Dharamshala — The Chinese authorities arrested two Tibetan singers named A-sang and Pelkyong from Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet. After they sang a honoring song entitled "Prince of Peace" for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, on the occasion of the 90th birthday of the spiritual leader of Tibet.
According to reliable sources, the Chinese authorities arrested Tibetan singer A-sang and Pelkyong from Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet, in the first week of July 2025, after they together perfomed a song in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The video of the song was posted online on June 30, 2025, which according to the Tibetan calendar was His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.
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.
The source said that the Tibetan singers arrested and disappeared for more than three weeks now, but we don't know the reason for this sudden arrest, because of the restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities on the circulation of information from Tibet. A-sang and Pelkyong reprised the song the "Prince of Peace" for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, I think this is the reason for their arrest, as Chinese authorities not allow Tibetans to do anything related to His Holiness.
The Prince of Peace was written by Arig Choten Thar and sung by the famous Tibetan singer Sherten. The author of this song was also arrested by the Chinese government. 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."
Tibetan singer A-sang is from the Naktsang family of Camp No. 4 in Kashul Village, Barma Township in Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet. He married to Lhamo and they have one child and an unborn child. Pelkyong is from Adue Village, Ngawa (Ngaba) county, north-east Tibet. He has one young child.
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.
