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SBS Australia
26-07-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
The mystery of Tibet's missing monk, three decades on
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is one of the most famous missing persons in the world. To many Tibetans, his detainment three decades ago made him the world's 'youngest political prisoner'. Since then, a single photograph has been used to tell his story. In May 1995, a six-year-old Nyima was appointed the Panchen Lama — one of the highest spiritual authorities in Tibetan Buddhism — by a committee of Buddhist leaders. China quickly rejected the announcement and three days later, Nyima and his family were taken into what Chinese authorities described as protective custody. He has not been seen since. But Tibet specialist Kate Saunders believes she may have received an image of the Panchen Lama and his family, taken several years after their disappearance. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is believed to be sitting in the front left. At the top of the photograph, the Tibetan script reads "Photograph of a family reunion". Credit: Hardcash Productions "It seems to show Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. He's got a toy helicopter, he's sitting on his father's lap. He could be around 10, around 11 [years old]," she said. "This looks as though it's in some sort of official compound, and it does show us that the family was still together at that point." Saunders believes the limited evidence of the boy since he was taken by Chinese authorities "shows how successfully China has been able to disappear not only the child, but also his entire family". Since his disappearance, the Chinese government has said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is not the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, as claimed by the Dalai Lama, instead "he is only a common Chinese citizen" who received his education in China, went to university and has started working. 'A momentous struggle' More than 30 years later, Saunders believes the story of the Panchen Lama's disappearance is one "not only of an individual but of a civilisation". In 1950, Chinese troops marched into Tibet in what China officially termed a "peaceful liberation". A Tibetan resistance movement formed quickly but within a decade Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama had escaped across the Himalayas to India, where he remains in exile. Today, Tibet is governed as an autonomous region within the People's Republic of China. For many modern-day Tibetans, Saunders believes, life is "a momentous struggle between a Communist Party and Tibetan civilisation". Namkyi has been caught up in this unrest from a young age. In 2008, aged eight, she took to the streets demanding the return of the Dalai Lama. Namkyi also recalls seeing protesters setting themselves alight during the wave of demonstrations that swept the Tibetan plateau that year. Approximately 150 monks, nuns and ordinary people have set themselves alight and ultimately died since 2009. "They protested and peacefully sacrificed their bodies by burning themselves. Many of my relatives and friends and neighbours have set themselves on fire," Namkyi said. "Many protesters were arrested and tortured ... We were all together, there was a lot of pain and suffering." The 2008 protests were the biggest against Chinese rule in more than two decades. Seven years later, Namkyi staged another protest — this time armed with photos of the Dalai Lama. "We walked past a police station. They stood around and beat us up. I was worried I would be killed." Namkyi alleges she endured days of interrogation and torture, before being held without trial in a detention centre for the next 13 months. While in prison, Namkyi said she was held in solitary conferment. Her only contact was with a Chinese government officer who she claims forced her to undergo political re-education. Credit: Hardcash Productions According to Human Rights Watch, 479 Tibetans were detained or tried for "political offences" between 2013 to 2015. However, due to limited access to Tibet , the organisation says "the actual number of Tibetans detained and prosecuted during this period for political offences was likely significantly higher". In 2023, Namkyi fled from Tibet. Like the Dalai Lama, she made the dangerous journey across the mountains to India, where she now lives, separated from her family and friends. 