Press Statement
Tommy Pigott, Spokesperson, The U.S. Department of State (.gov), 18 May 2026
Yesterday was the 31st anniversary of the disappearance of the Tibetan religious leader known as the 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.
Chinese authorities should immediately release Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and his family and stop persecuting Tibetans or others in China for their religious beliefs.
The United States supports religious freedom for Tibetans, and the freedom to preserve their unique cultural and linguistic identity.
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.
