(TibetanReview.net, Dec11’25) – The Delegation of the European Union to China has on Dec 10 expressed disappointment over the fact that 40 rounds of EU–China Human Rights Dialogues and 25 rounds of EU–China Summits had not led to any substantive sign of improvement in China’s record, including in Tibet. It called for accountability on the whereabouts of the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, abducted and disappeared by China since 1995, and replaced by its own appointee, and stay its hands from interfering in the Tibetan people’s right to select their religious leaders, including the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
Saying the human rights situation in Tibet remains equally alarming, the delegation said in its Human Rights Days statement, after discussing the deplorable situation in Xinjiang, that both in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in Tibetan areas of Qinghai, Sichuan and Gansu provinces, similar patterns of restrictions had been reported.
“Reports continue to document far-reaching state control over religious life, intensified surveillance of monasteries, and the imposition of mandatory boarding schools, where Tibetan children are separated from their families and educated primarily in Mandarin. The closure of Tibetan-language schools, and the marginalisation of Tibetan-language instruction are deeply troubling.”
The statement also reiterates EU’s concern for the enforced disappearance since 1995 of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama. “No credible information is provided on his whereabouts or well-being. We continue to call on China to respect and protect the rights of persons belonging to religious groups to exercise their religious freedoms without interference. The selection of religious leaders should happen without government interference and in accordance with religious norms, including for the succession of the Dalai Lama.”