Whenever there is any domestic turmoil in China, the government’s instinctive response is always to lay the blame on external anti-Chinese influences “meddling in China’s internal affairs”. Yet it is very clear that the Dalai Lama has played no direct role in instigating the current wave of riots and demonstrations across the Tibetan plateau. It is, rather, the Chinese government’s refusal to respect Tibetan aspirations with regard to the return of their leader that is is one root cause of the present unrest.