China’s appointed Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, on Tuesday completed a nearly three-month tour of Buddhist and social activities in Lhasa, Occupied Tibet. Gyaltsen Norbu is under the influence or control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
During his tour in Lhasa, Gyaltsen Norbu visited several monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibet Buddhism Academy, where he held prayer meetings and expounded on the Buddhist sutras, as reported by China Daily.
The Chinese government appointed Gyaltsen Norbu as a replacement for the recognized Panchen Lama, Gedhun Cheokyi Nyima, chosen by the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in 1995. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was kidnapped at the age of six by the Chinese government along with his family and has been missing since then.
Gyaltsen Norbu has undertaken numerous domestic and foreign trips under CCP’s command and made various speeches on Buddhism, Tibet and China. However, the Communist Party’s efforts to gain recognition and acceptance from the Tibetans have failed time and again.
In June 2023, he conducted a 13-day tour in Chamdo city, Tibet. During his visit, he conducted various Buddhist activities, including visiting monasteries, holding prayer meetings, and meeting over 130,000 people.
The Chinese government was paying 100 yuan (about US$14) to each Tibetan who visited and received blessings from Gyaltsen Norbu, who is not recognized by most Tibetans as the true reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama, as reported by Radio Free Asia.
He is currently the youngest member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a Vice-Chairman of the Buddhist Association of China and the head of the latter’s Tibet branch.
Last year around June-July, Gyaltsen Norbu had undertaken visits to Tibetan areas. Most of the visits were being executed in the border areas. His visits to Tibet are CCP’s attempts to garner support and credibility for their candidate, who Tibetans haven’t accepted as the real Panchen Lama. Each visit is perfectly planned and executed by CCP and they are propaganda tools to spread disinformation about Tibet and hide the real human rights crisis unfolding in Tibet.
The role of the Panchen Lama includes leading a council of senior lamas to search for the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama upon his passing. Gyaltsen Norbu currently resides in Beijing but is expected to play a role in China's plan to appoint its own Dalai Lama, despite the invalidity of such a decision.
While the real Panchen Lama remains missing to this day, the fake, handpicked by an atheist Party tours Tibet. Tibetans are forced to put his picture on their altars, but what remains deep inside the altar of their minds is the real Panchen Lama, as reported by Bitter Winter.
Edited and collated by Team TRC