Dharamshala — Chinese authorities arrested a Tibetan monk from Tsang Monastery in Ba County, north-eastern Tibet, on July 2, 2025. At a time when the Chinese government was monitoring and imposing strict restrictions on Tibetans living in Chinese-occupied Tibet, as Tibetans and millions of followers of His Holiness the Dalai Lama around the world celebrating his 90th birthday.
According to a reliable source, Chinese police arrested Zega Gyatso, 48-year-old Tibetan monk from Tsang Monastery in Ba County, north-eastern Tibet, on July 2, 2025, in Xining City, Tso Ngon (Ch: Qinghai Province), north-eastern Tibet, while he was on his way to a medical examination for health problems.
Chinese police accused Ven Zega Gyatso for "sending money to India" to his relatives, but they reject this accusation and claim that this is how Chinese authorities label Tibetans as criminals when they are arrested, even if they have not committed any illegal activity. Chinese police have refused to allow Ven Gyatso's relatives to visit him. Due to restrictions on the flow of information from Tibet, it is still unknown where he is being held and whether his health has deteriorated.
Ven Zega Gyatso's younger brother, Khedrub Gyatso, was arrested by Chinese police in 2008 after participating in protests against the Chinese government's repressive policies in Tibet during the 2008 Tibetan national uprising. Since then, his family and relatives have been under constant surveillance by the Chinese authorities. Ven Gyatso, in particular, accused of maintaining contacts outside Tibet, has been repeatedly harassed by the authorities, who have issued him with warnings, interrogated him and summoned him to the police station on several occasions.
Ven Zega Gyatso studied for one year at Sera Je Monastery in Bylakuppe, South India, in 2002. The following year, he returned to Tibet and continued his studies at Gangjong Sherig Norbu School in Ragya Town, Machu County, Golog Prefecture, Tibet. After completing his studies, he taught at the Leksheling Five Sciences School at Tsang Monastery, where he continued to teach the Tibetan language until his arrest. He is the eldest of six siblings, his father called Sowang and mother called Tashi.
During the celebrations for the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in July 2025, Chinese authorities searched the rooms of monks at Tsang Monastery (Tib: གཙང་ དགོན་པ།) in Ba County (Tib: འབའ་ རྫོང་།) in northeastern Tibet on July 20, 2025 and found photographs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the rooms of some monks. As a result, the monastery was placed under strict restrictions, with the monks' movements severely restricted.
