A young Tibetan has been controversially appointed by China’s atheist Communist Party as the second-most powerful leader of Tibetan Buddhism, promising to make it more Sinic.
Gyaltsen Norbu was crowned the 11th Panchen Lama by Beijing in 1995, against the wishes of the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s supreme authority. The Dalai Lama’s pick for the 11th Panchen Lama, a six-year-old boy, has since disappeared from public view. China has yet to reveal the whereabouts of the missing boy.
Gyaltsen Norbu held a rare meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Friday, where he said he would contribute to promoting ethnic unity and systematically advancing the “Sinicization of religion,” Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
The comments refer to Xi’s sweeping campaign to purge religious beliefs of foreign influence and bring them closer to traditional Chinese culture and the authoritarian rule of the officially atheist Communist Party.
Gyaltsen Norbu also said it was important to keep in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping’s teachings, firmly support the party’s leadership, and firmly safeguard the unity of the motherland and ethnic groups, Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
Xi asked him to promote the “patriotism and religious traditions” of Tibetan Buddhism and contribute to fostering a “strong sense of community among the Chinese nation,” Xinhua reported.
