published by: World Tibet Network News, November 30, 1995

November 29, 1995

International Campaign for Tibet - Washington, D.C.

The atheist Chinese government chose a six year-old boy as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama yesterday, crowning one of Beijing's most aggressive and comprehensive political campaigns ever to counter the influence of the Dalai Lama in Tibet and undermine Tibetan Buddhism.

Despite Chinese pretenses that it is strictly following religious tradition, Beijing's selection is an appropriation of one of the most important Tibetan religious traditions. In a major move to isolate the Dalai Lama, Beijing barred the exiled spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet from any role in the recognition process, something which has never occurred before in Tibetan history.

The Dalai Lama recognized a boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, as the Panchen Lama in May, according to Tibetan tradition. This launched a series of vehement denunciations from Beijing, who rejected the Dalai Lama's announcement, calling it illegal, invalid and interference in China's internal affairs. The Dalai Lama issued a statement today from Dharamsala, India, saying that his choice was final, and would not change. He called upon all "governments, religious and human rights organizations for their intervention in ensuring the safety and freedom" of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, who has been taken into Chinese custody.

The Dalai Lama's statement also said that his efforts to cooperate with the Chinese government on this matter had been ignored by Beijing and that the Chinese government "coerced senior Tibetan Lamas and monks to participate in a conference held in Beijing under tight security and tight secrecy."

In announcing the selection of a rival Panchen Lama, Beijing also revived the Ganden Tripa, a major religious post which it had banned since 1959. The Ganden Tripa is the head of the Gelupka sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the selection of which no foreign country, including China, had ever had any role in whatsoever. The move was mentioned only in passing, but may be a significant step in Beijing's recent campaign to reduce the influence of religion in Tibet by strictly controlling and dominating all major religious posts and institutions.

China's selection of a Panchen Lama, coming less than a week after announcing that Wei Jingsheng would be charged with treason, may indicate that some top leaders in Beijing are unconcerned about the upcoming United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. The move is particularly brazen given the recent lobbying of the U.S. and other countries to not push for a resolution in Geneva against China's human rights abuses.

Beijing's decision to select its own candidate for the Panchen Lama is widely regarded as a move which could cause widespread disaffection in Tibet and potentially lead to unrest and demonstrations. Currently, security is reported to be on high alert in Lhasa, Tibet's capitol and Shigatse where the monastery of the Panchen Lama is located. By all accounts China will have a tremendously hard time in convincing - or even coercing - Tibetans to follow a candidate picked by them, and not the one chosen by the Dalai Lama. The last time a foreign power invaded and tried to install their own hand-picked religious leader was the Mongols in the 17th century, who deposed the 6th Dalai Lama and instituted their own Dalai Lama. Tibetans would never accept the Mongol impostor, and after 10 years, he slipped away into obscurity.