Top Tibetan leader defends Dalai Lama over tongue-sucking remark

 

Penpa Tsering, head of Tibet's government-in-exile, has defended the Dalai Lama over a viral video that showed him asking a child to suck his tongue, saying the spiritual leader's actions were "innocent" and had been misinterpreted, adding it revealed his "affectionate behaviour".

Though the controversial incident potentially took place on February 28 at the Dalai Lama's temple in Dharamshala, India, the video started going viral on social media earlier this month, garnering over a million views on Twitter - with some netizens calling his actions inappropriate.

Following the outrage, the spiritual leader has made an apology. His office said the Dalai Lama often teases people he meets in an innocent way, adding he regrets the incident.

On Thursday, Tsering said the Dalai Lama's years of spiritual practice had taken him "beyond the sensorial pleasures", underscoring the "political angle of this incident". Without offering evidence, he claimed probes suggested "pro-Chinese sources" were responsible for making the video go viral.

In the video, a boy is seen asking the spiritual leader if he can give him a hug, following which the Dalai Lama can be heard asking the child to kiss him on his cheek and his lips. The leader then sticks out his tongue, saying "And suck my tongue".

The footage drew intense international criticism, with some activists saying the Dalai Lama's actions amount to child abuse.

The Tibetan spiritual leader has been living in exile in India since fleeing Tibet in 1959. In another incident that sparked controversy, he mentioned in a 2019 interview with the BBC that any future female Dalai Lama should be "attractive". His office later apologised.