Tibetan singer Asang detained by China after song praising Dalai Lama

A young Tibetan singer and activist has been detained by Chinese authorities after releasing a song praising Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as reported by The Japan Times on Saturday.

According to a statement from the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), the India-based Tibetan government-in-exile, the singer, popularly known by his stage name Asang, was taken into custody in early July in Sichuan province’s Ngawa region.

The CTA said the arrest was part of “Beijing’s broader campaign to suppress Tibetan voices, especially Tibetan artists and writers,” as reported by The Japan Times.

Chinese authorities have yet to comment on the incident. The CTA stated that Asang’s detention, carried out without charges or disclosure of his whereabouts, violates international human rights norms and illustrates the Chinese government’s ongoing assault on freedom of expression, cultural rights, and religious belief in Tibet, The Japan Times reported.

Asang, who is in his twenties, is a student of the well-known Tibetan singer Gebe, recognised for his music supporting the Tibetan cause. Earlier this year, Asang drew attention when he publicly appeared with the word “Tibet” written on his forehead, a symbolic gesture that went viral among Tibetans online but also attracted the scrutiny of Chinese officials, according to The Japan Times.

The CTA further accused Beijing of continuing its decades-long campaign to erase Tibet’s cultural and religious identity. China invaded Tibet in 1949 and by 1959 had crushed an uprising in Lhasa, forcing the 14th Dalai Lama into exile in India. The Tibetan administration-in-exile claims that over 1.2 million Tibetans have died as a result of the Chinese occupation, and that more than 99% of Tibet’s monasteries, temples, and sacred sites have been destroyed, as detailed by The Japan Times.

“His music is not a threat to national security; it is a call for cultural preservation and a plea for spiritual connection,” the CTA noted in its statement, urging international human rights groups to pressure China for Asang’s immediate release, The Japan Times reported.

Despite the CTA’s appeal, China continues to regard Tibet as an inseparable part of its territory, maintaining tight control over the region and rejecting any calls for autonomy or cultural distinction, as highlighted by The Japan Times.

Rights activists have regularly voiced alarm at Beijing’s alleged efforts to erase cultural and religious identity in Tibet. The Chinese Communist regime invaded Tibet in 1949, with estimates ranging from 40,000 to over 80,000 troops. The invasion was planned by Deng Xiaoping and other officials in China’s Southwest Military Region. The Tibetan government in Lhasa, which had sought help from Britain and the United States, declined to receive Chinese emissaries.

The Chinese regime began its invasion in 1949 and reached complete occupation in 1959. Since then, over 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation’s population, have died due to China’s invasion and occupation. Over 99% of Tibet’s religious monasteries, temples, and shrines have been looted or destroyed, destroying hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.

The Tibetan government, led by the Dalai Lama, was forced to recognise China’s rule in return for promises to protect Tibet’s political system and Buddhism. However, China failed to fulfil these promises, leading to the uprising on 10 March 1959. The Dalai Lama was forced into exile, and the 10th of March is now commemorated as National Uprising Day. (ANI)

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