"As far as I know, his family and he are now living a very good life in Tibet," Padma Choling said at a news conference on the sidelines of China's annual legislative session. "He and his family are reluctant to be disturbed, they want to live an ordinary life."
Gendun Choekyi Nyima, 20, was named the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama in 1995 by the Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhism's highest figure whom Beijing reviles. He and his family, who are from a remote part of Chinese-controlled Tibet, have not been heard from since.
Instead, Chinese officials selected another boy, Gyaltsen Norbu, as the Panchen, but he is not generally recognized as such by many Tibetans.
Gyaltsen Norbu, who is also 20, is emerging as Beijing's choice to supplant the Dalai Lama as the public face of Tibetan Buddhism and has taken on an increasingly political role in recent years. He has made appearances with Communist Party leaders praising Chinese rule over Tibet and was recently appointed to the main government advisory body.
Padma Choling said the Chinese-appointed Panchen works out of his main temple in the western Tibetan city of Shigatse, and "enjoys popular support from people of all ethnic groups."
China's decision to overrule the Dalai Lama was seen as a move to diminish his influence over Tibetans and strengthen central government control over the deeply religious region that it says has been a part of China for centuries.
Communist troops occupied Tibet in 1950 and the Dalai Lama fled into exile nine years later amid a popular uprising against Chinese rule.
Beijing says China's government has had the historical right to appoint leading Tibetan lamas, and Padma Choling reiterated its insistence that Gendun Choekyi Nyima was not a valid Panchen.
"I believe that he himself is a victim of this practice," Padma Choling said.
Champa Phuntsok, Tibet's Director of the People's Congress, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 7, 2010.
Padma Choling, Tibet's China-appointed governor, speaks during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 7, 2010.Padma Choling said Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a boy who disappeared after being named Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama, is living with his family somewhere in Tibet.
Padma Choling, Tibet's China-appointed governor, listens to questions during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Padma Choling said Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a boy who disappeared after being named Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama, is living with his family somewhere in Tibet.
Padma Choling, Tibet's China-appointed governor, listens to questions during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Padma Choling said Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a boy who disappeared after being named Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama, is living with his family somewhere in Tibet.
Padma Choling, Tibet's China-appointed governor, listens to questions during a press conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, China, Sunday, March 7, 2010. Padma Choling said Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a boy who disappeared after being named Tibetan Buddhism's second-highest figure by the Dalai Lama, is living with his family somewhere in Tibet.
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