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By AUDRA ANG
Associated Press Writer
LHASA, China (AP) -- The boy chosen by the Chinese government as the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama was greeted warmly by dozens of monks when he visited Tibet's most sacred temple, state television reported, giving rare publicity to one of his appearances.
China Central Television showed Gyaltsen Norbu entering the Jokhang Temple dressed in crimson and yellow robes and escorted on either side by monks holding his hands. Other monks blew horns in welcome.
After draping a cloth around a large statue of the Buddha, he placed red ribbons around the necks of monks who bowed before him, and touched their heads in blessing during the ceremony Sunday.
Beijing installed Norbu as the 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 after rejecting another boy chosen by the Dalai Lama, the religion's exiled leader and one of the figures most reviled by the Chinese government.
The Panchen Lama ranks second to the Dalai Lama in Tibetan Buddhism's dominant Gelugpa sect. The 10th Panchen Lama openly criticized China's policies in Tibet in 1962 and was imprisoned for years before dying in mysterious circumstances in Tibet in 1988.
Norbu is always heavily guarded when he goes out in public and state media rarely covers those events. One of his last high-profile appearances was during the opening of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing in 2002.
His trip to Lhasa, which began Friday, coincides with the annual Yogurt Festival, a major Tibetan Buddhist celebration.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the Panchen Lama met Friday with Tibetan officials, leaders from Buddhist organizations and "200 representatives from all walks of life."
He also met with high-ranking leaders of the Communist Party, Xinhua said.
The Tibet Daily newspaper had a photo of the Panchen Lama surrounded by an entourage of monks and officials on its front page Saturday.
Chinese troops entered Tibet in 1951, though Beijing claims the region has been part of Chinese territory for centuries. The Dalai Lama fled to India after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.
The Dalai Lama named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, then 6, as the true reincarnation of the Panchen Lama on May 14, 1995.
Nyima disappeared three days after his identity was publicly revealed and has not been seen since.
China never brings up the issue on its own but will occasionally give reports on his well-being if asked by reporters.
On Saturday, Xiao Bai, the deputy mayor of Lhasa said Nyima is doing well in school and is staying out of the spotlight so his life can be "normalized," as his family wants.
Tibetan officials have refused to confirm that the Panchen Lama was in town and said it was not possible to meet him.
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