As the world marked His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday with joyous celebrations, cultural programs, and prayers of gratitude, Chinese authorities issued an internal directive designed to suffocate even the faintest whisper of observance inside Tibet. The classified eight-point document, obtained by Tibet Times, carries the stark title “Warning on Ideological Risks in the Autumn Session 2025” and is accompanied by a “Swift Action Plan for Sensitive Times.” It reflects Beijing’s long-standing paranoia that devotion to the Dalai Lama remains the greatest threat to its grip on Tibet.
The directive’s Article 8, “About Ethnic Religions,” is particularly revealing. In sub-clause 36, officials warn that so-called “opposing forces” are secretly producing audio and video messages to honor the Dalai Lama’s birthday. The order calls for strict surveillance of monks who use social media or covert channels to send greetings. Devout followers are banned outright from joining gatherings, raising the Tibetan flag, displaying images of His Holiness, or resorting to acts of self-immolation. The purpose, the document makes clear, is to comprehensively prevent any “serious incidents.”
Sub-clause 37 turns its attention to the younger generation. Small religious groups and practice centers that have been offering guidance and spiritual training to Tibetan youth are to be strictly prohibited. Any activity perceived to be influenced by what authorities call “foreign forces” is described as ideological infiltration and therefore must be firmly shut down. The following clause, number 38, links these restrictions to the approaching 60th anniversary of the establishment of the so-called Tibetan Autonomous Region on September 9. The directive warns that conspiracies to incite protests for independence, or acts aimed at undermining Tibet’s official narrative of “development and stability,” must be decisively prevented.
The document formalizes measures that Tibetans had already begun to experience in the weeks leading up to His Holiness’s birthday. Reports from across the plateau described waves of detentions and interrogations, especially in monasteries such as Karze, Labrang, Kirti, and in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. Authorities banned traditional rituals, including the burning of juniper offerings, and prohibited the hanging of prayer flags or the display of portraits of the Dalai Lama. Even small gatherings in private homes were subject to surveillance and interruption.
Cultural expression, too, fell under the dragnet. A Tibetan singer known as A-Sang was detained and placed under restricted release after performing a song of longing for the Dalai Lama. His and his wife’s social media accounts, popular among Tibetan youth, were abruptly shut down. For many, this case symbolized the broader assault: not just on political speech but on the emotional and spiritual bond Tibetans hold with their exiled leader. Human rights groups described the campaign as an attempt to erase cultural memory at its root.
Analysts say the timing of the directive is telling. The global outpouring of love and support for the Dalai Lama on his 90th birthday stood in stark contrast to Beijing’s efforts to stage-manage the TAR’s 60th anniversary celebrations. The CCP’s fear, observers argue, is that images of jubilation and devotion outside Tibet could ignite similar feelings inside Tibet, eroding its narrative of control and stability. “The Chinese government fears a photograph of the Dalai Lama more than it fears a protest march,” remarked one exile observer. “This document makes clear that Beijing’s insecurity has reached the point where even birthday blessings are branded subversive.”
From exile communities in India to parliaments across Europe and North America, Tibetans and their supporters celebrated the Dalai Lama’s life openly, lighting lamps, organizing cultural programs, and sending messages of gratitude. Inside Tibet, however, the faithful were forced into silence, where even the simple act of wishing long life to their spiritual leader became an act of quiet resistance. The eight-point directive is more than a bureaucratic order. It is a reminder that for Beijing, Tibet’s spiritual heart remains the most dangerous frontier, and one it seeks to seal off with surveillance, censorship, and fear.
