US demands whereabouts of Tibet's Panchen Lama from China
Pompeo labelled Panchen Lama as one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism.
Mike Pompeo, Xi Jinping , AFP
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo approached the Chinese government on Monday (May 18) for the whereabouts of Panchen Lama.
He also stated that the United States remains actively worried about China's continuous battle to provide the religious, linguistic and cultural identity of Tibetans.
"The Department of State has made the promotion and protection of religious freedom a priority, especially in China, where people of all faiths face severe repression and discrimination," Pompeo said.
"As part of that mission, on 17 May, we marked the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, who has not appeared in public since the PRC government abducted him in 1995, at age six," he added.
Pompeo also labelled Panchen Lama as one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism and said he's got the spiritual authority second only to the Dalai Lama.
"But China's persecution of the Panchen Lama is not unusual. The United States remains deeply concerned about the PRC's ongoing campaign to eliminate the religious, linguistic, and cultural identity of Tibetans, including through the ongoing destruction of communities of worship and learning, such as the Larung Gar and Yachen Gar Buddhist Institutes," the US Secretary of State said.
"Tibetan Buddhists, like members of all faith communities, must be able to select, educate, and venerate their religious leaders according to their traditions and without government interference."
"We call on the PRC government to immediately make public the Panchen Lama's whereabouts and to uphold its constitution and international commitments to promote religious freedom for all persons," he added.
Earlier in the year, a Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA) was unanimously passed by the US House of Representatives to strengthen policy in support of Tibet.
This movement was also reciprocated as "encouraging and empowering" by the representatives of the Himalayan Buddhist region, which has been under the control of China since the past several decades.