New Delhi:
Tibetan government-in-exile President Penpa Tsering has claimed that China is facing signs of serious internal strain, pointing to sweeping purges inside the People’s Liberation Army as evidence of a deeper power struggle under President Xi Jinping.
In an interview with NDTV, Tsering said Xi had removed “more than 110 military generals” since taking control of the Communist Party, officially in the name of anti-corruption. But, he argued, the campaign was also aimed at eliminating political opponents and reflected instability within the Chinese system.
“The military is the backbone of the Communist Party,” Tsering said, adding that repeated purges in the armed forces pointed towards a “power struggle” and “symptoms of a bigger malaise” inside China’s leadership structure.
His remarks come at a sensitive moment, as US President Donald Trump is expected to visit China amid efforts to reset trade ties with Beijing. Tsering said trade remains essential for the global economy but warned that China’s words and actions often move in opposite directions. He said the world should judge Beijing “not by what they are saying, but by how they are doing things.”
The Tibetan leader described China as an “autocratic capitalist” system operating under the “garb of communism,” saying Beijing speaks of peace, dialogue and global governance abroad while tightening control at home. He linked China’s regional military assertiveness to what he called its “hegemonic ambitions,” beginning with the invasion of Tibet in 1950.
Tsering painted a grim picture of life inside Tibet, saying the region remains heavily restricted, with little access for diplomats, journalists or independent observers. He said China’s recently passed “Ethnic Unity and Progress Law” was designed to erase distinct identities of Tibetans, Mongolians and Uyghurs under the language of national unity.
“Chinese always have a very nice name when they do bad things,” he said, arguing that the law provides a legal framework to suppress cultural, religious and linguistic identity.
He compared the atmosphere in Tibet to East Germany under the Stasi, saying surveillance had penetrated families and communities. “Every family member is spying on another family member,” he said, adding that people could not trust each other because anyone could be reported under anti-espionage laws.
Tsering also accused Beijing of undermining Tibetan Buddhism by reshaping religious education to serve Communist Party goals. He said the Tibetan language was being pushed out of schools, while monasteries and religious institutions were being forced to promote loyalty to the Chinese state.
A major part of the interview focused on the future of the Dalai Lama and China’s likely attempt to interfere in his reincarnation. Tsering said it was “most likely” that Beijing would appoint its own Dalai Lama after the 14th Dalai Lama, even though the Communist government does not believe in religion.
“A government that does not believe in any religion… is ordering His Holiness not to be reborn outside China,” he said, calling the position “absurd”.
He rejected Beijing’s claim that the reincarnation must be found within China and approved through the so-called Golden Urn process. Tsering called the Golden Urn narrative a “creation of a myth” by the Chinese government, arguing that several Dalai Lamas were recognised before the method was ever claimed as tradition.
He said the Tibetan side is preparing for this contest by building international support for the Dalai Lama’s right and the Tibetan people’s right to decide the reincarnation process without Chinese state interference.
Tsering said several countries had already spoken in support of religious freedom for Tibetans and that the Tibetan leadership-in-exile was reaching out to the wider Buddhist world, including Himalayan communities, Mongolia and Russian republics with Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
On the Dalai Lama’s health, Tsering said His Holiness, now in his nineties, remains mentally sharp and continues to meet hundreds of people several days a week. He said the Dalai Lama had spent decades preparing Tibetans to take responsibility for their own cause through democratic institutions in exile.
“When His Holiness is alive, we have to try to find a solution,” he said, adding that the Central Tibetan Administration is working to institutionalise ties with governments, including India, so that the Tibetan movement remains strong in the future.
On India, Tsering expressed deep gratitude, saying the Tibetan government-in-exile exists because of the government of India and the Indian people. He said Tibetans are culturally, religiously and linguistically closer to India than any other country because Tibetan script and Buddhism came from India.
While acknowledging India’s national interests and strategic compulsions with China, Tsering said Tibetans believe India will remain “on the right side of history.”