'Religion is a poison' It's been 25 years since Tibetan Arjia Rinpoche went into exile in the United States. Before he escaped, the senior Buddhist teacher said he was made to serve the Communist Party in China and was even privy to preparations for the appointment of a new Panchen Lama. "I was named as one of the great secretaries of the committee. The Chinese government said the Dalai Lama's opinions would be taken into consideration. However, the final decision would be made by the Chinese government." After the Dalai Lama announced Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama, China immediately opposed his pick for the position. "They said it was an illegal act … the Chinese government made him [Nyima] disappear. I witnessed things with my own eyes. We were all shocked." Instead, Gyaltsen Norbu was appointed. He's the son of two Communist Party members and is known by some Tibetans as the Panchen Zuma — meaning 'fake Panchen'. Arjia Rinpoche said he was inside the temple when China selected the 11th Panchen Lama. Credit: ITV "I was being forced to have faith in someone I didn't believe in and do things I didn't want to," Rinpoche recalls. He alleges the Chinese Communist Party refers to Tibetan religion as a "poison". "I managed to escape from the danger of the dragon's mouth," he says, referring to his decision to leave Tibet. As surveillance technology has evolved, UK-based cybersecurity expert Greg Walton believes life for many Tibetans has become increasingly challenging. Tibet is monitored in ways that no one [outside] of North Korea probably can really understand. Greg Walton "Everyday activities such as language preservation, passing on traditional Tibetan practices, these are being criminalised. Surveillance is at the heart of this process of subjugating the Tibetan people, of making them Chinese. "The government has concentrated surveillance resources on having facial recognition cameras in monasteries like no other aspect of Tibetan life. The desire [is] to control, to instil a sense of fear." Cybersecurity expert, Greg Walton believes the government is focused on monitoring religious life. Credit: Hardcash Productions The Chinese Embassy in London has responded that these allegations are "filled with bias and false accusations". "Xizang [Tibet] has been part of China since ancient times, has seen continued and sound economic growth, social harmony and stability, and significantly better life for its people. "The human rights conditions in Xizang are at their historical best." Breaking with tradition? Earlier this month, the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, celebrated his 90th birthday. To mark the occasion, he issued a statement that also laid out his plan for the future of the Buddhist institution. But as Gedhun Choekyi Nyima's disappearance remains controversial and China's pick for the position continues to be contested, the selection of the next Dalai Lama may break with tradition. On 6 July, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso celebrated his 90th birthday with a large gathering of Tibetan religious leaders, Indian politicians and monks. Source: AP / Ashwini Bhatia The Dalai Lama announced his charitable foundation, Gaden Phodrang , will be the only authority to choose his successor. The announcement ended speculation that the current Dalai Lama would be the last person to hold the title. According to Rinpoche, China's battle for Tibet will continue. "In the future, they will interfere with the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. It's [all] about the struggle for power to gain authority." The Chinese government has responded that it respects "the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, [and the] procedures [that] have been established over the centuries. The religious rituals, historical conventions [and] Chinese laws need to be complied with in this process".
News18
17-07-2025
- Politics
- News18
Dalai Lama's Succession: Why Beijing's Claim Of Panchen Lama's Veto Is Invalid
Last Updated: The intrinsic nature of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the widespread rejection of China's appointed Panchen Lama demonstrate that "legitimacy cannot be imposed by decree" The recent high-profile meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Gyaltsen Norbu, Beijing's appointed Panchen Lama, after a decade-long hiatus, underscores China's aggressive campaign to dictate the future of Tibetan Buddhism. With the 14th Dalai Lama's 90th birthday approaching on July 6, 2025, China is intensifying its efforts to legitimise its control over the succession narrative, particularly by misrepresenting the role of the Panchen Lama. However, a close examination of Tibetan Buddhist tradition reveals that Beijing's claims of an essential and decisive role for its Panchen Lama are not only historically unfounded but also legally and spiritually invalid. The Fabricated Necessity: Panchen Lama's Role In Succession Historically, the Panchen Lama holds the second-highest spiritual authority in Tibetan Buddhism, traditionally playing a significant role in identifying the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, and vice-versa. Yet, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propagates a distorted narrative—that the Panchen Lama's involvement is 'essential and decisive"—to position itself as the ultimate authority in determining the next Dalai Lama. Crucially, the provided information