The Game of One Year Gap: H. H the Dalai Lama or CCP, who will outlive?

If you have watched the Game of Thorns, hope you can read the ‘Game of One Year Gap’. I have been trying to find an answer to this hypothetical question of who will live longer, the Chinese Communist Party or His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama? The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921 and by 1949, it succeeded in establishing a communist government which consequently led to the lost of Tibet’s sovereignty. It also is expecting to live beyond a century not just as political party, but in power at the centre. Meanwhile, H.H Dalai Lama who was born in 1935 was ageing year by year, but not getting older anytime. As he aged, he gets stronger and healthier promising to live beyond a century. This sounds promising as he is the only Dalai Lama amongst the 14^th reincarnations who lived the longest.

While the Dalai Lama has no hurdles in living long as millions pray for his long life each day, Chinese Communist Party always has restive regions to handle in all its years since the foundation of PRC. The Xinjiang and Tibetan region, apart from specially administered Hong Kong, has been boiling with distaste against China’s party dictatorship. Even the Chinese Han majority are not so satisfied with the way politics is being handled; this was evident from China’s 1989 Tienanmen Square protest in Beijing, the dissents many of whom are in the west who continued to struggle against one-party rule in their country. Moreover, India’s Bharatiya Janta Party has overtaken Communist Party of China as the single political party in the world in terms of membership with over 100 millions members (10 Crore) against CCP’s 92 million (9.2 Crore).

Over the decades, the CCP has produced large number of refugees due to political reasons. One of the most famous and global icon has been none other than the Tibetan (spiritual) leader, His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, the longest living Dalai Lama, who, nine years ago renounced political leadership by passing his political mantle to democratically elected Sikyong. However, the noble laureate Tibetan leader sounds more hectic than ever before after quitting political leadership. Even at the age of 85, he continued preach world leaders and people on peace, love and compassion online despite pandemic. If the pandemic is over and normalcy returns, he might even preach offline and travel around.

More importantly, the 1989 Nobel laureate has been saying that Tibetans will one day see him returning to his homeland and both Tibetans inside and outside Tibet can unite. To this he prophesied that he prays and hope to live till 113 time and again, sending hopes around world for Tibet’s future. However, the 19^th  CCP National Congress had Xi Jinping hoping for two centenary goals; CCP Centenary and CCP establishment of PRC Centenary. His Holiness Dalai Lama’s return to Tibet and unification of Tibetans around the world in their former country would suggest an era of post-CCP reign in China. Dalai Lama can’t return anytime under current CCP regime, where freedom as designed by him is unacceptable to China. The only time H.H Dalai Lama returns to Tibet and Tibetans unite in their country would be post-CCP China.

I calculated both their dreams and found that H. H Dalai Lama's dream of living till 113 is achieved around 2048 which is just one year away from CCP's dream of achieving PRC centenary in 2049. The Dalai Lama’s return to homeland means PRC centenary is remote dream, but if CCP's succeeds in PRC centenary than Dalai Lama’s dream of returning to Tibet is remote. Will Dalai Lama’s record breaking long live would overtake China’s PRC centenary dream, or will CCP succeed in achieving this goal remains question. Which year will reign our history 2048 or 2049, the gap of one year known as ‘The Game of One Year Gap’.

By: Tenzin Phuntsok alias Tenzin Doring