New York — Human Rights Watch calls on the Chinese government to release the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima of Tibet and his parents, who were forcibly abducted by Chinese authorities on May 17, 1995. This year marks the 30th anniversary of their disappearance.
On May 15, 2025, Human Rights Watch, based in New York, USA, has called on the Chinese Communist Party to release the 11th Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, as Tibetans and their supporters celebrate the 30th anniversary of his disappearance on May 17, 2025, Panchen Rinpoche being forcibly abducted by the Chinese authorities on May 17, 1995.
“The Chinese government kidnapped a 6-year-old and his family and have disappeared them for 30 years to control the selection of the next Dalai Lama and thus Tibetan Buddhism itself,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Concerned parties should press the Chinese government to end this cruelty and secure the freedom of Gendun Choki Nyima and his family.”
The Human Rights Watch states, "Twenty years after his disappearance, in 2015, the Chinese authorities claimed that Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was “living normally” and “does not want to be disturbed by anyone.
"Over the next decade, the Chinese government tightened its grip over Tibet, which includes the Tibet Autonomous Region and the neighboring Tibetan autonomous areas within Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, and Yunnan provinces.
"Since 2008, when a massive crackdown on popular protests swept the Tibetan plateau, Chinese security forces have maintained a heavy presence in Tibet and tightly restricted access and travel to Tibetan areas. Any questioning of government policies, however mild, can result in arbitrary detention or long-term imprisonment, prosecution, enforced disappearance, and even instances of torture. Authorities maintain highly intrusive mass surveillance systems in Tibet, require Tibetans to use Mandarin Chinese as the medium of instruction in schools, and pressure many to relocate en masse from their long-established villages to new government-built settlements. Authorities also make it extremely difficult for Tibetans to travel abroad or to obtain passports and punish people severely for contacting relatives or others outside the country.
"Since 2007, Chinese authorities have imposed regulations limiting the recognition of reincarnate lamas, who include many of the religious leaders in Tibetan Buddhism. These provisions specify that reincarnations may not be recognised without state approval and must be born within China’s borders. High-ranking incarnations must be selected using the “Golden Urn,” an 18th century Chinese lottery system that had scarcely been used by Tibetans until 2007, when the Chinese Communist Party mandated it as the only legal way to select top-ranking lamas.
"Since 2009, there have been 160 instances of self-immolation, resulting in the death of 127 Tibetans."
"The Chinese government should allow UN monitors, independent human rights organisations, and media outlets unfettered access to Tibetan areas," Human Rights Watch said.
"Concerned governments, especially those with significant Buddhist populations, such as Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, and India, should mark the 30th anniversary of the Panchen Lama’s enforced disappearance by speaking out publicly and by asserting the rights of Tibetans to exercise their religious freedom," Human Rights watch said.
“The 30th anniversary of the Panchen Lama’s disappearance provides governments an important opportunity to urge the Chinese government to end its decades of repression of the Tibetan people,” Uluyol said.