explicitly states that the Panchen Lama's involvement in confirming the next Dalai Lama, while significant, 'is not mandatory according to Tibetan Buddhist principles." The recognition process is described as a 'complex process of spiritual signs, visions, and religious rituals conducted by senior lamas and monasteries, not the dictate of a single individual." This fundamental truth dismantles Beijing's assertion of a unilateral, mandatory approval, highlighting it as a political contrivance rather than a spiritual requirement. Beijing's attempts to control this spiritual process began in earnest in 1995. Following the Dalai Lama's recognition of six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama, the Chinese authorities swiftly abducted the child. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima has been missing ever since, tragically dubbed the world's youngest political prisoner. In a brazen act of interference, China then installed Gyaltsen Norbu, a boy of their own choosing, as their version of the Panchen Lama. This act of forced installation, coupled with the disappearance of the Dalai Lama's choice, fundamentally undermines any claim of legitimacy for Beijing's appointee. Norbu has consistently 'struggled to gain acceptance among Tibetan Buddhists" and is 'widely viewed as a political appointee lacking spiritual legitimacy". His movements are severely restricted, and his limited public appearances further underscore his lack of genuine spiritual authority, as evidenced by his denial of entry to Nepal for a major Buddhist event in 2023. A History Of Failed Impositions & Atheist Irony China's current strategy is not unprecedented. Historically, even the Qing dynasty attempted similar interference in Tibetan religious succession, including offering the title of Dalai Lama to the 9th Panchen Lama, an offer that was consistently refused. The 10th Panchen Lama, despite initial cooperation with Beijing, later became a vocal critic, famously condemning the CCP's repressive policies in Tibet in his 70,000-character petition in 1962. This historical pattern demonstrates that external imposition on Tibetan spiritual matters has consistently failed to gain lasting acceptance. The irony of an officially atheist Communist Party deeply involving itself in religious succession is stark. The Xi-Norbu meeting is a 'narrative building" effort, designed to project Beijing's authority. The Dalai Lama's Unassailable Authority The 14th Dalai Lama himself has repeatedly affirmed his autonomous authority regarding his reincarnation. He has unequivocally stated that the decision concerning his successor is 'ultimately his own, and he has the authority to determine whether the institution should continue." Furthermore, he has indicated the significant possibility that his successor could be 'born outside Chinese-controlled Tibet, possibly in the 'free world'." These statements directly challenge Beijing's claims of control and highlight that the absence of approval from China's installed Panchen Lama does not, by any means, 'invalidate the identification of a new Dalai Lama". The spiritual and traditional protocols for identifying the reincarnation rest with senior lamas and the Tibetan Buddhist community, not with political dictates from an external, non-religious power. Conclusion: Legitimacy Cannot Be Imposed The Xi-Norbu meeting is a clear signal of Beijing's determination to control the future of Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama's succession. It is a calculated move to impose political authority over a deeply spiritual process. However, history, the intrinsic nature of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, and the widespread rejection of China's appointed Panchen Lama demonstrate that 'legitimacy cannot be imposed by decree". As the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday approaches, the stakes are indeed high. Should the Dalai Lama announce his successor in exile, it would directly challenge China's fabricated claims and potentially create a spiritual divide between Beijing's appointee and the candidate recognised by the global Buddhist community. Ultimately, despite China's strategic maneuvers, the true spiritual authority and the decision regarding the Dalai Lama's reincarnation will be determined by the Tibetan people and the international Buddhist community, not by the will of an authoritarian state. RK Raina is Consultant, International Buddhist Confederation. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18's views. Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: June 29, 2025, 18:46 IST
Deccan Herald
12-07-2025
- Politics
- Deccan Herald
Spiritual succession, political subversion
Beijing has been actively preparing for The Dalai Lama's 'return' in China — notably through the 2007 promulgation of the 'Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas in Tibetan Buddhism' — and by promoting its own Panchen Lama and other 'high' lamas.
Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
The next Dalai Lama
Opinion The whole business of succession would be a lot simpler if the Dalai Lama could just regenerate, like Doctor Who. When the time comes for The Doctor to stop looking like David Tennant and start looking like Matt Smith, there's flame coming out of his head and gushing out of his sleeves, and then he explodes. When the smoke clears, there's the new Doctor. There's no delay and no doubt. Once you accept (temporarily) the show's basic premise that Doctor Who is a benevolent immortal alien who periodically 'regenerates' from one human form to another, not even being consistent in ethnicity or gender from one body to the next, you know instantly that it's the same Doctor in there despite appearances. With the dear old Dalai Lama, it's different. Reincarnation still happens, but the souls of the dead migrate into the bodies of a newborn and retain no memory of their previous lives. This becomes a problem when the soul of your religion's leader has to be tracked down in one of those thousands who were born around the same time the leader died. That is exactly the problem facing the Gelug 'Yellow Hat' tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, whose leader, the Dalai Lama, turned 90 on Sunday. He will therefore soon be leaving his current incarnation, and it will be the task of his closest associates to track down the young child in whom his soul has taken up residence — who will then become the next Dalai Lama. Then the troubles really start, because Tibet has been officially part of the People's Republic of China since the Chinese invasion of 1950 and Beijing does not like religious leaders who are beyond its control. In fact, it doesn't like religious leaders at all, especially if they also embody the national aspirations of a subject people — and least of all if they live abroad The Dalai Lama ticks every box. He fled Tibet in the midst of a CIA-backed popular rebellion against foreign rule in 1959. He has lived in exile ever since in the northern Indian city of Dharamshala, surrounded by tens of thousands of other Tibetan exiles. And he heads what is in practice a Tibetan government-in-exile, although no other country recognizes it. This makes the Communist authorities in Beijing nervous even though there is no real challenge to Chinese control. They therefore see the Dalai Lama's passing, whenever it happens, as a golden opportunity to 'nationalize' Tibetan Buddhism by giving the state the power to choose his successor. We already had a preview of this 35 years ago when the Panchen Lama, second only to the Dalai Lama, died. After a lengthy but low-profile search Tibetan monks found a six-year-old boy called Gedhun Choekyi Nyima who matched the requirements, and the Dalai Lama (in exile) proclaimed him as the new Panchen Lama in 1995. The little boy and his family were immediately arrested and 'disappeared'; none of them has ever been seen again. The Dalai Lama will not make that mistake twice: he has already said that his next reincarnation will be found in 'the free world,' which presumably means outside China. But the vast majority of Tibetans still live in Tibet, and it is already clear that they will get a different Dalai Lama, chosen for them by the communist regime. It could end up like the Great Western Schism of 1378-1417, with two and then three popes at the same time — and that situation could easily last as long, depending on what happens to China in the long run. All of this is ultimately about the survival of a separate Tibetan identity, which is still theoretically possible. Beijing has not yet adopted the final solution it is applying to the Uyghur minority: only Chinese may be used in the schools in both regions, but the Tibetans are not yet being drowned with Han Chinese immigrants. The Chinese communist regime is now a little bit older than the Soviet Union was when it collapsed, but the CCP is still going strong. If it lasts another 50 years, Tibet's identity will certainly be eradicated, for there are more than 200 Chinese for every Tibetan. But if it's gone in 20 years, Tibetan culture may well survive. Gwynne Dyer's new book is 'Intervention Earth: Life-Saving Ideas from the World's Climate Engineers'.
