Premier Zhu Rongji met with Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, the 11th
Panchen Lama, in Beijing on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Zhu congratulated the 11th Panchen Lama on the
success of his just-concluded tour of Tibet and on the progress he
had made in his Buddhist studies.
During his tour, the Panchen Lama attended a series of Buddhist
activities marking his 13th birthday.
Thanks to the concerns of the Communist Party of China's Central
Committee and the State Council and the support from local
governments, the birthday celebrations were successful, said the
Panchen Lama.
"All religious believers and temples in Tibet are satisfied with
this, so am I," he told Zhu.
Zhu said that the Party's Central Committee and the State Council
had always shown great concern for and paid much attention to the
growth and development of the young Panchen Lama.
"Today, I'm very glad to see that you are both physically strong
and well-versed in Buddhism and other knowledge, gaining more and
more love and respect from the Tibetan people," Zhu said.
Stating that Tibet was an inalienable part of China, Zhu said
currently the autonomous region enjoyed economic development and
social stability, with its people leading a happy life.
History and reality had shown that the Communist Party of China had
adopted correct ethnic and religious policies and had also
succeeded in handling ethnic and religious issues, he added.
The premier expressed the hope that the 11th Panchen Lama would
carry on the patriotic spirit of successive Panchen Lamas, study
hard to become an accomplished Buddhist religious leader, and make
contributions to maintaining national unity and promoting
development and stability in Tibet.
The Panchen Lama replied that he would definitely learn from the
10th Panchen Lama's glorious past and, as President Jiang Zemin had
hoped, "love both the country and the religion" and "protect the
country and benefit the people." He also pledged to work harder to
safeguard China's national and ethnic unity.
The 11th Panchen Lama was confirmed as the reincarnation of the
late 10th Panchen Lama on November 29, 1995 by means of lot-drawing
from a gold bottle. On December 8 of the same year, with formal
approval from the State Council, he was inaugurated at Zhaxi Lhunbo
Temple in Xigaze city, Tibet, the traditional seat for the Panchen
Lamas.
(
August 1, 2002)