In
India, the Dalai Lama's stated uncertainty about selecting his successor,
combined with the fractures that lie under the surface of the exiled community,
may make it likely that at his passing he will leave a resident Tibetan refugee
community adrift. For all of his missteps in dealing with China, the Dalai
Lama's achievement in securing the cohesion and stability of the exiled
community is considerable. And he is the most universally recognisable symbol of
Tibet. Given what has just transpired in Tibet, China feels that the elimination
of that symbol can come none too soon.