World IN BRIEF : CHINA : Beijing Condemns Naming of Monk

China condemned the Dalai Lama for declaring that a 6-year-old boy is the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, the second most important monk in Tibetan Buddhism. The official New China News Agency said the Dalai Lama’s announcement Sunday of the discovery of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in a remote corner of Chinese-controlled Tibet was a plot to undermine the Chinese government’s authority there. Both the Dalai Lama and the government claim to have final authority in recognizing the reincarnation of the Panchen Lama. The news agency report did not specifically say China was rejecting the boy.