h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In May 1995, a six-year-old Tibetan boy named Gedhun Choekyi Nyima became arguably the world's youngest political prisoner when he and his family, along with several monks, were abducted and placed under arrest by Chinese authorities. He had been named as the reincarnation of the late Panchen Lama by the Dalai Lama and members of a search team from the Panchen Lama's seat, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery.

In a bizarre attempt to undermine the Dalai Lama's authority in Tibet, China abducted the child recognised by His Holiness and substituted a candidate of their own, even though the officially atheistic state does not accept the existence of reincarnation.

To this day, the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima are unknown, despite requests by diplomatic representatives from the international community and human rights groups for China to provide evidence that he is alive and well.