Release Tibetan singer Hortsang Lhalung Tso

Delhi, January 5: There are still no confirmed reports regarding the status of popular Tibetan singer Hortsang Lhalung Tso, who was detained on August 11th last year by Chinese Authorities. Alongside her, an outspoken Buddhist monk, Jigme ‘Guri’, was also apprehended by the Public Security Bureau.

Tso is currently studying at a music school in Chengdu City in Chinese Sichuan Province, and was due to perform at a Tibetan Culture show alongside other musicians and singers in Tsoe-town of Sangchu county before she was apprehended.

According to sources by the Tibet Post, no warrants were shown by the Chinese authorities for her arrest, and no family members were informed of the location where she is being held and the reason why she was arrested.

Phuntsok, a Buddhist monk the Drepung monastery based in South India, stated: “She was supposed to perform the Night Concern Opening Song. She never had any political activity to cause them to arrest her.”

Tso’s arrest is not the first, and unfortunately will not be the last attempt by the Chinese government to oppress and crackdown on Tibetan culture. Numerous singers and performers have been imprisoned, and often held without charges by the Chinese authorities. Last year, fellow Tibetan singer Tashi Dhondup was released after being detained for one year and seven months after being charged for producing a music album with ‘subversive songs’. In addition, today it was reported that a Tibetan official has been detained for advocating cultural preservation. Dawa Dorje, a government researcher in the Nagchu Prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region was held after expressing concern over the closure of Tibetan monasteries.