The Chinese government released Sunday the second white paper on Tibet and at the press conference Western media asked about the "11th Panchen" chosen by the Dalai Lama in 1995. A Tibetan official responded that the young man is being educated, living a normal life and growing up healthily and doesn't want any disturbance.

The 10th Panchen passed away in 1989. In 1995, five-year-old Gyaltsen Norbu was selected as the reincarnation and the 11th Panchen in accordance with Tibetan Buddhism ritual and historical convention as well as Chinese law. However, in the same year the Dalai Lama declared overseas another six-year-old Tibetan boy Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen in a bid to disrupt Tibet.

20 years on, Gyaltsen Norbu has become widely respected as a religious leader while the boy chosen by the Dalai Lama has grown up like his peers. However, the Western media often tries to make a sensation out of the latter, which can bring conceivably annoying disturbance to his life. In fact, the declaration of the Dalai Lama back then dragged the boy and his family into a plot against the central government and this has turned into a long-term problem for him and his family.

The Western media said this was the first time that the Chinese government responded to a query about the boy, but our records show that actually Chinese officials have announced at several occasions that the boy is well-educated and will serve the country.

The Dalai Lama and the Western media have to keep their hands off the now 26-year-old man and his family. They strongly wish to stay away from political disturbances and it is necessary for the government to keep his whereabouts secret. He is forced to hide until he is no longer seen as a political card.

The Dalai Lama group said the boy has been put under arrest by the Chinese government, but in fact the boy has been evading the Dalai's evil hands for 20 years. Living a public life as an illegal Panchen Lama in Tibet can be much too hard for an ordinary person.

The Dalai Lama never cares about others when pursuing his political intentions. Despite many self-immolations in Tibetan areas, the Dalai Lama never publicly called on monks to stop doing it. Given his certain influence, the adversity will fall upon those allured by the Dalai Lama into plots against the central government.

It depends on the Dalai Lama when the boy he picked then can be set free. The Dalai Lama group destroyed the boy's original life and when 26 he is still unable to shake off the controversy on him and appear as a normal person. The Dalai Lama owes the young man.

The article is an editorial of the Chinese edition of the Global Times on Monday. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn