New York City — “For me, the most simple and wise way to support the Tibetan cause is to follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness said to me personally that the value of a person is not in his own, but in what he carries. So I am willing to serve as a container to accept the ‘middle way’; I am willing to act as a carrier to carry out the ‘middle way,’” said Dr Ming Xia, a Chinese Professor at New York University, at a rally for the 58th Tibetan National Uprising Day celebrated in the United States.
Expressing his support for the Middle Way Approach advocated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Dr Xia said:
“His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s approach on the “middle way” is sincere, serious, and not an expedient measure. Moreover, I believe that this is to save Tibetans, to protect the common sense of the world. So, for me, the most simple and wise way to support the Tibetan cause is to follow His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His Holiness said to me personally that the value of a person is not in his own, but in what he carries. So I am willing to serve as a container to accept the “middle way”; I am willing to act as a carrier to carry out the “middle way”; I would like to be a servant to conform to the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” Dr Xia said at the gathering held outside the United Nations on Friday.
The Chinese professor spoke admiringly of the far-sighted democratic principles held by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his lifelong advocacy of peace, unity and universal values.
“For me, the charisma of the Dalai Lama is not mainly that he is a “leader of Tibetans”, but rather that he has abandoned the traditional system of political and religious unity, abandoned the secular political role, established the separation of political and religious democracy System; the charm of His Holiness is reflected in his respect for secularism, for different religious leaders. His Holiness belongs to the exiled Tibetans, also to the territory of Tibetans, to all the Chinese, more importantly, he belongs to the whole humanity. His teachings about compassion, nonviolence and happiness are the recipe for human society to resolve civilized conflicts and world conflicts. He has perfectly reconciled universal values, community development, family harmony and personal well-being. Therefore, we join and support the cause of Tibetans, not in the attitude of grace. On the contrary, the Dalai Lama has given us a solution to our human contradictions, national conflicts, the establishment of community harmony and family happiness.”
He further argued that Beijing’s incessant campaign of denigrating the Tibetan spiritual leader were in a bid to reduce his influence and “endanger the cause of Tibet.”
“Because, as His Holiness the Dalai Lama said, he was first a Tibetan, the cause of the Tibetan people and the Dalai Lama is inseparable. On this basis, the most effective way to succeed in preventing Tibet’s freedom is to spread all kinds of fallacies, to mislead people from the Dalai Lama’s path and to reduce the Dalai Lama’s leadership and influence. And we all know that His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Central Tibetan Administration are committed to the implementation of the “middle way”, so the destruction of the “middle way” has become an important way to endanger the cause of Tibet,” he said.
The gathering was attended by Representative Penpa Tsering of Office of Tibet, Washington DC and Mr Kunga Tashi, Chinese Liaison officer along with hundreds of Tibetans and Tibet supporters.
Dr Ming Xia is a professor of Political Science at the Graduate Center, and the College of Staten Island, City University of New York. He is a long term advocate for Tibetans and a friend to the community. From 2009 to 2013, he has been consecutively included in “The Top 100 Chinese Public Intellectuals.”