"Be careful, people are watching you."As the men tailing us come running, the monk walks away."They" are the Communist Party of China, which has now governed more than six million Tibetans for almost 75 years,

Ahead of his 90th birthday on July 6, the 14th Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, once again affirmed that the centuries-old institution of the Dalai Lama will continue.

As China grows more assertive in extending its authoritarianism beyond its borders, this succession question tests whether democratic nations still believe some principles transcend pragmatism.