A senior official of the Tibet Autonomous Region said on January 20 that he hopes the Seventh reincarnation of Raiqen living Buddha will be a "learned and patriotic living Buddha."

Legqog, chairman of the regional people's government, met with the two-year-old boy who succeeded to the throne of the Sixth Raiqen living Buddha in Lhasa on Sunday, congratulating the child on behalf of the regional government.

Describing the government's ordination of the living Buddha as "a happy event of Tibetan Buddhism," Legqog said it not only reflected the common wish of the majority of Buddhists, but again proved the consistency of the Chinese Communist Party's policy of freedom of religious belief.

The chairman, a native Tibetan, hoped the new Raiqen living Buddha and Raiqen Monastery, the traditional seat, would carry on the tradition of patriotism embodied by former living Buddhas as well as their desire to preserve the unity of the Chinese nation.

He stressed the monastery and relevant departments of religious affairs should foster a well-educated and patriotic living Buddha who "loves the Communist Party of China, the socialist country and Tibetan Buddhism."