13 April 2006
Chinese-selected Panchen Lama at Buddhist forum
(Reuters) The Chinese government staged a three-day ‘World Buddhist Forum’ in the coastal city of Hangzhou. It is the first international religious meeting held in China since the Communist Party took power in 1949 and is seen by many commentators as an attempt to send a message of China's increased religious tolerance ahead of US President George W. Bush’s visit to the country later this month. The Chinese authorities used the occasion to present Gyaltsen Norbu, selected by Beijing as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995, to the world’s media. The sixteen-year old boy sat alongside Buddhist leaders during an audience with Jia Qinglin, ranked fourth in the Communist Party hierarchy. Visiting dignitaries were introduced to Jia and other Communist leaders, but apparently no one walked over to shake hands with Gyaltsen Norbu who sat quietly and appeared uneasy. Fellow Buddhists made no attempt to publicly greet the Panchen Lama during the few minutes when reporters were allowed in the room with them. Neither the Dalai Lama nor the Karmapa, two of the most internationally respected Buddhist teachers were invited to attend the forum. Qi Xiaofei, vice-president of the China Association for Religious and Cultural Exchanges, said, in response to the question why the Dalai Lama was not present, "In my opinion, if he appears at the forum, he will surely pose a really disharmonious note to the general harmonious tone of the forum".