China’s Panchen calls for socialist-society Tibetan Buddhists

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Gyaltsen Norbu, the 11th Panchen Lama selected by the Chinese government.
Gyaltsen Norbu, the 11th Panchen Lama selected by the Chinese government.

(TibetanReview.net, Mar09, 2015) – Gyaltsen Norbu, the 11th Panchen Lama selected by the Chinese government in place of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima kidnapped by the Chinese government after he was recognized by the Dalai Lama in 1995, has called on Tibetan Buddhists to unswervingly follow the path to a socialist society with Chinese characteristics, reported China’s online Tibet news service eng.tibet.cn Mart 6, citing China’s official Xinhua news agency. He was reported to have made the call in his speech at the ongoing Third Session of the 12th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee on Mar 4.

Although attending the annual CPPCC for the sixth year, the 25-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu is still the youngest member of the CPPCC Standing Committee. He was reported to have given a speech titled “Cultivating talent, making Tibetan Buddhism better adapted to a socialist society” during discussions among religious members of the CPPCC.

“In my opinion, Tibetan Buddhism can play an important role in national economic and social development, social harmony and maintaining stability,” he was quoted as having said. He has referred to the fact that in his work report, Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of CPPCC National Committee, had said that China supported the religious members (of the CPPCC) to continue to play a unique role in carrying out targeted work in Tibet and Xinjiang and actively guide religions to adapt themselves to the socialist system.

The report noted that Gyaltsen Norbu was China’s first post-90s member of the CPPCC National Committee. He was appointed a Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China and elected a member of the CPPCC National Committee in Feb 2010. In Mar 2013, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, the report added.

The CPPCC is China’s top organ for advising the equally powerless parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC). The role of the NPC is to endorse the decision of the more than 80-million-member Communist Party of China.

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