By Jasper Becker in Beijing - South China Morning Post, 5 January 1996

China has secretly flown to Beijing the Tibetan boy who was last month enthroned as the 11th Panchen Lama and it now keeping him in a villa once used by disgraced Party Secretary Chen Xitong.

"They are afraid the boy may be murdered by Tibetans who believe the real Panchen Lama is the one selected by the Dalai Lama," said informed sources.

By tradition, the re-incarnation of Tibet's second highest ranking religious leader should be taught by monks at Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze, the seat of the Panchen Lamas.

However, a spokesman of the Tibet Autonomous Region's Government said he had no information of the boy's whereabouts. In Beijing, the Religious Affairs Bureau of the State Council also declined to say where the child was.

Other sources said the boy, Gyaincain Norbu, his parents and his tutor, the Bhumi Rinpoche, were put on a special flight to Beijing last week and driven to a secluded villa in Huairou county.

The Beijing Party Committee owns several villas in the scenic county, an hour's drive from the capital.

A detachment of the People's Armed Police is maintaining a close watch over a walled compound surrounded by wooded hills which contains a traditional-styled courtyard house, an open air-swimming pool and an office building.

The sudden removal of the boy, only days after he was enthroned at a ceremony at Tashilhunpo amid major coverage by the Chinese media, will inevitably spark speculation that Beijing wants to have him educated outside Tibet to ensure his loyalty to the Communist Party.

The party may have concluded that the monastery does not offer the best environment. Most of the senior lamas in Tibet are still believed to remain loyal to the Dalai Lama and his quest for independence.

Before the boy's selection on November 30, the party detained more than 30 monks after some held protest against Beijing's decision to reject the Dalai Lama's choice.

The authorities also replaced the leadership of the monastery and although most of the monks have since been released, the former abbot, the Chadrel Rinpoche, is still believed to be in detention.

Last May, the Dalai Lama angered Beijing by announcing that the six-year search for the new Panchen Lama was over and proclaimed Gedhun Choekyi Nyima t be the rightful reincarnation.

The party charged the Dalai Lama with orchestrating a "evil plot" by ignoring the central Government's right to the final say and by failing to divine the right choice by using lots drawn from a golden urn.

Some Tibetans now believe the party also meddled in the divination ceremony which it organised itself in Lhasa last month.

It is rumoured the boy was pre-selected for his looks and intelligence and the lot bearing his name was marked so it could be identified by the Bhumi Rinpoche before he withdrew it.

Although Beijing claims Tibetans are convinced of the illegality of the Dalai Lama's actions, it resorted to extensive security measures to forestall protests.

The divination ceremony was not announced beforehand and was then held before dawn while the rest of Lhasa was plunged into darkness by a power cut.

When, just over a week latter, the by was enthroned in Xigaze, troops lined the road from Lhasa and extra forces were flown into ensure the safety of the presiding Chinese official, State Councillor Li Tieying.