(TibetanReview.net, Jun29’24) – China said Jun 28 that the replacement 11th Panchen Lama Gyaltsen Norbu it has imposed on the Tibetan people after abducting into oblivion the one already recognized and proclaimed by Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama in 1995 had visited Tibet’s most sacred temple in capital Lhasa that day.
Sinicizing Tibet by prefacing everything Tibetan with “Chinese” or “China’s” has long been Beijing’s preoccupation in its publicity works and its official Xinhua news agency headlined the news of the visit as “Panchen Rinpoche visits revered Jokhang Temple in Chinese city of Lhasa.”
The report cited “historical records” to note that the Buddha statue to which Gyaltsen Norbu bowed three times, offered a ceremonial scarf, and on which he applied gold powder “was brought to the temple by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).”
He was then stated to have “led sutra chanting at the temple, praying for peace, prosperity and people’s well-being, joined by over 100 monks from the Jokhang Temple and the Tashilhunpo Monastery,” followed by performing “a head-touching ritual.”
The report did not quote him on any subject, but noted that he is a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, vice president of the Buddhist Association of China, and president of the association’s “Xizang” branch.
Xizang is China’s name for Tibet, which it recently decided not to use anymore to make clear its further push towards Sinicizing the occupied territory.
The report said Gyaltsen Norbu had arrived in Lhasa on Jun 25 and “will perform his duties at the Xizang branch, carry out social research, and attend a series of religious activities.” It did not say how long the visit will last.