DHARAMSALA, India — The Dalai Lama on Wednesday affirmed that he should have a successor and said the next Dalai Lama should be chosen by the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit group that he set up — rejecting moves by China to steer his succession. The decision, he said in a statement that he read aloud during the opening day of a three-day conference of spiritual leaders in Dharamsala, came after years of appeals from Tibetan religious and secular leaders, as well as people and organizations from around the world.…
Category: RFA
Dalai Lama’s expected announcement might impede Chinese control of his succession
As the Dalai Lama approaches his 90th birthday on July 6, the world awaits the Tibetan spiritual leader’s decision on whether there will be a next Dalai Lama – an announcement the head of Tibetan Buddhism promised to unveil when he is 90 in what may serve as a definitive move to thwart the Chinese government’s efforts to exert control over his succession. The announcement is set to be the most consequential in modern Tibetan history, one that will shape the future of Tibetans’ seven-decade-long struggle to preserve their religious…
Event kicks off celebration of Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday
DHARAMSALA, INDIA — The Dalai Lama said there would be a “structured framework” for his succession and reflected on a “profoundly purposeful and deeply fulfilling” life as spiritual and administrative leaders gathered on Monday to begin celebrations for his 90th birthday. “Throughout my life, I have worked for the welfare of the Tibetan people, preservation of the Dharma, and for the happiness of all,” he said. “I believe this human life of mine has served the whole of mankind and I remain committed to dedicating the rest of it, too,…
Hong Kong pro-democracy party to disband under pressure from Beijing
The League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy party with a 19-year history, has announced it will hold a press conference Sunday to announce its disbandment, signaling the disappearance of pro-democracy parties from Hong Kong’s political landscape. “Next year would have marked the 20th anniversary of our founding, but we will not make it to that day,” LSD said in a media notice on Friday. “We are announcing our dissolution.” A source told RFA Cantonese that LSD was warned several times, beginning in April, that it must dissolve before July 1…
Chinese ship conducts survey off Vietnam but Hanoi’s state media stays silent
A Chinese survey ship has been repeatedly circling within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea since mid-June, raising concerns of a potential maritime standoff. The vessel, named Bei Dao 996, was first tracked by SeaLight, which uses commercially available technology to monitor and expose so-called “gray zone” activities — meaning coercive activities at sea that stop short of triggering a military response. China is often accused of adopting such tactics to assert its sweeping claims over the disputed waters in the South and East China Seas.…
INTERVIEW: Secret deal means Laos has some of the world’s cheapest cigarettes
A pack of cigarettes in Laos costs as little as 32 U.S. cents, thanks to a secret deal between the Lao government and British tobacco giant, Imperial Brands. In a new report, The Examination, a news site that focuses on global health threats, looks into who benefited from the 2001 deal and how an agreement capping excise taxes has hit government revenues in the Southeast Asian nation and kept the price of cigarettes among the lowest in the world. That’s had serious public health consequences for Laos, which has very…
Amnesty accuses Cambodia of ‘gross failure’ to stop rampant abuses in scam centers
Cambodia’s online scamming industry is a cesspool of “mass scale” rights abuses where hundreds suffer torture, forced labor, human trafficking, and slavery in at least 53 scam centers across the country, a new report says. The Amnesty International report, released Thursday, says it is a human rights crisis enabled by state complicity. cambodia-amnesty-scam-center A map showing the 53 scamming compounds in Cambodia documented by Amnesty International. (Copyright Amnesty International, 2025) Cambodia and neighboring Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have seen a massive proliferation of scam compounds that rely on a large…
Treatment of ailing independent journalist in prison ‘a disgrace to Vietnam’
Independent journalist Le Huu Minh Tuan, who is serving 11 years for “conducting propaganda against the state,” has told his family that he is facing serious health problems in prison. A human rights group says his treatment is “a disgrace to Vietnam.” Tuan, a member of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, is incarcerated at Xuyen Moc Prison in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. According to his family, on April 19, Tuan made his monthly phone call home and reported that he had been suffering from prolonged rectal…
Tempers rise at Thai-Cambodia border as stranded travelers demand passage home
BANGKOK – Tempers frayed at the Thai-Cambodian border on Wednesday as travelers left in limbo by the closure of international land crossing points amid a bilateral territorial dispute demanded to be allowed to return to their home country. Video: The land border between Thailand and Cambodia is closed.On Tuesday, thousands of Cambodians working in or traveling to Thailand could not cross back to Cambodia before Thailand closed the seven border checkpoints. Some said they did not even know of the closures. Under pressure from stranded travelers, authorities briefly reopened border…
Lawyers fear Vietnam’s new licensing rule could have chilling effect
Lawyers across Vietnam are voicing concern over a new government decree regulating the issuance and revocation of law practice licenses, with many taking to social media to publicly express their grievances. Decree 121, issued on June 11, shifts the authority to grant, revoke, and renew law practice licenses from the Minister of Justice to provincial chairpersons — a move seen as part of a broader agenda to restructure Vietnam’s state apparatus. Government officials have not offered a direct explanation for the decree. However, law professionals have raised alarms over the…