By GRAHAM HUTCHINGS, China Correspondent

October 26, 1995, Thursday, The Daily Telegraph

AN ARCANE battle over reincarnation between China's atheist government and the religious people of Tibet has intensified, with Beijing purging a monastery because of its choice of candidate as the next Panchen Lama, writes Graham Hutchings, China Correspondent. Reports from the remote Himalayan region say that Chadrel Rimpoche, the leader of Tashilunpo monastery who heads the committee set up to find Tibetan Buddhism's most important figure after the Dalai Lama, has been replaced by a pro-Beijing hardliner. Some of his fellow leaders are also believed to have been dismissed and pro-Beijing figures appointed. Tibetan Buddhism remains a potent focus of opposition to Chinese rule in the region.