HH: The danger is if the present situation remains for another 10-15 years. Then you see Tibet would most probably become truly "Chinese" territory, "Chinese" land. Then, there could be areas where out of several thousand people there might be only a few Tibetans here and there.

If such things happen, then there is no hope. And that is not only unspeakably unfortunate for Tibetan people, but also a great loss for the Chinese, for in the long run, the negative consequences of this present policy will remain.

It's like what Nazi Germany did to the Jews in the Holocaust. Now more than 50 years have passed but still, everywhere people consider Hitler as --"Oh so awful, Hitler." The whole German nation gets some kind of uncomfortable feeling because of their past. This is a similar situation.

So you see the extinction of Tibetan Buddhism with Tibetan culture is, I think, a great loss for the Chinese people also. And the whole Himalayan region. And, I think, to some extent to the world at large, a great loss. [As would be the loss of] any ancient culture, any ancient living culture.

Then there is the small number of Tibetan refugees. We try our best to preserve our culture and our identity, and we have the help of our friends in many different part of the world. But I don't know how can they succeed, I don't know.

You see, there are about 100,000 refugees, and even I think if we multiply faithfully [laughter], I think we could be 200,00 or 300,000 . That's a very small number, and [since we live] in different countries, in different environments, after a few generation, then I think it may be very difficult to preserve Tibetan culture.

YO: In the struggle for the freedom of Tibet, what was the best thing that happened in 1995?

HH: [Laughter] I don't know....Oh...the European Parliament...I think there was some support from the international community. Although since a few years ago the European Parliament has been quite active in terms of the Tibetan issue....But in the very last year... for example, in the case of the Panchen Lama, they passed some resolution... and a very good one... it seems very good. Also, the European Parliament also mentioned something about the Tibetan right of self determination. So I think international community support in the last few years, year by year, has been increasing. I'm hoping this year will have the same trend of increased support.

YO: And what has been discouraging or difficult in the last year?

HH: What has been discouraging in the last year is that the Chinese overall attitude has become much harder, not only on the Tibetan issue, but say, towards Hong Kong also, and Taiwan. When anyone creates a little inconvenience for the Chinese government, they always fire back very harshly. Overall, I think, understandably, you see, it's due to their own...I think...domestic problems. Due to that they pretend that-- they act as if--no one can challenge them. Besides that, their attitude towards Tibet is also much harder, and they have also intensified the criticism of the Dalai Lama personally... much intensified it.

Then, with that, comes the issue of the Panchen Lama's re-incarnation ... After I announced my final choice for the Panchen Lama's re-incarnation, the Chinese government reacted very negatively, then eventually they chose their own re-incarnation. It did create some problem. So that also was difficult.

But then again, I feel the Panchen Lama problem is, as I mentioned earlier, related to overall Chinese hard-line thinking. If the overall Chinese attitude became a little bit more reasonable, more open, more soft, then the Panchen Lama problem could also be solved.