| Gedhun Choekyi Nyima དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་ | |
|---|---|
 Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in 1995 | |
| 11th Panchen Lama (disputed) | |
| Reign | 14 May 1995–present (CTA interpretation, disputed by Chinese government proxy Gyaincain Norbu) |
| Predecessor | Choekyi Gyaltsen 10th Panchen Lama |
| Born | 25 April 1989 Lhari County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
| Disappeared | May 17, 1995 (aged 6) Lhari County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China |
| Status | Missing for 29 years and 6 months |
| Gedhun Choekyi Nyima | |||||||||
| Tibetan name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tibetan | དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ | ||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 更登確吉尼瑪 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 更登确吉尼玛 | ||||||||
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Gedhun Choekyi Nyima (born 25 April 1989[1]) is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by the Chinese government, after the State Council of the People's Republic of China failed in its efforts to install a substitute.[2] A Chinese substitute is seen as a political tool to undermine the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which traditionally is recognized by the Panchen Lama.[3] Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains forcibly detained by the Chinese government, along with his family, in an undisclosed location since 1995. His khenpo, Chadrel Rinpoche, and another Gelugpa monk, Jampa Chungla, were also arrested.[4] The United Nations, with the support of numerous states, organizations, and private individuals continue to call for the 11th Panchen Lama's release.
The Panchen Lama was born in Lhari County, Tibet Autonomous Region, from where he was kidnapped under the authority of the People's Republic of China. He has been called the world's youngest political prisoner. Since his recognition as the 11th Panchen Lama, he continues to be forcibly detained, along with his family, by the Chinese government,[5][3] and has not been seen in public since 17 May 1995.[5][3]
In a response to growing international pressure from the United Nations, governments of various states, and in 2020 from 159 independent organizations from 18 countries working with the United Nations, on 19 May 2020, the Chinese government alleged that the Panchen Lama is "now a college graduate with a stable job", but has not provided supporting evidence.[6]
The Chinese government continues to refuse the Panchen Lama's and his family's release, or allow them to meet with observers.[6]
- ^ Gedhun Choekyi Nyima – The Panchen Lama, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom
- ^ 十年了：达赖指定的班禅今安在. Deutsche Welle (in Simplified Chinese).
生钦·洛桑坚赞说："达赖擅自宣布的'转世灵童'不具备任何入瓶掣签的条件。我们扎什伦布寺民主管理委员会班禅转世灵童寻访小组和广大僧众坚决不同意把他作为入瓶掣签候选灵童。
- ^ a b c "Tibet's missing spiritual guide". BBC News. 16 May 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ Central Tibetan Administration, "Tibet: Suspicious Death of Panchen Lama Search Leader", 25 November 2011, https://unpo.org/article/13525
- ^ a b Gedhun Choekyi Nyima the XIth Panchen Lama turns 18: Still disappeared The Buddhist Channel, 25 April 2007
- ^ a b "China says boy picked by Dalai Lama now a college graduate". AP NEWS. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.