Repentance: Facing Death and Finding Redemption on the Roof of the World

In 2011, the world was shocked to see an incredible number of self-immolations of Buddhist monks in India and southwest China. These acts have not been supported by the 14th Dalai Lama nor by the Tibetan Government-in-Exile, though they are clearly directed at the People's Republic of China's policy on Tibet since 1959. Repentance tells the incredible story of what could be a prologue to these recent horrific events: In 2001, a Buddhist monk named Gyatso was detained at the India-Tibet border as he tried to enter Tibet illegally. He confessed to being part of a complex plot to immolate himself in Lhasa, on the “front door” of the Chinese authorities in Tibet. The plot involved some of the highest members of the Dalai Lama group and the Tibetan Government-in-Exile. Gyatso’s case, and trial, caused a media sensation in China. Journalist Xiao Lin gained unprecedented access to interview Gyatso in prison to find out why he left Tibet for India, only to be recruited and groomed to return as a “die hard” martyr prepared to sacrifice himself on the roof of the world. Xiao Lin’s riveting and utterly frank interview with Gyatso is certain to provoke further discussion on China’s Tibet policy as well as the policies of the Dalai Lama’s followers in India and around the world.