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The Panchen Lama in 2011
It is now 16 years since Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s abduction. On 25 April 2011 he turned 22. The Chinese government continue to deny responsibility for his abduction, but in 1996 did acknowledge that Gedhun and his family were being held in a secret location.

In March 2010, the Governor of the Tibetan Autonomous Region, Pema Trinley, told a press conference in Beijing that Gedhun and his family “are now living a very good life in Tibet". Pema Trinley added that, "He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed; they want to live an ordinary life."

Despite repeated requests from international governments, rights groups and the UN, the Chinese government has yet to provide any evidence whatsoever that Gedhun is safe; instead it continues to give a stonewall response that he is not imprisoned, but is a private citizen who is leading a normal life and attending school.

Tibet Society has serious concerns for the well-being of the Panchen Lama and calls upon the Chinese government to release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family from any form of detention and allow full access to UN representatives to assess his and his family's well-being.

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Vigils in 2010 for the Panchen Lama
On Sunday 25 April 2010, over 50 Tibetans and supporters gathered for a candle-lit vigil opposite the Chinese Embassy in London to commemorate Gedhun Chokyi Nyima's 21st birthday and to call for his release.

Approximately 100 messages from supporters were displayed at the vigil. The messages, for Gedhun and Chinese Minister Du Qinglin, were written on colourful windhorses and strung together to flutter in the wind.

Prayers were said for Gedhun and his family and candles lit, before the vigil ended with a round of chanting to "Free the Panchen Lama". The vigil in London was jointly organised by Tibet Society, Tibetan Community in Britain and Tibetan Youth UK.

Vigils were also held in Manchester (on Friday, organised by Students for a Free Tibet UK) and in Bath (on Sunday, organised by Bath District Tibet Support Group). The Bath vigil was held outside Bath Abbey in the early evening. It attracted over 30 supporters, with some travelling from Bristol and Swindon to join.

In total, Tibet Society received 126 windhorse messages from supporters. These have been posted to Minister Du Qinglin, along with a letter from Tibet Society asking the minister to forward on the relevant messages to Gedhun Chokyi Nyima, as well as calling on the Chinese government to immediately release Gedhun and to allow independent verification of Gedhun’s well-being.

View photos from vigil on Tibet Society's flickr page
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Background information
The Panchen Lama is a hugely important spiritual figure in Tibetan Buddhism, second in significance in the Gelukpa school only to the Dalai Lama.

When the 10th Panchen Lama died in 1989 the search began to find his reincarnation. The search was led by Chadrel Rinpoche of Tashilunpo Monastery in Tibet, who provided a list of candidates to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. On 14 May 1995 Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was chosen from that list. Three days later he and his family went missing. In May 1996 the Chinese authorities admitted to the UN Committee for the Rights of the Child that Gedhun and his family were being held in a secret location.

The Chinese government, recognising the political significance of the Panchen Lama, wished to have a replacement of their own choosing to sway Tibetan society and counter the influence of the Dalai Lama. Six months after Gedhun’s abduction the Chinese authorities selected Gyaltsen Norbu, a young Tibetan boy to become the 11th Panchen Lama.

Norbu's parents were Communist Party members and he was raised and educated in Beijing. Information from inside Tibet suggests that Norbu is not revered by Tibetans as the authentic Panchen Lama, and that Buddhist monasteries only receive him under duress from the Chinese authorities.

Still living in Beijing, Gyaltsen Norbu has made an increasing number of public appearances and statements in recent years. In March this year, at the age of 20, Gyaltsen Norbu was appointed as a national committee member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s top political advisory body. On his appointment, Xinhua news agency quoted Norbu saying that he promised to "uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China" and "adhere to socialism, safeguard national unification, strengthen ethnic unity and expand Buddhist exchanges".

The Panchen Lama is also charged with the task of recognising the Dalai Lama's reincarnation, and it is felt that the Chinese leadership will use Gyaltsen Norbu to select a candidate who they will exercise considerable control over. This would have serious implications for Tibet's political future. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has stated that he will be reincarnated in exile, out of the reach of the Chinese government. It is expected that Beijing will produce their own Dalai Lama, just as they have with the Panchen Lama, and that the child in question will live a life as a political pawn.
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