“The right of the Tibetan people to be the custodians of their own homeland cannot be indefinitely denied, nor can their aspiration for freedom be crushed forever through oppression.”
These are the Dalai Lama’s words as he reflects on his lifelong work to save Tibet’s unique civilization. The Dalai Lama, who turns 90 in July, has pursued this goal ever since he was a young monk meeting with Mao Zedong, and he says that this struggle will continue beyond his lifetime – if necessary.
“Voice for the Voiceless,” the Dalai Lama’s new book, was released on 11 March 2025. It presents an inside look at the efforts Tibetans have made to pursue the Middle Way Approach, which calls for a negotiated solution to China’s occupation of their historically-independent country. It also lays out how important international support has been for champions of the Tibetan cause and shows how the United States Congress has played a pivotal role in pushing China to resume dialogue.
The Dalai Lama also writes about the plan for his succession in the clearest terms yet, illustrating the geopolitical importance of Tibet. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reacted to the release of the book with numerous false and misleading statements on the history of Tibet and the institution of the Dalai Lama.
Decades of efforts
Since 1950, the Dalai Lama writes, “I have carried the duty of protecting Tibet and its people as well as our culture at the center of my heart and will do so as long as I am alive.”
Initially this meant interceding with occupying Chinese authorities on behalf of the Tibetan people and then fleeing the country when this arrangement became untenable. In the following decades it has involved varying levels of contact with successive Chinese leaders, including ten rounds of dialogue between 2002 and 2010 that form the most recent period of intense engagement between China and representatives of the Tibetan people.
Last year Penpa Tsering, the Sikyong (President) of the Central Tibetan Administration, confirmed that back-channel talks with China are ongoing.
International support
Saying that, Tibetans are fortunate to have friends around the world standing in solidarity with them, the Dalai Lama specifically mentions several important pieces of legislation such as the Tibetan Policy Act and the Tibetan Policy and Support Act. He also refers to resolutions passed by the United Nations and the European Parliament.
The United States Congress has maintained longstanding bipartisan support for Tibet, most recently expressed in the 2024 passage of the Resolve Tibet Act. This act – now the law of the United States – supports the resumption of dialogue between China and the Tibetans and empowers the State Department to combat Chinese disinformation on Tibet. It advanced through Congress through a series of overwhelming bipartisan votes, including unanimous approval from the Senate.
Future of the Dalai Lama lineage
The Dalai Lama says that people inside and outside of Tibet, “as well as Tibetan Buddhist communities from the Himalayan region and Mongolia,” have petitioned him to request that his lineage should continue.
Asserting that the Chinese Communists have no authority to “meddle,” the Dalai Lama states that “since the purpose of a reincarnation is to carry on the work of the predecessor, the new Dalai Lama will be born in the free world so that the traditional mission of the Dalai Lama – that is, to be the voice of universal compassion, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, and the symbol of Tibet embodying the aspirations of the Tibetan people – will continue.”
He also warns against accepting any candidate for his successor chosen for political ends, “including those in the People’s Republic of China.” China has repeatedly claimed the right to select the next Dalai Lama in a brazen assault against the religious freedom of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet and across the globe.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement on the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation echoes the CCP’s duplicitous propaganda on Tibet and is precisely the sort of disinformation that the State Department now has an explicit mandate to counteract thanks to the Resolve Tibet Act.
The book concludes with advice to the Tibetans not to lose hope and an appeal to the international community “not to forget Tibet at this critical and challenging time in our people’s long history.”
Voice for the Voiceless
Voice for the Voiceless follows other books by the Dalai Lama exploring the political situation in Tibet and the struggle of the Tibetan people for human rights and democratic freedoms such as Freedom in Exile. It was published by HarperCollins and is available now in the United States, with subsequent publication already planned in Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Holland, Brazil, and Spain.