The Chinese News Agency attributed the heart attack to fatigue resulting from strains of presiding over the opening of a new Buddhist shrine at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, traditionally the seat of the Panchen Lamas.
However, on January 30, 1989 some Tibetans in New Delhi demonstrated near the Chinese embassy and accused the Chinese of killing the Panchen Lama who criticized the Chinese rule in Tibet a week before his death. Press Trust of India quoted a Tibetan spokesman as saying that the Chinese "killed the Panchen Lama because he could not be a puppet." The Tibetan spokesman added that the Panchen Lama had no history of heart trouble.
From His headquarters in Dharamsala, India, His Holiness the Dalai Lama issued a statement: "The Panchen Rinpoche fought for the rights of the Tibetan people during the most difficult period. He was indeed a freedom fighter. His sudden demise is a great loss, and I am deeply grieved. I pray for a quick and authentic reincarnation of the Panchen Rinpoche."
On January 29, 1989, Office of the Information and International Relations of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, headquarters in Dharamsala, issued a statement, expressing shock and grief at the sudden death of the Panchen Lama, and said that he "was a Tibetan traditional leader who, despite living under tenuous circumstances, continued to advocate the rights of the Tibetan people. As recently as last week in Tibet, Panchen Rinpoche admonished China's repressive rule in Tibet and called for greater self-government."
The Kashag, Tibetan Cabinet of the Tibetan government-in-exile, requested His Holiness he Dalai Lama to pray for the speedy discovery of the Panchen Rinpoche's authentic incarnation."
His Holiness the Dalai Lama personally presided over a special prayer service for Panchen Rinpoche in Dharamsala. Similar prayer services were also held in all Tibetan settlements and monasteries in exile, including one in New York at the Office of Tibet. In Peking the Chinese government has reaffirmed its stand that the reincarnation of the next Panchen Lama should be approved by the central government. On January 30, 1989, Premier Li Peng signed a three-point declaration in which e stressed that arrangements for the reincarnation "have to be reported to the State Council (China's equivalent of a cabinet) for final approval."
Responding to Premier Li's declaration, on Feb. 1, 1989, the Tibetan govermnent-in-exile asked China not to meddle in the selection of the reincarnation of the Panchen.Lama.
Kalon Tashi Wangdi, a member of the Dalai Lama's cabinet, said "An authentic reincarnation will be discovered by the Tibetan lamas only, not by the Chinese. That means it does not need anyone's approval. There are very well-established procedures.. that have to be followed. Political appointment of the Panchen Lama is not at all appropriate; such an appointment will not be acceptable to Tibetans."
After His Holiness the Dalai Lama's escape from Lhasa, Tibet's capital, in 1959, Panchen Rinpoche refused Chinese demands to assume the Dalai Lama's position and also to publicly denounce him as reactionary. Panchen Rinpoche became increasingly recalcitrant toward the Chinese generals who were running Tibet.
In 1961, Panchen Rinpoche was invited to Peking to attend the 12th National Day Celebration. In Tibet, thousands were dying from starvation; monasteries were gutted; Tibetans were herded into work gangs and forced to work under inhuman- conditions. With nothing left to lose, thousands of Tibetans left their work and lined up along the routes of the Panchen Lama to present him petitions enumerating the sufferings and hardships that they were forced to endure under Chinese rule.
While in Peking, Panchen Rinpoche presented Mao Tse-tung a 70,000-character memorandum detailing the conditions in Tibet and also demanding for more food, an end to persecution, care for the aged and infirm, a genuine acceptance of religious freedom and a cessation of mass arrests.
In October 1964, the Chinese officials gave him the last chance to rectify his "errors." Instead of admitting his "errors," the Panchen Lama publicly declared his loyalty to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and voiced support for Tibetan independence. Subsequently, he was imprisoned for 10 years in Peking during which time he was reportedly tortured. He was released in February 1981.
Since his release, the Panchen Lama maintained an uneasy peace with the Chinese authorities. Often he was asked to make state-menu relating to Tibetan affairs which prompted some Tibetans to nick name him as "a Chinese chopstick." The Panchen Lams openly advocated for greater use of Tibetan as the official language of Tibet and on occasions criticized Chinese officials in Tibet who had ignored to learn she language.
The Panchen Lamas, like the Dalai Lamas, are high incarnates. The first incarnation of both took place in the 14th century. Ever since, the Panchen Lamas had been among the lamas second only to the Dalai Lamas in religious authority in Tibet, but they never held any political authority.