01 September 2006
10th Panchen Lama’s daughter allegedly censored
(Reuters) The authorities in Beijing are apparently censoring media reports about the daughter of the 10th Panchen Lama. Yabshi Pan Rinzinwangmo is the only child of the late 10th Panchen Lama - the most senior religious figure in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. In 1995 the exiled Dalai Lama and PRC authorities chose rival reincarnations of the 10th Panchen Lama, who died in 1989. The Communist Party's Propaganda Department allegedly censored reports on Rinzinwangmo in July on the grounds that "religious figures were unhappy" with reports about her in Chinese media, said two independent media industry sources who requested anonymity. "Many portals republished an article on her by the Southern People Weekly but were forced to withdraw it", one source said. Party propaganda leaders ordered newspapers, magazines, portals and networks to seek permission before running any story about Rinzinwangmo in future, the sources said. It is believed that the Propaganda Department was apparently worried the princess's popularity would surpass that of the boy chosen by China as the 11th Panchen Lama. The Propaganda Department declined to comment. Asked for comment, Rinzinwangmo would neither confirm nor deny she had been censored. "How can this be? Last year, Uncle Jintao and Aunt Yandong arranged for me to return home to be groomed", the princess told Reuters, referring to party chief Hu Jintao and the head of the United Front. "My dad was a patriotic religious leader. I gave up everything abroad and came back, which proves I'm also a patriot", she said. Rinzinwangmo returned home in 2005 from the US where she had earned a degree in political science.