Tibet: The Middle Way or Some Other Way?

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has called hundreds of exiled Tibetans together in Dharamsala, India, the seat of the Tibetan government in exile, to discuss a new strategy for Tibet. Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, is presiding. The Dalai Lama himself is not attending, according to the Press Trust of India.

For many years, His Holiness has tried to steer a nonviolent "middle way" between armed rebellion against China and total capitulation to China. The Dalai Lama has even pledged to accept Communist Party rule if Tibet could maintain some ethnic and religious autonomy. But talks with China have come to a standstill, and patience with the middle way is running thin with younger Tibetans. There is a growing sense that independence for Tibet is the only solution.

The meeting began Monday with a moment of silence for Tibetans who died in the March 2008 uprising.