Antonio Terrone
The 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, Chokyi Gyalpo, has been called many names in and outside China, including “fake,” a “Chinese puppet,” “Jiang Zemin’s Panchen” and a “Chinese Panchen.”
Many claim that his influence in Tibetan affairs is negligible. The reasons for these negative conceptions go back to the controversial way in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) selected him after disqualifying another boy that the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso had already recognized as the 11th Panchen Lama, Gendun Chokyi Nyima, because the process lacked the authority of the Chinese government.
The whereabouts of Gendun Chokyi Nyima have remained unknown since 1992.
Even so, dismissing the PRC-appointed 11th Panchen Lama Chokyi Gyalpo can be detrimental to the future of Tibetans in China and to the safeguarding of Tibetan cultural heritage. The wellbeing and interests of the Tibetan people in China depend not on forces and powers outside their land, but on those inside.
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