Wuxi, China - A high-level Tibetan Buddhist cleric backed by Beijing praised the communist government's protection of religion Saturday, apparently indicating the regime's intention to make him an international spokesman for its religious and Tibetan policies.
China has consistently failed to connect with foreign audiences over Tibet, and its heavy-handed control of religion has allowed the charismatic Dalai Lama, Tibet's highest-ranking Buddhist leader, to dominate international debate.
The Panchen Lama thanked the government for sponsoring the lavish international Buddhist forum in eastern China, which seeks to promote the country as a protector of Buddhist tradition after decades of persecution and neglect.
"This event fully demonstrates that today's China enjoys social harmony, stability, and religious freedom, and also shows that China is a nation that safeguards and promotes world peace," the Panchen Lama said.
The Panchen Lama addressed the forum in English, underscoring Beijing's determination to give him a prominent international role.
Despite Beijing's backing, Gyaltsen Norbu is not widely accepted by Tibetans as the Panchen Lama. Another boy, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, was named as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama in 1995. The boy and his family disappeared soon after and have not been heard from since.
His rare appearance at the forum was a strong indication of Beijing's willingness to spend lavishly to promote him as a credible religious figure. The conference placed him alongside other Asian Buddhist leaders and hundreds of international participants at a grandiose new Buddhist complex in the lakeside city of Wuxi, about an hour's drive east of Shanghai.
Buddhism has roots going back 2,000 years in China, enduring alternating periods of flowering and official persecution. Following the founding of the communist state in 1949, monks and nuns were forced from their monasteries, temples converted to factories and the religion derided as backward.
Alongside Christianity, it has undergone a resurgence since the end of orthodox Marxism in the late 1970s, attracting celebrity adherents such as action film star Jet Li, who also spoke at Saturday's forum.
The Panchen Lama's remarks came amid nationwide commemorations of a new Chinese political holiday marking the anniversary of the overturning of Tibet's feudal and religious hierarchy in 1959.
The holiday, called "Serfs Liberation Day" by Beijing, marks the anniversary of a Tibetan uprising against communist troops that resulted in the Dalai Lama's flight into exile in India, from where he continues to head the self-proclaimed Tibetan government in exile.
China claims Tibet has been part of its territory for centuries, although many Tibetans say they were effectively independent for most of that time.
Beijing has in recent years begun enlisting the Panchen Lama in its campaign to vilify the Dalai Lama, seeking to portray him as a dictator who headed a corrupt regime. On Friday he was quoted as criticizing the former regime without mentioning the Dalai Lama by name.
"I sincerely thank the party for giving me these bright eyes to allow me to tell right from wrong, to recognize who really loves the Tibetan people and who is willing to take any measures to destroy the peace and stability in Tibet for their own purposes," he said.