{"id":52106,"date":"2010-03-01T11:30:16","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T18:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=52106"},"modified":"2010-03-01T21:53:48","modified_gmt":"2010-03-02T04:53:48","slug":"china-elevates-its-chosen-tibetan-spiritual-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2010\/03\/china-elevates-its-chosen-tibetan-spiritual-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"China Elevates Its Chosen Tibetan Spiritual Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"
Gyaltsen Norbu<\/a>, the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama, has been given a seat on the CPPCC, the New York Times reports<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n \nAlthough membership in the advisory group, Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference, is of nominal interest to ordinary Chinese, the Panchen Lama\u2019s appointment on Sunday ratchets up the government\u2019s efforts to elevate his stature among Tibetans. Because he was appointed by Communist Party authorities rather than by Buddhist leaders, many Tibetans reject his religious authority as the ranking leader after the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile since 1959.<\/p>\n Born as Gyaltsen Norbu, he was anointed the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, after the Dalai Lama identified a different child as the latest incarnation of the Panchen Lama. A few weeks later, that boy and his family vanished. The government has said that they are in \u201cprotective custody,\u201d but their whereabouts have been an enduring mystery for 15 years.<\/p>\n According to Xinhua, the official news agency, the appointed Panchen Lama, just shy of his 20th birthday, is the youngest person ever appointed to the consultative conference, which convenes later this week as part of the annual pageant that includes meetings of the National People\u2019s Congress, the country\u2019s main legislative forum. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n