DPP Secretary General Luo Wen-jia passes on support for democracy from Dalai Lama (2019/07/26)



DPP Secretary General Luo Wen-jia today held a press conference to talk about his recent visit to India to visit the Dalai Lama. According to Luo the Dalai Lama said that Taiwan could use the power of democracy to liberate China. He also said that a forceful Chinese annexation of Taiwan would not last long.



Back in March on the 60th anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising, the DPP Secretary General said he would welcome a visit from the Dalai Lama to Taiwan. Four months later, Luo flew to India to express the DPP’s best wishes to the exiled leader.



Luo Wen-jia

DPP Secretary General

When we sat down, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said the power of weapons can only last so long, but that the power of democracy and freedom can be passed down for thousands of years. Therefore, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, believes that China’s “liberation” of Taiwan would not be a simple matter and that Taiwan can use the cultural power of a free democracy to liberate China.



The PRC’s Tibet Autonomous Region recently issued a statement saying the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama would need to be approved by the Chinese government and should take place in China. To this, the Dalai Lama gave a humorous response.



Luo Wen-chia

DPP Secretary General

Whether the reincarnation system will continue should be decided by Buddhists, and not by the non-Buddhist Communist party. His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, even said if the Communists care so much about issues relating to reincarnation, they should first go and find the reincarnation of Mao Zedong.



After China breached a peace agreement with Tibet, the Dalai Lama fled to India, where he has been in exile for 60 years. Now Taiwan and Tibet are both facing the expansion of China’s authoritarianism. The possibility of Chinese interference in Taiwan’s free and democratic elections has attracted international attention.



Jonathan Fritz

U.S. Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs

With regards to the election, we have made it clear the United States is very very worried about attempts by foreign adversaries to interfere in elections. We all know that Beijing is putting a lot of pressure. They definitely have a preferred candidate in Taiwan’s upcoming election and they are going to use every bit of leverage they have in many realms, including the cyber one.



From the Dalai Lama to the U.S., the whole world is watching to see if Taiwan can hold fast to democracy.

