HH: Among the refugee community, overall, our younger generation is quite good, quite encouraging. But then, still, often I'm telling people, we need more effort right from the beginning. We need advise, encourage or pay more attention about the development of the -- what to say? -- personal heart. Actually we are neglecting that a little bit. So in terms of morality or enthusiasm or decency, the quality is a little, I think, degenerating. This is outside, in the exile community.

Now, inside Tibet (pause) there is [some problem] nowadays, since the Chinese liberalized in the economic field.... It also seems that the Chinese are ignoring or deliberately [encouraging] these activities, and even some crimes. In the political field they are very firm and very watchful, but in these fields, whether they are neglecting or deliberately [supporting the social problems] I don't know.

YO: What part of your regular responsibilities, what part of your job do you most enjoy?

HH: Discussion. Dialogues, meeting, debates, seminars.... These give me the opportunity to think more -- so they are good. And then of course, I enjoy the teaching, provided the audience is very alert. I'm very happy, sometimes...[laughter]. You know, Western audiences are very, I think, alert. Everything, they write down. Now Asians, including Tibetan and some Chinese, and Indians, are very faithful, very respectful but at the same time, when I try to explain some...important thing, sometimes they [mimics sleeping....laughing].

YO: Is there any part of your job that you find useless or difficult or boring?

HH: Useless? Although very rarely, we sometimes have some formality, which I find useless [laughter]. Otherwise, I don't know. Oh yes ... some sort of "sticky" politics, our own internal things. Nowadays, I give all these things to the responsibility of the parliament as well as our kashag [Tibetan government-in-exile's cabinet]. Just 2 weeks ago I told them in a meeting that -- for big issues, such as the power of the Chinese or raising interest in Tibet in the outside world due to my name -- sometimes, I can do more than ordinary Tibetans. So of course, logically, I have to carry this work. But as for the rest of the work, which everybody can do even more effectively than me, our kashag and our Parliament should carry full responsibility, and they should consider me as a dead person. I am getting older and I am not trained in these things. And it is much better that they handle it, much better. Especially, in some cases there is a, you see, a certain atmosphere. It is not sufficient to know what they say, sometimes it seems you need calculate what is behind these words, then I really don't know. Also, it seems to me a silly thing, not important. We are facing, you see here, the danger of the extinction of the Tibetan nation....that is a more serious...a serious matter.

GS: Regarding violence, if this situation persists, do you think the world and the Tibetan people will have to use violent means against the Chinese? If the situation persists for years....

HH: Yes. It is possible, yes. Even though many Tibetans presently have desperate feelings, there is still underlying some hope that a solution can be found... Under these circumstances some discipline is still possible. Once, you see, that the desperate situation becomes such that really there is no hope, no one to rely on, then you see the human emotion may become out of control. [laughter]