On May 17, 2021, Tibetans and human rights groups in Taiwan held a press conference on “China’s Immediate Release of the Panchen Lama.
The Panchen Lama, known as “the world’s youngest political prisoner,” has been missing for 26 years since he was six years old, and Tibetans have long believed that he is under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. Tibetan groups and human rights organizations in Taiwan called on the Chinese government to immediately release the Panchen Lama on Monday (17), the 26th anniversary of his suspected abduction. The groups also called on the world to pay continued attention and put pressure on China to let the Panchen go free as soon as possible. (By Chung Kwong-ching, Taipei)
The Tibetan Human Rights Link in Taiwan, the Tibetan Welfare Association in Taiwan, the Tibetan Youth Association Taiwan, the Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Human Rights, and other civil society groups held an online press conference on Monday night on “26 years of abduction: China immediately releases the Panchen Lama” and chanted slogans such as “immediately release the Panchen Lama. The slogans included “Release the Panchen Lama now”.
Tibetan Taiwan Human Rights Link director Zhaxi Tsering said that for all Tibetans, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama are the most important spiritual pillars and asked the Chinese government to release the Panchen Lama. He also called on all sectors of society to pay attention to human rights issues in China.
He said: “The Panchen Lama has been kidnapped for 26 years, while in Taiwan there is also Li Mingzhe, there are also many people in Hong Kong are also locked up in prison. Many Chinese pro-democracy activists and Chinese lawyers who support human rights are also in prison. Therefore, we should be concerned about the human rights of all of us. The power of unity is very strong, and I hope that we will do all the activities together in the future.
Shi Yixiang, secretary general of the Taiwan Association for the Promotion of Human Rights, said that the Chinese government’s statements about the disappearance of the Panchen Lama are inconsistent, but all signs can prove that it is a case of abduction.
The case of the disappearance of the Panchen Lama basically fits perfectly into the UN and international definition of enforced disappearance, or voluntary disappearance,” Shih said. Therefore, we call on the Taiwanese community, as well as the global civil society, on the day the Panchen Lama was forcibly disappeared by China 26 years ago, we seriously call on the Chinese government to immediately release the Panchen Lama, and the Chinese government to immediately clarify the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama and provide complete information to the UN Committee against Enforced Disappearances.
Lin Xinyi, director of the Taiwan Human Rights Link in Tibet, called on everyone to show their concern for the Panchen Lama through social media sites, and to put pressure on China in addition to showing solidarity with Tibetans.
I hope that people will continue to pay attention, so you can retweet photos of the Panchen Lama on your Facebook page today, on your Twitter page, on your IG page, and tag “Free the Panchen Lama” or “Free the Panchen Lama. This action is ongoing because it is impossible for Tibetans to give up or stop this action, even under the most difficult circumstances, at this time of the year, or on the Panchen Lama’s birthday.
Peng-Hsuan Lee, the executive director of the Taiwan Free Tupai Society, said that China’s next step is to meddle with the Tibetan reincarnation system, and that the international community must unite to stop it.
Even if he grows up successfully, we do not know if he can choose his own culture, language, religion, and way of life as a Tibetan under Chinese rule, and we are very doubtful. It is unacceptable that this non-religious Chinese government would intervene into the reincarnation system to control the reincarnation and blackmail Rinpoche to control the people. We also want to call for continued attention that the Chinese government may, through such an incident, further want to control other future monks who have influence on Tibetans, and even the future reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which will also have a very, very serious impact on the survival of Tibetans.
The deputy secretary general of Yongshe, Hong Chongyan, said that China has shaken the sovereignty and democratic system of all democratic countries, and the danger of the Chinese Communist regime has spread to all levels of the world, so we must unite to resist. He called on everyone to face up to the problems caused by the expansion of the Chinese Communist Party’s authority, otherwise you and I could be the next disappeared dissident, or the next Panchen Lama to be abducted and controlled by China.
It is the 26th anniversary of the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gyantse Chökyi Nyima, who was taken away by the Chinese at the age of 6 and whose whereabouts are still unknown and has not been seen in public. The Chinese side installed another Tibetan boy as the officially recognized Panchen Lama, later known to Tibetans as “Han Panchen,” and this “twin” Panchen Lama controversy has affected the future fate of Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhism.
The Panchen Lama is the spiritual leader of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, second only to the Dalai Lama, and the Panchen Lama is 32 years old this year. State Department spokesman Price publicly called on China in April to announce the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama and request a meeting with him, adding that China must respect the Tibetans’ right to choose their own leaders according to their beliefs “without government interference. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also called China’s interference in the identification of the Panchen Lama’s reincarnated spiritual child a “despicable act.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian publicly claimed last year that Chökyi Nyima “has graduated from university and has a stable job. Neither Chökyi nor his family wants to be disturbed from their current “normal life.
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