NDTV
08-07-2025
- Politics
- NDTV
The Dalai Lama Succession Row Is China's Headache - And India's Too
On the eve of his 90th birthday, the Dalai Lama, in a statement, finally revealed his succession plan, confirming that the institution of the Dalai Lama will continue and the Gaden Phodrang Trust, a non-profit organisation founded by the Office of the Dalai Lama in 2015, would carry out the procedure, and that "no-one else has any authority to interfere in this matter". China rejected the statement, stressing that the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama, etc., must be chosen by drawing lots from a golden urn, and approved by the central government in Beijing. She further added that Tibetan Buddhism was born in China and that it is a religion with Chinese characteristics. Soon, India's position on the issue was also made clear as Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that only the current Dalai Lama and the conventions established by him can determine his successor. Both Rijiju and Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh attended the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala on July 6. There is no doubt that the Dalai Lama succession issue will add yet another layer of complexity to the already complex India-China relations. Chinese state media has long threatened India against using the 'Tibet card' by using the 'Northeast card' as a counter to 'hit India's pain points'. Over the past few years, as China-India relations remained tense, certain Indian stakeholders have highlighted the role of 'invisible hands fuelling violence' in Northeastern states. Some Chinese accounts even hint at Chinese interest in collaborating with Pakistan and Bangladesh to foment insurgency and separatism in the region. The recently held trilateral between China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Kunming, could be seen as a subtle message to India in this regard. Clearly, for India, on the Dalai Lama succession issue, the stakes are high, even if the options remain limited. That, however, should not stop India's strategic community from calling out and seeking to form a global consensus on China's contradicting stance on the Tibet issue. For example, China's official discourse has always vilified 'the feudal serf system of old Tibet, which combined politics and religion' and often called it 'the darkest, most reactionary, backward and cruellest rule in human history', 'incompatible with the requirements of the development of human civilisation…contrary to the general trend of world development, the historical trend of human democratic progress.' By 'liberating Tibet', the Chinese side claimed that the 'Communist Party of China has completely buried the feudal serf system" and established the socialist system of people's democracy and created the premise for Tibet's democratic reform, development and progress. The narrative is much in sync with Chinese communist leaders' overall disdain for Buddhism, with various high-profile leaders of the New Culture Movement such as Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu openly condemning the religion and philosophy of Buddhism and its deep Indian roots as a 'great misfortune for China and a serious obstacle to the progress of Chinese thought and society'. Today, it is the same communist party that claims to be the self-appointed custodian of Tibetan Buddhism and the Dalai Lama lineage. Equally problematic is China's claims of Tibet's development stride under the party state. China's propaganda departments have deftly built up a narrative in the past few decades that Tibet is an epitome of development, a 'different planet' when compared to the rest of South Asia, so much so that Tibet can now provide the 'gift of development' to select South Asian nations. However, in China's internal debates and discussions, this narrative is conspicuous by its absence. Instead, it is 'Tibet's severe development challenge' that seems to be the dominant theme within China. Chinese research highlights how Tibet's per capita GDP and local fiscal revenue continue to lag behind all other provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China, and how the urban-rural income gap remains the highest in Tibet, despite multiple high-profile interventions by the Chinese government. They have since long flagged the issue of how Tibet's problematic economic model has turned it into an unsustainable low-efficiency economy - a 'dependency economy' - and how Tibet has been entrapped in a circle where 'the state invests in development, and development requires more investment'. Since the early 2000s, Chinese scholars have been consistently highlighting the need to open up Tibet for foreign trade through the construction of a South Asia Trade Corridor. Since India is at the core of South Asia and shares the longest border with Tibet, Tibet's opening up for foreign trade, in the Chinese scheme of things, is all about ensuring that the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is able to access and benefit from the vast markets and superior geographical location of India, directly or via other South Asian nations. The issue of Tibet is embedded in two sets of contradictions: the region's unbalanced and inadequate economic development, which China sees as the primary contradiction, and the religious ethnic tension, the Dalai Lama issue, etc, which is seen in China as Tibet's secondary contradiction. It is believed by many that Tibet's special contradiction can be mitigated to a great extent if China successfully addresses its primary contradiction by constructing an economic corridor through South Asia. Our future countermeasures vis-à-vis China - in terms of border negotiation with China, restarting of border trade or tourism, and even the issue of Dalai Lama's succession - must take into consideration this complete and complex picture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
