Reincarnation of Dalai Lama is in Stimulus Bill
The Claim
The reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is in the latest U.S. stimulus bill.
News posted on
Emerging story
After the United States Congress passed a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package, a Twitter user posted a picture of what appears to be part of this bill referring to the “reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.”
Twitter users retweeted and reacted to the Dalai Lama being included in the COVID-19 stimulus bill in disbelief.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be true. The full text of the stimulus bill does in fact mention the succession and reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Although this may sound like a joke, one Twitter user mentions that “this is a huge human rights victory that the US is formally standing against China for abusing religion.”
The bill explains that “Tibetan Buddhism is practiced in many countries... yet the Government of the People's Republic of China has repeatedly insisted on its role in managing the selection of Tibet's next spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.”
On page 5096 of the bill it reads that one of the objectives is to “oppose any effort by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to select, educate, and venerate Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders.”
According to Newsweek, the legislation outlines how China has interfered in the succession process, even reportedly detaining a 6-year-old boy who was identified by some as the reincarnated Dalai Lama in 1995. It also directs the Secretary of State to establish a U.S. consulate in Tibet, which would likely be seen as a challenge to China.
The full overview of this $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus bill shows that it was passed as part of a $2.3 trillion year-end spending bill to fund the federal government, which is the reason for the bill being 5593 pages long and containing sections that are not related to the pandemic.
