Beijing regularly vilifies the Tibetan spiritual leader as a political figure who advocates splitting the Himalayan region of Tibet from the rest of China. The Dalai Lama says he simply wants a higher degree of autonomy under Chinese rule.
On Sunday, before speaking at a conference in Indianapolis of American mayors, he met Lady Gaga.
The official website of the office of the Dalai Lama reported that Lady Gaga interviewed him in an exchange streamed live over Facebook. The singer asked how to help young people with self-esteem issues or who harm themselves and he said “paying more attention to inner values like love and compassion are the right approach.”
Britain’s Guardian newspaper quoted the Hong Kong prodemocracy Apple Daily as reporting Monday that the Communist Party’s propaganda department had issued “an important instruction” banning her entire repertoire from mainland China.
