Dharamshala — Chinese authorities have re-arrested Tibetan singer A-sang after briefly releasing him in August 2025. He had been arrested in early July after singing a praise song to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, entitled ‘Prince of Peace’, on the occasion of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday in July 2025.
According to reliable sources, Tibetan singer Asang, who had been released in early August 2025, was re-arrested by Chinese authorities in Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet, just days after his release. He has been warned not to appear online or on social media.
According to the source, A-sang was active on social media after his release, and Chinese authorities arrested him again for ignoring their warning. Chinese authorities typically warn Tibetans not to do this or that, this is repression against Tibetans and violation of their human rights. Chinese authorities initially granted A-sang's family members permission to visit him in detention in October 2025, but later denied that permission.
The Chinese authorities arrested Tibetan singer A-sang from Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet, in the first week of July 2025, after he and another Tibetan singer reprised the song entitled "Prince of Peace" for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The video of the song was posted online on June 30, 2025, which according to the Tibetan calendar is His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
The Prince of Peace was written by Arig Choten Thar and sung by the famous Tibetan singer Sherten. The lyrics of the song "Prince of Peace", roughly translated, are as follows:
"Although you were born in Amdo, you left your mark in Central Tibet, and your noble deeds flourished in the noble land of India. We miss you, Prince of Peace. You are the sun above our heads, you are the parent in our hearts, you are the compassionate lama (teacher), we will never forget you."
Another Tibetan singer Gyegjom Dorjee, from Khyungchu county, Ngaba prefecture, Amdo region, detained by Chinese authorities in February 2024 for singing “Tearful deluge of a sorrowful song” on January 15, 2024. The lyrics read: "in this land where the victorious one is absent, leaders exist, but false ones. The Tibetans are bereft of direction, like a deer lost in the midst of a fog".
Lhundrub Dakpa, a popular Tibetan singer from Kham Driru in Nagchu, was arrested in May 2019 and sentenced by the Chinese authorities to six years in prison for singing a song entitled ‘Black Hat’ (ཞྭ་མོ་ནག་པོ་) criticising Chinese government's repressive policies in Tibet.
Every year, particularly in the run-up to, during and just after the birthday of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who was forced into exile more than six decades ago, the Chinese government tightens restrictions on Tibetans and warns them not to do anything related to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. This year, particularly on the occasion of His Holiness' 90th birthday celebrations, the Chinese government has deployed Chinese army, police and special forces in the Tibetan regions of Amdo, Kham and Utsang, with a particular focus on Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, from June to July, 2025.
The Chinese government detains, arrests, imprisons and tortures to death Tibetans who keep photo of their exiled spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, including his teachings, books and videos. Many Tibetans imprisoned for simply keeping a picture of their beloved spiritual leader, writing and singing songs for him to express how much they miss His Holiness and long for his return, instead of making their wish come true, the Chinese authorities prevent them from expressing themselves and torture and imprison them.
China-Tibet: The one-thing you need to know:
Over the past 70 decades, there has been ongoing political repression, social discrimination, economic marginalization, environmental destruction, and cultural assimilation, particularly due to Chinese migration to Tibet which is fueling intense resentment among the people of occupied Tibet.
The communist-totalitarian state of China began its invasion of Tibet in 1949, reaching complete occupation of the country in 1959. Since that time, more than 1.2 million people, 20% of the nation's population of six million, have died as a direct result of China's invasion and occupation. In addition, over 99% of Tibet's six thousand religious monasteries, temples, and shrines, have been looted or decimated resulting in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.
Until 1949, Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas which had little contact with the rest of the world. It existed as a rich cultural storehouse of the Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings of Buddhism. Religion was a unifying theme among the Tibetans -- as was their own language, literature, art, and world view developed by living at high altitudes, under harsh conditions, in a balance with their environment.
