China criticises Grammy Award to Dalai Lama, warns against ‘anti-China activities’

China on Monday criticised the Grammy Awards for conferring an award on the Dalai Lama, saying it “firmly opposes” the Tibetan spiritual leader using the recognition to carry out what it described as “anti-China activities”.

The Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, won his first Grammy on Sunday in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording for his spoken-word album Meditations: The Reflections of His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the 68th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

Responding to a question on the award, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reiterated Beijing’s long-standing position that the 90-year-old spiritual leader was engaged in separatist activities under the guise of religion.

“The Dalai Lama is not purely a religious person,” Lin told a media briefing. “He is a political exile committed to anti-Chinese separatist activities under the disguise of religion.”

China “firmly opposes relevant sides using the award as a tool to carry out anti-China activities,” he said, without elaborating.

The Dalai Lama has lived in exile in Dharamsala since 1959, after fleeing Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. Beijing considers him a separatist, a charge he has repeatedly denied, saying he seeks genuine autonomy for Tibet within China.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for what the Nobel Committee described as his non-violent struggle for the liberation of Tibet.

At the Grammy Awards, the Dalai Lama’s recording was chosen over other nominees including Kathy Garver, Trevor Noah, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Fab Morvan.

Reacting to the award, the Dalai Lama expressed gratitude and humility, saying he did not regard it as a personal achievement.

“I receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. I don’t see it as something personal, but as a recognition of our shared universal responsibility,” he said in a statement.

“I firmly believe that peace, compassion, care for our environment and an understanding of the oneness of humanity are essential for the collective well-being of all eight billion human beings. I am grateful that this Grammy recognition can help spread these messages more widely,” he added.

China regularly protests international recognition accorded to the Dalai Lama, including meetings with foreign leaders and awards conferred by global institutions.