Thank you very much, honourable Chair and honourable members of the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs.
Thank you very much for this opportunity to present the case of Panchen Rinpoche, and the status of Tibet and our analysis of the situation that concerns Tibet.
Before I hand over the floor to my colleague, Zeekgyab Rinpoche, who is the abbot of the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas through many centuries, I would like to say that this is a representative case of many other Tibetans who also suffer the same fate. Panchen Rinpoche's case is one of forced disappearance. Even 27 years after his disappearance or abduction by the Government of China, we still don't know whether he's alive or not. The Chinese government only says that he's hale and hearty, and he doesn't want to be disturbed. At least if there were some evidence that he is alive or not, that would soothing for the Tibetans.
We know that this is a political decision by the Chinese government, because this also concerns the reincarnation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. There is reciprocal recognition of reincarnation between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lamas.
I personally feel that China made a big mistake, a tactical mistake, by not recognizing Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the young boy who was recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. If China had done that, they would have Gedhun Choekyi Nyima under their control as of today, not the boy selected by the Chinese government and not recognized by the Tibetan people.
Even now, if you go to Lhasa, you will not see a picture of the Chinese-selected Panchen Lama. You will see only the picture of the 10th Panchen Lama. That is symbolic of Tibetans' non-recognition of China's selection of the Panchen Lama.
We know for a fact that, if he is alive, he has not been given any religious training to take on his traditional religious leadership next to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, thereby incapacitating him in every way. Even if he's alive and let free in the future, they've made sure that he will not be able to perform his religious duties, deprived of his traditional religious teachings.
Before I go over to other issues, I would request the chair to allow Zeekgyab Rinpoche, the abbot of Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, to present the case for Panchen Lama. After that, if the chair allows, I will touch on other issues that concern the issue of Tibet or the Sino-Tibetan conflict.
Chair, thank you again for the opportunity.