Published by World Tibet Network News - Friday, January 05, 1996

TIME International January 8, 1996 Volume 147, No. 2

SO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING to break into the soul of Tibet by making its own selection of the Panchen Lama, the second highest religious leader in Tibet [Dec. 11]. This, no doubt, is similar to actions Hitler would have taken had he won the war. He'd have subjugated Italy and attempted to destroy the Vatican, representing as it did a powerful competing entity. Failing to snuff out the devotion of European Catholics, the dictator would probably have taken over authority in the Vatican and tried picking Cardinals and Popes as the next best thing. We can only wish the Chinese no luck at all in this outrageous effort to assert their power over the life of Tibet.

DAVID WREN Bloomington, Indiana

CHANCES ARE GOOD THAT CHINA HAS resorted to outright kidnapping of the legitimate Panchen Lama and made its own choice in order to control the independence drive of the Tibetan people. We must not forget that China has been the occupier of Tibet. If the U.S. is to be the moral conscience of the world, it must address this issue. The Tibetan culture is unique, and it would be an incalculable loss to have it disappear forever.

SABIR HASAN New York City