Washington, D.C. — US Department of State, issued a statement on May 18, 2028, the day after the 31st anniversary of the disappearance of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. The State Department calls on China to immediately release the 11th Panchen Lama and his family, and stop persecuting Tibetans on the basis of their religious beliefs.
Thoms Tommy Pigott, the Spokesperson for the Department of State, issued a statement on May 18, 2028, the day after the 31st anniversary of the disappearance of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima.
the Spokesperson wrote, 'Yesterday was the 31st anniversary of the disappearance of the Tibetan religious leader known as 11the Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. Days after the Dalai Lama recognised this child as an important future Tibetan Buddhist leader, Chinese authorities disappeared him and his family. He was six years old.'
US Department of State wrote, "Chinese authorities should immediately release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family and stop persecuting Tibetans or others in China for their religious beliefs."
The statement further said, "The United States supports religious freedom for Tibetans, and the freedom to preserve their unique cultural and linguistic identity."
US Department of State emphasised that "Tibetan Buddhists, like members of all religious communities, should have the ability to freely select their own leaders – like the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama – according to their beliefs and without party-state interference."
The 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, was abducted by the Chinese government on May 17, 1995, at the age of just six. This abduction took place merely three days after he was officially recognised by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, making him one of the world's youngest political prisoners. Since then, his whereabouts, along with those of his family and teacher have remained unknown.
On May 17, 2026, Tibetans and Tibet supporters from Barcelona, Spain, Tibetan activists in Toronto, Canada, Brussels, Belgium, Paris, France, London, the UK and Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in New York and New Jersey, as well San Francisco Regional Tibetan Youth Congress in USA, protested in front of the Chinese Consulates in their resptective regions, to protest against China's abduction of 11th Panchen Lama of Tibet on May 17, 1995. Since then, he has been missing and his whereabout remain unknown till today. They demanded the PRC to release him, his family and teacher immediately.
