WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has asked Beijing to immediately make open the whereabouts of Panchen Lama saying that the United States remains worried about China’s unceasing battle to dispense the linguistic, religious, and cultural identity of the Tibetans.
The United States Department of State has made the protection and promotion of religious freedom a priority, particularly in China, where people of all faiths have been facing repression and discrimination, according to Pompeo.
He said that as part of the mission, the US marked the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
Panchen Lama has not appeared in public since the China government abducted him in 1995 when he was six.
Pompeo stated that Panchen has been one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism having spiritual authority — second only to the Dalai Lama.
He added that China’s persecution of the Panchen Lama is not uncommon.
(With inputs from ANI)
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