I suppose they imagine it will keep the Chicoms from killing their friends and neighbors.
As long as there is a coercive element, and that includes the old "captive nations" concept, it doesn't matter what the subject says.
Quite frankly i've met the man, the wife has met him, the kids have met him several times, and we've visited the Buddhist Center his uncle started in Bloomington, Indiana.
None of these people strike me as being Marxists in particular, nor is it particularly relevant to the current situation.
Eventually the Han will find that they are not biologically suited to high altitude life and will leave the highlands.
What amazes me is that anyone would care what the Dalai Lama says about politics outside his efforts to negotiate with Beijing. He doesn’t claim to be a scholar of political science and AFAIK he’s never taken a class or read a book about it.