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In OTL two figures got overthrowned on events that led to the rise of brutal regimes, the Dalai Lama when Tibet was occupied by Maoist China and the Pahlevi that got overthrowned by the iranian theocracy.
However, it must also be said that Dalai Lama had a very.. antiquated mindset, as serfdom and corporal punishment was common on his Tibet, and the Shah also was extremely repressive even though he had many progressive social views, to the point that the continuous repression and pushing "too far" on progressivism led to his overthrow. To summon it up, both figures were not saints, they were autocrats that got removed and replaced by even worse governments.
Enter PuYi. I don't think that we need to talk about his history prior to PoD. Well, in OTL he couldn't escape Manchuria and got captured and handed over to the Maoists, and we all known how he ended. Had he caught a plane to Japan with everything he could muster and some changes happening on the chinese civil war (maybe Kai Chek and Li Zongren get killed), could he turn into some kind of unifying figure against the Maoist government? There is a lot of evidence about his hatred for the japanese occupation and how he planned to stab them in the back that could be used for his supporters. What do you think?