Addressing the 2020 Ministerial to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief hosted by the Government of Poland on November 17, US Senator and Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback opposed China’s intervention in picking the next Dalai Lama saying, “The United States supports – that religious community has the right to pick their own leadership. That certainly includes the next Dalai Lama”. On China’s repeated claim over the right to pick the reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama, the US Ambassador at large asserted that the matter of reincarnation of the next Dalai Lama is the concerns of Tibetan Buddhists only and China has no ‘theological basis’s to intervene in that matter. He said “The Tibetan Buddhists have successfully picked their leader for hundreds of years, if not longer, and they have the right to do that now” while assuring that the US will continue to push back China’s claim over the issue of reincarnation. Last year, Ambassador Brownback visited Dharmashala, the exile seat of Central Tibetan Administration where his presence made a powerful impact of hope upon the Tibetans while sending a tough message to China.

Ambassador Brownback also answered some pressing religious freedom issues in the world notably China’s persecution of Uyghurs, Tibetan Buddhists, Christians, and Falun Gong, etc.  He was critical about the use of technology to persecute religious adherence in Tibet which is now being replicated in Xinjiang.