Runggye Adak (also Rongye Adak, Runggye Adrak, etc.) is a Tibetan man who was arrested and charged with state subversion against the People's Republic of China after making a series of public political statements at a festival in eastern Tibet, on August 1, 2007.
Runggye Adak, said to be a respected local figure and the father of eleven, is a native of Yonru Kharshul, a village near Lithang in the predominantly Tibetan region of Kham. He seized the microphone during a speech at a horse-racing festival in Lithang, and proceeded to call for the return of the Dalai Lama and the release of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the present Dalai Lama's candidate for Panchen Lama, and of Tenzin Delek, a lama from Lithang who was sentenced to life in prison for alleged involvement in terrorism, and the independence of Tibet. Runggye Adak was detained shortly thereafter. A spontaneous protest of local people demanding his release lasted several days before being dispersed under threat by riot police. [1]
The Associated Press reported that scores of people were arrested in the aftermath of Runggye Adak's protest. [2] Three of Runggye Adak's nephews were arrested, with police attention focusing on Adruk Lopoe, a monk at Lithang Monastery.
On August 27, prosecutors charged Runggye Adak with "provocation to subvert state power." [3] On 29 October 2007 he was indicted by the Kardze Intermediate People's Court on four counts of 'crimes' ranging from disruption of law and order to state subversion and subsequently (on 20 November) sentenced to eight years of imprisonment with deprivation of political rights for four years. [4] He was released in July 2015 after serving his sentence in full. [5]
Lithang Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche or Tenzing Deleg was a Tibetan Buddhist leader from Garze, Sichuan. He is also known for working to develop social, medical, educational and religious institutions for Tibetan nomads in eastern Tibet, as an advocate for environmental conservation in the face of indiscriminate logging and mining projects, and as a mediator between Tibetans and Chinese.
Free Tibet (FT) is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation, founded in 1987 and based in London, England. According to their mission statement, Free Tibet advocates for "a free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected."
The 11th Panchen Lama controversy centers on the 29 year-long enforced disappearance of Gedhun Choekyi Nyima and on the recognition of the 11th Kunsik Panchen Lama. The Panchen Lama is considered the second most important spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama. Following the death of the 10th Panchen Lama, the 14th Dalai Lama recognized Gedhun Choekyi Nyima in 1995. Three days later, the People's Republic of China (PRC) abducted the Panchen Lama and his family. Months later, the PRC chose Gyaincain Norbu as its proxy Panchen Lama. During the traditional search process led by Chadrel Rinpoche, he indicated to the Dalai Lama that all signs pointed to Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, while the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas recognize each other's incarnations. The PRC had established its own search committee, which included Chatral Rinpoche and other monks, and wanted to use a lottery system referred to as the Golden Urn. Neither Gedhun Choekyi Nyima nor his family have been seen since the abduction. Chatral Rinpoche was also arrested by Chinese authorities the day of the abduction.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is the 11th Panchen Lama belonging to the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism, as recognized and announced by the 14th Dalai Lama on 14 May 1995. Three days later on 17 May, the six-year-old Panchen Lama was kidnapped and forcibly disappeared by the Chinese government, after the State Council of the People's Republic of China failed in its efforts to install a substitute. A Chinese substitute is seen as a political tool to undermine the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama, which traditionally is recognized by the Panchen Lama. Gedhun Choekyi Nyima remains forcibly detained by the Chinese government, along with his family, in an undisclosed location since 1995. His khenpo, Chadrel Rinpoche, and another Gelugpa monk, Jampa Chungla, were also arrested. The United Nations, with the support of numerous states, organizations, and private individuals continue to call for the 11th Panchen Lama's release.
Hu Jia is a Chinese civil rights activist and noted critic of the Chinese Communist Party. His work has focused on the Chinese democracy movement, Chinese environmentalist movement, and HIV/AIDS in the People's Republic of China. Hu is the director of June Fourth Heritage & Culture Association, and he has been involved with AIDS advocacy as the executive director of the Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education and as one of the founders of the non-governmental organization Loving Source. He has also been involved in work to protect the endangered Tibetan antelope. For his activism, Hu has received awards from several European bodies, such as the Paris City Council and the European Parliament, which awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to him in December 2008.
Litang County is southwest of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in Sichuan, China, in the traditional Tibetan region of Kham. It contains 7 towns and a population of more than 60,000 in 2020. Due to its elevation and mountainous terrain, the county has an alpine climate. Several famous Tibetan Buddhist figures were born here, including the 7th Dalai Lama, the 10th Dalai Lama, the 11th Tai Situpa, four of the Pabalas, as well as the 5th Jamyang Zhépa of Labrang Monastery. Düsum Khyenpa, 1st Karmapa Lama, returned here and built Kampo Nénang Monastery and Pangphuk Monastery. It also has strong connections with the eponymous hero of the Epic of King Gesar.
The 1959 Tibetan uprising began on 10 March 1959, when a revolt erupted in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which had been under the effective control of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since the Seventeen Point Agreement was reached in 1951. The initial uprising occurred amid general Chinese-Tibetan tensions and a context of confusion, because Tibetan protesters feared that the Chinese government might arrest the 14th Dalai Lama. The protests were also fueled by anti-Chinese sentiment and separatism. At first, the uprising mostly consisted of peaceful protests, but clashes quickly erupted and the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) eventually used force to quell the protests. Some of the protesters had captured arms. The last stages of the uprising included heavy fighting, with high civilian and military losses. The 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Lhasa, while the city was fully retaken by Chinese security forces on 23 March 1959. Thousands of Tibetans were killed during the 1959 uprising, but the exact number of deaths is disputed.
Ngawang Sangdrol is a former political prisoner, imprisoned at the age of 13 by the Government of the People's Republic of China, for peacefully demonstrating against the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1992. She was at first held for eight months without trial, before being sentenced to a three-year prison term. Her sentence was extended repeatedly for continued protest in prison, which included recording a tape of freedom songs with 13 other nuns from Drapchi Prison that was smuggled out of Tibet.
Phuntsog Nyidron is a Tibetan Buddhist nun and a former high-profile prisoner in Tibet. In 1989, she and eight other nuns traveled from her hometown to the provincial capital of Lhasa when it was convulsed by Tibetan independence protests and riots, and handed out leaflets and shouted anti-Chinese slogans. She was tried and imprisoned for the charge of counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement and imprisoned at the Drapchi Prison that same year. During her incarceration, she produced and smuggled out tapes of her and other prisoners' political songs, engaged in hunger strikes, and made publicized allegations of mistreatment. One of the better-known Tibetan prisoners outside Tibet, she was the subject of a release campaign by several United States Congress parliamentarians and governmental groups. Because of their efforts, and Chinese wishes to improve Sino-American relations, her sentence was reduced and commuted in 2004. She lives in Switzerland since 2006.
Gaocheng Town, also known as Litang, is the administrative centre of Litang County in the southwest of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province of China.
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