The 14th Dalai Lama made clear his real thoughts on Tibet in his recent interview with the Der Spiegel. He told the German magazine, "The fight over Tibet is between different ethnic groups, and it will carry on no matter I live or die."

When the Dalai Lama describes the issue as "a fight between different ethnic groups", isn't he talking about a fight between the Tibetans and the Hans? If the issue is positioned in this manner, what does it mean for Tibet?

We have seen a lot of sad cases of ethnic conflict after the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was dissolved at the end of 1991.

Before that, the USSR managed to keep a stable relationship among different ethnic communities. But after the 15 republics became independent, the conflicts between different ethnic groups were on the rise for all kinds of reasons.

Russians were the largest ethnic group in the former USSR, but they became an ethnic minority in many of the independent states. Along with the dramatic change in the demographic majorities, the ethnic Russians saw an increase in conflicts with other ethnic groups.

The most dramatic political conflict occurred between the Russian Federation and Ukraine over the Black Sea Fleet. One of the most important fleets in Russia, the Black Sea Fleet was based in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. But the port became part of Ukraine after 1991.

The two countries undertook extensive negotiations before reaching a bilateral agreement in 1997. Russia was allowed to use the base in Sevastopol until 2017 by paying Ukraine a large annual fee. The two countries have yet to reach a final agreement.

This is only one of the less tragic events following the collapse of the USSR. Other events had far more personal impact on the ethnic groups living on former Soviet soil.

Tibet is certainly different from the former USSR, but ethnic conflicts would be no less tragic.

The Dalai Lama declared that he had dropped the pursuit of "Tibetan independence" and turned to seek a "greater autonomy" for Tibet. But in fact, his blueprint for so-called Tibet autonomy would only trigger conflicts among different ethnic groups.

After the development of the last decades, people from different ethnic groups have formed a harmonious community in Tibet and its neighboring provinces.

According to the Dalai Lama's plan, the Tibet under "greater autonomy" would definitely witness a rise in the supporters of "Tibetan independence". They would try to instigate populism among the Tibetans and treat people of other ethnic groups, especially the Hans, as trespassers. It is also possible that extremist movements would start to drive other ethnic groups out of Tibet.

Such a situation would be devastating to Tibet as well as to Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama has resorted to a convenient tool to set off Tibetan populism: democracy. He made this point in the interview with Der Spiegel.

Admittedly, democracy is a commonly accepted value of all people. However, it is often manipulated to serve the targets of certain individuals. We cannot afford to ignore such behavior.

One of the essentials of democracy lies in governance by the people. Pitifully, democracy is often wrongly reduced to "elections".

In the complexity of real life, elections can be manipulated to the benefit of certain individuals or groups. An issue devised by demagogues could be put to a referendum.

The election process could easily turn into an occasion where the populist movement is triggered, nurtured and escalated. Numerous examples can be seen in Taiwan.

When the Dalai Lama is trying his best to peddle his idea of "greater autonomy" in Tibet and "democracy", his followers or the people who have been hoodwinked by his proposals will probably claim that "Tibet only belongs to the Tibetans." Such slogan may also gain support from the Tibetans who are contaminated with the populist sentiment.

This is how populism works: It helps politicians arouse public sentiment to benefit the politicians, but these benefits are most probably not in the public interest.

It is easy to see that if the Tibet issue is positioned as "a fight between different ethnic groups" and if the Dalai Lama's roadmap for the future of Tibet is succesful, it would be a demoralizing situation.

When the Dalai Lama resorted to "democracy" as a tool to sell his ideas, he was only distorting the concept.

It would be devastating to Tibet and people living on the snow land to instigate ethnic conflicts there, as the Dalai Lama has done.

Source: China Daily; By Ren Xiao, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University