Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Aug. 28: The Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway, has quietly removed Christmas tree ornaments bearing the image of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from its gift shop following a wave of criticism over the discovery that the trinkets were manufactured in China, where even the private possession of the Tibetan spiritual leader’s photograph is punishable by imprisonment.
The controversy surfaced when Brussels-based analyst Theresa Fallon, visiting Oslo as a tourist, noticed the Dalai Lama-themed ornaments on sale. The box’s label revealed its country of origin, Made in China.
“It’s surreal. In China, it’s illegal to have photos of the Dalai Lama, yet a Chinese company is selling Christmas tree decorations with his image on them,” Fallon told Norwegian media outlet TV2.
The irony— that a regime that criminalizes reverence for the Dalai Lama is simultaneously profiting from his commodification abroad sparked outrage. “This is globalization at its most grotesque: a spiritual leader suppressed in China is commodified — by China itself,” wrote Chinese Youth Stand 4 Tibet, an online platform and advocacy group connecting Chinese-Tibetan youth.
The Nobel Peace Center, which awarded the Dalai Lama the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, acknowledged that the Tibetan leader had not given consent for the product and received no financial benefit from it. Ingvill Bryn Rambol, Director of Information at the Center, explained, “The balls were made to order by a well-known Norwegian supplier, who used Chinese factories as subcontractors.”
Following the backlash, the Nobel Peace Center confirmed that the ornaments had been pulled from shelves, and the product is no longer searchable on its online store.
The incident highlights the deep hypocrisy. Inside Tibet, possession of the Dalai Lama’s photo is treated as a political crime. For decades, Chinese authorities have banned displays of his portrait in monasteries, schools, and even private homes. Those caught with such images face harsh punishments, including imprisonment on charges of “separatism” or “endangering state security.”
Rights groups have documented numerous cases where Tibetans were detained or sentenced simply for keeping the Dalai Lama’s portrait, organizing prayer ceremonies for his long life, or sharing his teachings online. Monks and laypeople alike have been forced into “patriotic re-education” campaigns in which they must denounce the Dalai Lama and pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
The contradiction is glaring, while Tibetans risk their freedom for the most modest expression of devotion to their spiritual leader, where the revered leader’s image is criminalized at home yet exploited for profit abroad.
