvee labor for their serf owners) and duiqoin (small households with chimneys emitting smoke). They had no means of production or personal freedom, and only lived on tilling plots for estate-holders for survival.

In addition, nangzan, about 5 percent of the old Tibet's population, were hereditary slaves regarded as "speaking tools".

Statistics released in the early years of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in the 17th century indicate that Tibet then had more than 3 million mu of farmland, of which 30.9 percent was owned by the local feudal government, 29.6 percent by aristocrats, and 39.5 percent by monastery and upper-ranking lamas.

The monopoly of means of production by the three major estate-holders remained unchanged until the adoption of democratic reforms in 1959.

According to statistics, the family of the 14th Dalai Lama possessed 27 manors, 30 pastures and more than 6,000 serfs. About 33,000 ke (one ke equals 14 kilograms) of qingke (highland barley), 2,500 ke of butter, two million liang of Tibetan silver, 300 head of cattle, and 175 rolls of pulu (woolen fabric made in Tibet) were squeezed out of its serfs every year.

It is known that each Dalai Lama had two money-lending agencies. Some money from "tribute" to the Dalai Lama was lent at an exorbitant rate of interest.

According to incomplete records in the account books of the two agencies, they lent 3,038,581 liang of silver as principal in 1950, and collected 303,858 liang in interest the same year. Governments of various levels in the old Tibet also had many such agencies, and lending money and interest collection became a duty of local officials.

A survey made in 1959 showed that the three major monasteries, namely Drepung, Sera and Ganden, in Lhasa, lent a total of 22,725,822 kilograms of grain and collected 399,364 kilograms in interest.

Also, a total of 57,105,895 liang of silver was lent for 1,402,380-liang interest.

Relevant statistics show revenue gained from usurious loans made up 25 to 30 percent of the total incomes of the three monasteries.

[dondrup]

With so many family and closed relatives of Dalai Lama holding important governmental positions, one can't help but question the integrity of the election process. Was the election democratic? Can this be considered a fair government without representation from all levels of the society but mainly from Dalai Lama's cronies?

Furthermore, CTA gives the impression that it still continue to report to HH Dalai Lama even though HHDL had already relinquished his position as the political leader of the Tibetans in exile. One clear proof is CTA's refusal to lift the ban on Dorje Shugden despite knowing very well it had infringed on the constitutional rights of religious freedom! CTA dare not go against Dalai Lama!

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This is something new. Never knew of these facts previously. I wonder if all the Tibetans (living in exile, and those still in Tibet) know about such details of the riches accrued by the Dalai Lama and his family members. Of course, His Holiness is a high lama and he would be showered with much offerings from all his followers world wide.Maybe the Tibetans should start to think very thoroughly if they really wanted independence from China and go back to the way and systems (including slavery) before the invasion of China. The Tibetans under the rule of China are accorded their religion freedom, and they were not ostracized by anyone. The only set back is they are not allowed to have a picture of His Holiness Dalai Lama. But would it be more important to be able to practice the religion of one's choice or to have Tibet back under the rule of CTA?

[vajratruth]

Furthermore, CTA gives the impression that it still continue to report to HH Dalai Lama even though HHDL had already relinquished his position as the political leader of the Tibetans in exile. One clear proof is CTA's refusal to lift the ban on Dorje Shugden despite knowing very well it had infringed on the constitutional rights of religious freedom! CTA dare not go against Dalai Lama!

It should be clear to everyone by now, that the act of the Dalai Lama stepping down from secular power is a ruse to trick the Western nations into thinking that the Dalai Lama is serious about a Tibetan democracy and hence continue to support his cause; and China into thinking that the Dalai Lama is no longer a potent splittist element that can destroy harmony in Tibet. The truth is, power over the Tibetan people remains in the greasy hands of a small minority.

That the Tibetan cause is about fighting for the freedom of the Tibetan people is a spectacular fraud that the world bought log stock and barrel. The joke is on us and the Dorje Shugden ban is a clear and undisputed evidence that there is no democracy or even proper representation of the people in the CTA.

[WisdomBeing]

This kind of crony capitalism would not be acceptable to any of the western countries who support HH the 14th Dalai Lama, yet they choose to ignore this offence to any democratic government in this modern day. I am surprised that this information is not more freely available to the public. I guess it is the same as the Dorje Shugden issue which is a far greater travesty of justice than cronyism. If they can ignore that, what more simple profiteering?

[samayakeeper]

It's interesting to learn of the wealth that the family of the Dalai Lama comes into contact with and hopefully the wealth is well managed and spent for the welfare of the Tibetan people. Now we hear that the CTA has a huge budget to continue with its effort to ban Dorje Shugden and the practices. I wonder where does this money come from? Could it be from a third party outside of CTA? I wonder.

[christine V]

Very interesting news! The entire family is in a "government". This can be truly understood how the CTA works. They do not think on the Tibet's peoples need. All they wanted was to be in control, and, anything get into them will have to stay away.
No wonder, the CTA can be so cruel to own Tibetan in excel. No wonder, CTA can even fight for Tibetan's Freedom!

[dsiluvu]

That's very interesting points highlighted and raised Vajratruth... perhaps it should be turned in to an article where many Shugdepas can circulate all over the world.

It is no doubt when HHDL stepped down as temporal leader of the exiled Tibetans, it was all for a show and it has proven to be so when we now witness what Dr. Lobsang has achieved... it is still the Dalia Lama talking really. And to have so many close relatives in all the major key places of the Tibetan exile community, I would say, this is obviously not a "democratic" society nor leadership.

Really the world needs to be told the truth, because while some silly westerner is thinking their donating to a cause, freedom and justice of the Tibetan, they are in fact just making the exile Govt just richer. And for how long can this propaganda of a "FREE TIBET" keep on running for? When HHDL passes on, I wonder would people still feel sorry and touched by the stories told about HHDL escape and ignorantly donate to a Govt who literally kills their own people. What makes them any difference from the Chinese Govt? At least the whole world know China and their weaknesses and strengths, but CTA has been very deceptive. And it is our human right to protect humanity, and educate the world with this kind of information!!!