Just read the June 12th New York Times article:
“Dalai Lama Nears 90, and Exiled Tibetans Fear for Their Future.”
As a Tibetan, I must speak out. This report contains factual distortions, historical erasures, and misleading language that do a disservice to the truth and the Tibetan people.
First: The article claims “the Dalai Lama’s health is declining,” and “his public appearances have grown rarer.”
This is misleading at best.
While naturally aging, His Holiness remains remarkably active. In Dharamsala, he receives guests and devotees almost daily. His public engagement surpasses that of most global leaders at his age. To suggest rapid decline is not only inaccurate—it feeds a narrative of helplessness that is simply untrue.
Second: The article says the Dalai Lama “built a bureaucracy that nourishes a culture of service.”
This makes it sound as if Tibetans had no political structure before exile. In fact, Tibet’s Ganden Phodrang government has functioned for nearly four centuries.
What His Holiness did after 1959 was modernize—voluntarily stepping back from temporal power in 2011 to support a fully democratic system. This is not the birth of bureaucracy, but the evolution of an ancient institution.
Third: The article vaguely claims “he has also said his reincarnation could be an adult and not necessarily male.”
Such a statement demands context and a date.
His Holiness has indeed spoken in past years about challenging traditional assumptions on gender and age—but this was not part of any recent announcement, nor related to his 90th birthday or succession plans. Without citation, the NYT risks giving the false impression of a new declaration.
This is not nitpicking.
When reporting on a stateless people, a sacred religious tradition, and a global icon approaching a pivotal milestone, accuracy is everything.
The Times missed the mark on the three most sensitive issues:
– His health
– His political legacy
– His reincarnation
And its Chinese version worsens it with exaggerated phrases and omissions.
His Holiness’s 90th birthday is not a symbol of Tibetan despair. It is the culmination of spiritual strength, democratic transformation, and cultural survival in exile.
If the media wishes to write about Tibet’s future, it must begin by treating Tibet’s present with truth and respect.
— Tibetans are not just headlines of exile and anxiety.
We deserve journalism that honors history, understands nuance, and avoids careless distortions.
You can and should do better.
#DalaiLama #TibetanVoices #MediaAccountability #JournalismMatters
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Jonathan Cheng
@JChengWSJ
NYT: “The Dalai Lama has been out of his house and country for 65 years, and that has already created a great sense of pain…among the Tibetans inside Tibet,” said Tenzin Tsundue, a Tibetan activist and poet. “This will, you know, burst into volcano.”
nytimes.com/2025/06/12/wor