Beijing, China - China plans to protect the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama after his death if the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader tries to end the traditional practice, an official said on Monday.
The 14th Dalai Lama, 76, said last year that his successor would not necessarily be a reincarnation but could instead be someone appointed by him during his lifetime.
"What he said does not count," Padma Cholig, the head of China's Tibet Autonomous Region, told reporters on Monday.
"We must respect the historical institutions and religious rituals of Tibetan Buddhism," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Padma as saying during the annual session of China's parliament.
"I am afraid it is not up to anyone to abolish the reincarnation institution," he said, adding that the practice of reincarnation of Tibetan lamas, or religious gurus, dated back hundreds of years.
A second regional official said the death of the Dalai Lama would have little impact on the "overall situation of Tibet."
"Of course there will be a little repercussion due to religious factors, but we will take that into consideration and will surely guarantee the long-term political stability in Tibet," Qiangba Puncog said.
"I dare not say that Tibet will not see any incidents, big or small, forever, but I dare say that the current situation in Tibet is on the whole stable, and the Tibetan people wish for stability and object to trouble-making," Qiangba was quoted as saying.
The agency said Zhang Qingli, the Tibet regional secretary of the ruling Communist Party, reiterated the government's view of the Dalai Lama as a "wolf in monk's robes" who wanted to separate Tibet from China.
The Dalai Lama has repeatedly said he is not seeking independence but greater political and religious autonomy for Tibetans in China.
Representatives of the Dalai Lama, who fled to India after an uprising against Chinese rule in March 1959, have held several rounds of unsuccessful talks with Beijing.
The Nobel peace laureate, known for his self-effacing humour, has become a symbol of Tibetan non-violent resistance against China.
The global spotlight first shone on him at the age of 4 when he was enthroned as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama.