This is incredibly interesting. On May 21st the Dalai Lama held an hour-long question and answer session, a “free dialogue,” with Chinese citizens. The event was organized by Chinese intellectual Wang Lixiong and questions were submitted through Twitter and ranked on Google Moderator. Chinese authorities shut down the page in China, but hundreds of questions and thousands of votes had already been cast, allowing the dialogue to move forward. Perry Link of the New York Times has translated the session from Chinese into English.

What is incredibly interesting to see is which questions were promoted by Chinese citizens as questions they want the Dalai Lama to answer, ranging from succession for the Dalai Lama to how Han Chinese living in Tibet would be treated if Tibet where to gain real autonomy. As always, the Dalai Lama offers thoughtful, good-faith answers to tough questions. The exchange is definitely worth a read.