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BEIJING - The "soul boy" picked by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama was a victim, Padma Choling, chairman of the Tibet autonomous regional government said Sunday.
He and his family are now living a good life as ordinary citizens in Tibet, and some of his elder sisters and brothers are in universities or have already started working, Padma Choling told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's top legislature.
"He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed, and they want to live an ordinary life," he said.
The so-called "Panchen Lama" picked by the Dalai Lama was illegitimate and invalid, and there is no need now to discuss the issues related to the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, the official said.
The Dalai Lama is the mastermind of a separatist group and the very source of instability of Tibet, said Padma Choling.
"The Dalai's lies to the world and media have adversely affected Tibet's development," he said.
Panchen Lama deeply loved by Tibetans
The 11th Panchen Lama, Bainqen Erdini Qoigyijabu, is deeply loved and supported by people of all ethnic groups in Tibet, Padma Choling also said.
The Panchen Lama goes back to Tibet every year and holds religious activities at Zhaxi Lhunbo Lamasery in Xigaze, the seat of successive Panchen Lamas, he said.
"The selection of the 11th Panchen Lama was approved by the central government through lot-drawing in 1995 in strict accordance with religious rituals and historical conventions in Tibetan Buddhism," Padma Choling said.
"The reincarnation cannot be decided by certain individuals, it must follow strict religious rituals," he said