The Live Indian Entertainment Blog

The Dalai Lama used Twitter to answer questions from followers on Friday, via an hourlong session with Wang Lixiong, a Chinese writer and convert to Tibetan Buddhism who lives in Beijing. The session took place in a hotel room in New York City, where the exiled Tibetan leader is visiting.

Wang posted the answers to the questions on his Twitter feed (in Chinese), which had more than 8,000 followers at the time of this writing. Wang said more than 1,200 people submitted questions; the most popular ones were asked Friday.

It is unclear how many in China were able to access the feed. While Twitter is blocked in China, thousands of Chinese, particularly activists, find a way around the controls which have been dubbed the "Great Firewall of China."

The Dalai Lama fled China 51 years ago and lives in exile in India. China has long maintained that Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries. However, many Tibetans say the region was functionally independent for much of its history. They consider the Dalai Lama their rightful leader. While China says that the Dalai Lama wants to destroy the sovereignty of China over Tibet, he says he simply wants some form of autonomy for Tibet, instead.

One topic of concern brought up during the "interview" was what will happen when the Dalai Lama dies, and if the Tibetan issue will be resolved before then. He answered, "I've been through many eras, and I've seen big changes. [...] I believe not far in the future there will definitely be change and the problems will be resolved."