The Dalai Lama has been such a thorn in the side of China. He influences thought in Tibet and Tibetans are the object of China’s wrath.”

As the Dalai Lama turns 90 on July 6, global attention is on his expected announcement regarding succession—something China wants to control. The Tibetan spiritual leader, long exiled in India, may break tradition to prevent Beijing from influencing his successor.

With Beijing eager to control the Tibetan centuries-old reincarnation process, a spiritual question has become fused to a complex geopolitical conflict.