Overview

• A three-day gathering of senior monks and scholars will start on July 2 in McLeodganj as part of the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday celebrations.
• The Dalai Lama is expected to clarify whether he will reincarnate or opt for emanation and to detail the procedure for naming his successor.
• He has already declared he will not be reborn in China and has signaled a return in a free country, most likely India.
• Sikyong Penpa Tsering and deputy speaker Dolma Tsering have reaffirmed that the exile community will reject any successor appointed by Beijing.
• China’s 2007 regulation granting the Communist Party authority over Tibetan reincarnations raises concerns it could install a rival claimant to the Dalai Lama’s role.