Chinese President Hu Jintao met Thursday with the boy picked by Beijing as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism in a pomp-filled ceremony broadcast on state television.
Calling on the 14-year-old boy to “be an example of loving the state and loving religion,” Hu said the Chinese government would do more to fight poverty in Tibet, since both Buddhism and socialism advocate equality.
The meeting came amid growing complaints among Tibetan activists abroad that Chinese government controls are damaging Tibet’s religious institutions and eroding its unique culture.
Communist troops marched into Tibet in 1950. Beijing says it has been part of China for centuries and has spent decades trying to suppress pro-independence sentiment.
“I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee … to wish our Tibetan compatriots and the figures in Tibetan Buddhism a Happy New Year,” Hu said to the boy as they sat in overstuffed chairs in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People.
The Tibetan New Year begins Wednesday, the same day as the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Beijing’s Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, presented Hu with a white silken scarf and nodded, smiled and applauded as Hu spoke.
Norbu was picked in 1995 as the reincarnation of his predecessor, after Chinese officials rejected a boy chosen by the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader. The other boy, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, has not been seen since and Chinese officials refuse to say where he is.
Norbu’s comments to Hu weren’t broadcast, though the television announcer reported he said he would “resolutely uphold the unity of the motherland” _ or Beijing’s view that Tibet is an inseparable part of China.
The president also wished Norbu a happy birthday. He turns 15 on Feb. 13.
Hu said the ruling Communist Party would send a delegation to Tibet this year “to celebrate with all walks of life” the 40th anniversary of the establishment of Tibet as an “autonomous region” under Chinese authority.
