On May 14, 1995, the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, publicly announced that six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima would be the 11th Panchen Lama. Three days later, the six-year-old Nyima and his family were abducted by the Chinese government and have not been heard from since. May 17th marked the 30th anniversary of his enforced disappearance, prompting widespread calls for the Chinese government to disclose his whereabouts and release him and his family.
Ellis Heasley, press and public affairs officer for Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) Charities, published a warning on the CSW official website on the 15th that the Dalai Lama will celebrate his 90th birthday on July 6. When the Dalai Lama passes away in the future, the Chinese Communist regime will try to choose a next Dalai Lama who will support the CCP's continued repressive policies in Tibet.
Human rights groups and Tibetans demand the release of his whereabouts and his family.
Ellis Heasley called on the international community to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for its continued violations of human rights and other basic human rights in Tibet, and to demand that the Chinese government explain the whereabouts of the 11th Panchen Lama and release him and his family.
Ellis Heasley noted that Nima has become the world's youngest political prisoner. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child first called on the Chinese Communist Party to provide information about him in May 1996. Successive UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the governments of several countries have also made repeated requests.
Ellis Heasley's article mentions that in May 2020, the CCP claimed that Nima "received free compulsory education as a child, passed the college entrance examination, and now has a job," and that he and his family did not want their "current normal life" disrupted. However, this claim is unconvincing.
Sonam Dorje, secretary-general of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, told Radio Free Asia on the 16th: "The Chinese government has made many claims like this. So far, not a single photo has been released. The 11th Panchen Lama has been missing for 30 years, and we don't know his or her family's current situation. Is he alive or dead? If they are still alive, where are they? I'm skeptical of the CCP's lack of transparency."
Tibetans question whether the CCP is manipulating the Dalai Lama's reincarnation by arresting the Panchen Lama.
Kelsang Gyaltsen, head of the Tibetan government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration, and the Dalai Lama’s representative in Taiwan, also said in an interview with Radio Free Asia on the 16th: “We absolutely do not believe anything the Chinese Communist Party says. The Chinese Communist Party’s credibility has completely collapsed.”
Kelsang Gyaltsen pointed out that historically, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama served as mentors and disciples, and had recognized each other's reincarnations. He viewed the CCP's 2020 announcement that Nima did not want to be interfered with as a conspiracy to maintain control over the Dalai Lama's reincarnation.
Kelsang Gyaltsen questioned, "Is the CCP planning to blackmail Nyima, the Panchen Lama's reincarnation, who was previously recognized by the Dalai Lama, into manipulating the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama's reincarnation, once the Dalai Lama passes away? If this is the case, it will not be accepted or trusted by religious believers around the world."
The Panchen Lama was once considered by the CCP to be its "most loyal friend"
Kelsang Gyaltsen noted that when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) annexed Tibet in 1951 and forced Tibet to sign the so-called Seventeen-Point Agreement, it sought to use the Panchen Lama to challenge the Dalai Lama's authority within Tibetans. Later, the two used their positions as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress to sow division. In 1959, protests erupted throughout Tibet, and when the Dalai Lama fled to India, the 10th Panchen Lama, Erdeni Qoigyi Gyaltsen, remained in exile and was hailed by the Chinese Communist Party as its "most loyal and reliable friend." In 1962, Erdeni submitted a 70,000-word petition to the central government, criticizing the CCP's brutal suppression of Tibet. He was subsequently imprisoned in Beijing's Qincheng Prison for ten years and remained under house arrest after his release.
Gesang Gyaltsen said that after being released from prison, the 10th Panchen Lama Erdeni's position was restored, and he did a lot for Tibetan culture, religion, and ethnicity. The 1980s can be regarded as a golden age for the preservation and inheritance of Tibetan culture and education.
Ellis Heasley's article also mentions that on January 23, 1989, the 10th Panchen Lama delivered a speech at Tashilhunpo Monastery, stating that Tibet's development under Chinese rule had "come at a greater cost" than "rewarded." Five days later, he died. Authorities reported he had suffered a heart attack, but some Tibetans have since suspected he was murdered.
In response, Gesang Gyaltsen stated that Erdeni, who spoke out openly about the CCP's devastation of Tibet, passed away suddenly at the age of 51. The outside world suspects he was murdered by the CCP, which held a lavish funeral after his death and refused to recognize the reincarnation sought by Tibetans and certified by the Dalai Lama. Instead, it forcibly used the so-called Golden Urn Drawing to falsify the ceremony, undermining the Tibetan Buddhist system.
The CCP's appointment of a "Han Panchen Lama" is widely frowned upon by Tibetans.
The Chinese Communist Party arrested Nima, who was recognized by the Dalai Lama, and appointed a 5-year-old boy as the so-called 11th Panchen Lama. The outside world calls him the "Han Panchen Lama." Solang Dorje said that Tibetans do not recognize him as a spiritual leader. Even if the authorities arrange some activities, the Tibetans seem to obey, but it is only an external illusion.
Kelsang Gyaltsen asked in response, "How could the CCP resort to such brutal means, secretly abducting for 30 years the reincarnation boy whom he called his "most loyal friend," who was selected according to standard Tibetan Buddhist rituals? Are he and his family still alive? Where are they?" This has drawn intense international attention.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Chinese government's enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Nyima. Sonam Dorje noted that, starting in April, on Nyima's birthday, the Central Tibetan Administration's Department of External Relations and Information has organized a series of events to raise this issue internationally. On the 15th, a symposium was held in Dharamsala, India, to discuss the enforced disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama by China and the historical significance of the 10th Panchen Lama in Tibetan affairs. The symposium featured Losang Jinpa, Secretary-General of the Dalai Lama's Office, and Geshe Lharampa Tenzin Dorje Rinpoche of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in southern India, who spoke to civil servants.
Solang Doji pointed out that there is indeed a record in history of the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama recognizing each other's reincarnation, but this is not the only way in the process of searching for the reincarnation boy.
Kelsang Gyaltsen also stated that even if the Panchen Lama were to disappear, it would not affect the Dalai Lama's reincarnation. Not all of the Dalai Lamas from the first to the fourteenth were chosen by the Panchen Lama, but rather according to Tibetan Buddhist rituals. The Dalai Lama has made it clear that his future reincarnations will be carried out with the assistance of Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders and the Central Tibetan Administration, with a sound plan in place.
Kelsang Gyaltsen emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party's attempt to control the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama will never be accepted by Tibetans. In 2020, the United States passed the Support Tibet Act, which clearly stipulates that any political party or individual who manipulates the reincarnation of the 14th Dalai Lama for political reasons will be subject to sanctions. Similar laws are expected to be enacted in other European countries.
Kelsang Gyaltsen also stated that with the Dalai Lama at 90, his future reincarnation will become a key battleground in resolving the Tibetan issue or in the struggle between Tibet and China. Many Buddhists, Buddhist centers, and religious groups will issue statements. The Dalai Lama himself has stated that the choice of his reincarnation rests solely with the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan people, and Tibetan Buddhists.
Solang Dorje talked about the recent publication of the new book "Voice for the Voiceless" by the Dalai Lama in exile, which encourages overseas Tibetans as exiles to have an obligation to speak for Tibetans in the country, and calls on the free world and democratic countries to jointly demand that the Chinese government disclose the whereabouts and current situation of the 11th Panchen Lama.
