More Propaganda - China's Panchen Lama gets high profile

[Mr. G]

Beijing, China (CNN) -- Until recently, he had rarely appeared in public. But now, he has been named to China's top advisory body.

The appointment of the 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest Tibetan spiritual figure, to the Chinese People's Consultative Conference is largely symbolic. But it's politically significant.

When the advisory group's annual conference convened Wednesday, the focus turned to the 19-year-old bespectacled Tibetan monk who appeared among 2,000 politicians, religious leaders, businessmen, academics and celebrities.

The gathering is the government's attempt to showcase China's multi-ethnic national unity. Delegates meet in Beijing every year to discuss government reports, deliberate members' proposals and endorse government policies.

Beijing's critics, however, say that the inclusion of the Panchen Lama at the annual meeting is part of a stepped up effort to undermine the popularity of Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

Read More Here: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/03/china.tibet/

[plwk]

I still recall seeing that huge book on the 'Panchen Lama' displayed prominently in an airport bookstore in Shanghai back in December 2008 when I was there on a tour...
....poor lad...used by a powerful regime...

[Mr. G]

More news:

A boy who disappeared after being named Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama is living with his family somewhere in Tibet, the Himalayan region's Chinese-appointed governor said Sunday.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Padma Choling gave no other details about the boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, saying only that his siblings were studying at a university or working in regular jobs.

"As far as I know, his family and he are now living a very good life in Tibet," Padma Choling said at a news conference on the sidelines of China's annual legislative session. "He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed, they want to live an ordinary life."

Gendun Choekyi Nyima, 20, was named the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in 1995 by the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest figure whom Beijing reviles. He and his family, who are from a remote part of Chinese-controlled Tibet, have not been heard from since.

Read More Here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124410114