The Enigma of Tibet's Disappeared Monk: 30 Years Later

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Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is one of the most famous missing persons in the world. To many Tibetans, his detainment three decades ago made him the world’s ‘youngest political prisoner’.

Since then, a single photograph has been used to tell his story.

In May 1995, a six-year-old Nyima was appointed the Panchen Lama — one of the highest spiritual authorities in Tibetan Buddhism — by a committee of Buddhist leaders.

China quickly rejected the announcement and three days later, Nyima and his family were taken into what Chinese authorities described as protective custody.

He has not been seen since.

But Tibet specialist Kate Saunders believes she may have received an image of the Panchen Lama and his family, taken several years after their disappearance.

A photo, believed to be of the missing Panchen Lama and his family, shows a young boy sitting on a man's lap with two women also sitting near him.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is believed to be sitting in the front left. At the top of the photograph, the Tibetan script reads “Photograph of a family reunion”. Credit: Hardcash Productions

“It seems to show Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. He’s got a toy helicopter, he’s sitting on his father’s lap. He could be around 10, around 11 [years old],” she said.

“This looks as though it’s in some sort of official compound, and it does show us that the family was still together at that point.”

Saunders believes the limited evidence of the boy since he was taken by Chinese authorities “shows how successfully China has been able to disappear not only the child, but also his entire family”.

Since his disappearance, the Chinese government has said Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is not the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, as claimed by the Dalai Lama, instead “he is only a common Chinese citizen” who received his education in China, went to university and has started working.

‘A momentous struggle’

More than 30 years later, Saunders believes the story of the Panchen Lama’s disappearance is one “not only of an individual but of a civilisation”.

In 1950, Chinese troops marched into Tibet in what China officially termed a “peaceful liberation”.

A Tibetan resistance movement formed quickly but within a decade Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama had escaped across the Himalayas to India, where he remains in exile.

Today, Tibet is governed as an autonomous region within the People’s Republic of China.

For many modern-day Tibetans, Saunders believes, life is “a momentous struggle between a Communist Party and Tibetan civilisation”.

Namkyi has been caught up in this unrest from a young age.

In 2008, aged eight, she took to the streets demanding the return of the Dalai Lama.

Namkyi also recalls seeing protesters setting themselves alight during the wave of demonstrations that swept the Tibetan plateau that year.

Approximately 150 monks, nuns and ordinary people have set themselves alight and ultimately died since 2009.

“They protested and peacefully sacrificed their bodies by burning themselves. Many of my relatives and friends and neighbours have set themselves on fire,” Namkyi said.

“Many protesters were arrested and tortured … We were all together, there was a lot of pain and suffering.”

The 2008 protests were the biggest against Chinese rule in more than two decades.

Seven years later, Namkyi staged another protest — this time armed with photos of the Dalai Lama.

“We walked past a police station. They stood around and beat us up. I was worried I would be killed.”

Namkyi alleges she endured days of interrogation and torture, before being held without trial in a detention centre for the next 13 months.

A woman wearing a dark blue outfit and with long dark hair stands on a balcony looking out into the distance. Her reflection can be seen in the window behind.

While in prison, Namkyi said she was held in solitary conferment. Her only contact was with a Chinese government officer who she claims forced her to undergo political re-education. Credit: Hardcash Productions

According to Human Rights Watch, 479 Tibetans were detained or tried for “political offences” between 2013 to 2015.

However, due to limited access to Tibet, the organisation says “the actual number of Tibetans detained and prosecuted during this period for political offences was likely significantly higher”.

In 2023, Namkyi fled from Tibet. Like the Dalai Lama, she made the dangerous journey across the mountains to India, where she now lives, separated from her family and friends.

‘Religion is a poison’

It’s been 25 years since Tibetan Arjia Rinpoche went into exile in the United States.

Before he escaped, the senior Buddhist teacher said he was made to serve the Communist Party in China and was even privy to preparations for the appointment of a new Panchen Lama.

“I was named as one of the great secretaries of the committee. The Chinese government said the Dalai Lama’s opinions would be taken into consideration. However, the final decision would be made by the Chinese government.”

After the Dalai Lama announced Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the 11th Panchen Lama, China immediately opposed his pick for the position.

“They said it was an illegal act … the Chinese government made him [Nyima] disappear. I witnessed things with my own eyes. We were all shocked.”

Instead, Gyaltsen Norbu was appointed. He’s the son of two Communist Party members and is known by some Tibetans as the Panchen Zuma — meaning ‘fake Panchen’.

A monk with a shaved head and wearing a maroon and yellow robe faces a framed picture on a table with his hands pressed together in front of him

Arjia Rinpoche said he was inside the temple when China selected the 11th Panchen Lama. Credit: ITV

“I was being forced to have faith in someone I didn’t believe in and do things I didn’t want to,” Rinpoche recalls.

He alleges the Chinese Communist Party refers to Tibetan religion as a “poison”.

“I managed to escape from the danger of the dragon’s mouth,” he says, referring to his decision to leave Tibet.

As surveillance technology has evolved, UK-based cybersecurity expert Greg Walton believes life for many Tibetans has become increasingly challenging.

Tibet is monitored in ways that no one [outside] of North Korea probably can really understand.

Greg Walton

“Everyday activities such as language preservation, passing on traditional Tibetan practices, these are being criminalised. Surveillance is at the heart of this process of subjugating the Tibetan people, of making them Chinese.

“The government has concentrated surveillance resources on having facial recognition cameras in monasteries like no other aspect of Tibetan life. The desire [is] to control, to instil a sense of fear.”

A surveillance camera is in front of a Chinese Communist Party poster that features painted images of Chinese President Xi Jinping and three other men

Cybersecurity expert, Greg Walton believes the government is focused on monitoring religious life. Credit: Hardcash Productions

The Chinese Embassy in London has responded that these allegations are “filled with bias and false accusations”.

“Xizang [Tibet] has been part of China since ancient times, has seen continued and sound economic growth, social harmony and stability, and significantly better life for its people.

“The human rights conditions in Xizang are at their historical best.”

Breaking with tradition?

Earlier this month, the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, celebrated his 90th birthday. To mark the occasion, he issued a statement that also laid out his plan for the future of the Buddhist institution.

But as Gedhun Choekyi Nyima’s disappearance remains controversial and China’s pick for the position continues to be contested, the selection of the next Dalai Lama may break with tradition.

Many monks surround the Dalai Lama and equip him with a microphone ahead of his 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala, India.

On 6 July, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso celebrated his 90th birthday with a large gathering of Tibetan religious leaders, Indian politicians and monks. Source: AP / Ashwini Bhatia

The Dalai Lama announced his charitable foundation, Gaden Phodrang, will be the only authority to choose his successor.

The announcement ended speculation that the current Dalai Lama would be the last person to hold the title.

According to Rinpoche, China’s battle for Tibet will continue.

“In the future, they will interfere with the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. It’s [all] about the struggle for power to gain authority.”

The Chinese government has responded that it respects “the reincarnation of Living Buddhas, [and the] procedures [that] have been established over the centuries. The religious rituals, historical conventions [and] Chinese laws need to be complied with in this process”.