The office of the 14th Dalai Lama denounced the holiday, saying that China was trying to declare new holidays to "avoid the situation" in Tibet. Kent Ewing of the Asia Times called the holiday "a reminder of the feudal system that existed in Tibet before the Chinese invaded in 1950", but believes that the holiday will embitter Tibetans. Tsering Shakya echoes the Dalai Lama's condemnations, and also calls the celebrations "A choreographed spectacle" for "the delivery of public mass compliance to the leadership in Beijing" in response to "the widespread protests that engulfed the Tibetan plateau in March–April 2008" (see 2008 Tibetan unrest).