Chinese-Installed Panchen Lama Pledges to Meet Communist Party Expectations

January 1, 2006

Gyaltsen Norbu, the boy the Chinese government installed as the Panchen Lama, concluded a Buddhist ritual offering at the tombs of his predecessors by saying that he would "live up to the expectations of the Chinese Communist Party and the central government," according to a December 15 Xinhua report. The ritual took place one week after the 10th anniversary of the December 8, 1995, ceremony at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), where State Councilor Li Tieying presided over then five-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu's installation as Panchen Lama, according to the China Tibet Information Center. Marking the anniversary, the teen-age Gyaltsen Norbu pledged to "be a good living Buddha who loves his motherland, his religion and serves his country and its people," according to a December 8 Xinhua report.

Gyaltsen Norbu, the boy the Chinese government installed as the Panchen Lama, concluded a Buddhist ritual offering at the tombs of his predecessors by saying that he would "live up to the expectations of the Chinese Communist Party and the central government," according to a December 15 Xinhua report. The ritual took place one week after the 10th anniversary of the December 8, 1995, ceremony at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), where State Councilor Li Tieying presided over then five-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu's installation as Panchen Lama, according to the China Tibet Information Center. Marking the anniversary, the teen-age Gyaltsen Norbu pledged to "be a good living Buddha who loves his motherland, his religion and serves his country and its people," according to a December 8 Xinhua report.

The December 15 Xinhua article describes Gyaltsen Norbu as "the leader of Tibetan Buddhism," the December 8 report calls him "the highest ranking figure in Tibetan Buddhism," and a December 15 China Central Television (CCTV) news report used similar language. The Chinese media's new description of Gyaltsen Norbu as Tibetan Buddhism's leading figure is a departure from recent language. A September 2004 China Daily article calls Gyaltsen Norbu "the highest ranking figure of Tibetan Buddhism in China," a January 2005 People's Daily report says that he is "the highest-ranking figure of Tibetan Buddhism currently in China," and a June 2005 Xinhua report describes him as "the highest leader of Tibetan Buddhism in China."

The new language, by removing the limitation "in China," implies that Gyaltsen Norbu outranks the Dalai Lama, but Tibetan Buddhists, including those who live in China, regard the Dalai Lama as their spiritual leader. The Chinese media's new assertion that Gyaltsen Norbu is the top Tibetan Buddhist figure, and the highlighting of his expression of loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and government, occur as a renewed program of patriotic education is taking place in Lhasa area monasteries and nunneries, including Drepung, Sera, and others. Monks and nuns must comply with requirements to denounce the Dalai Lama as a "separatist," agree that Tibet is a historical part of China, and accept the legitimacy of Gyaltsen Norbu as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama instead of Gedun Choekyi Nyima, the boy the Dalai Lama recognized in May 1995.

Chinese officials selected Gyaltsen Norbu as Panchen Lama by drawing lots from a golden urn, according to the December 8 Xinhua report. The report asserts that this is "a tradition in Tibetan Buddhism." The Qing Emperor issued a 29-article decree in 1793 demanding that the Tibetan government in Lhasa reform religious, administrative, economic, and military practices to suit the Qing court. The first edict directed that the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama be selected by drawing lots from a golden urn, and that a high-ranking Chinese official must be present to confirm the result. Tibetans used their own methods, however, when they could, and identified the current Dalai Lama and his predecessor in accordance with Tibetan practices. Jampa Phuntsog (Qiangba Puncog), the Governor of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), told reporters in Hong Kong last July that the next Dalai Lama will be identified by drawing lots from an urn, and denied that the CCP arranges the outcome. Article 27 of China's new Regulation on Religious Affairs incorporates the principle of the Qing directive.

See Section III(d) - "Freedom of Religion," Religious Freedom for Tibetan Buddhists, of the CECC 2005 Annual Report for more information.