(TibetanReview.net, Oct09’25) – Four UN rights experts and expert groups have on Aug 8 asked China and Vietnam in separate joint communications to account for the questionable manner in which a locally prominent religious leader from Tibet was detained, disappeared, and claimed to have died in Vietnam in March this year, causing outcries among his followers and others across the world. They have released their communications following the expiry of the 60-day period for the two governments to respond to these very serious allegations.
The experts – the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; and the Special Rapporteur on minority issues – have expressed “grave concern” over the treatment of Tulku Hungkar Dorje and his tragic death.
Tulku Hungkar Dorje, 56, was the abbot of Lung Ngon Thubten Choekor Ling Monastery in Gade County of Golok prefecture in Qinghai province. He was highly revered for his humanitarian and other works that included establishing schools, clinics, and welfare projects for Tibetan nomadic communities, and as a religious teacher.
He fell afoul of the Chinese authorities for his popularity and, in particular, for his perceived failure to extend a “warm reception” to the Chinese government-appointed Panchen Lama, who is not recognized by mainstream Tibetan Buddhists, during his visit from Beijing the year before.
He was detained in Aug 2024 for this perceived show of defiance. Following release, he secretly fled to Vietnam where on Mar 25, 2025, the local police, accompanied by visiting Chinese officials, took him away from a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. He was suspected to have been located by the Chinese government by using online surveillance tools. After he remained disappeared since then, the authorities informed his monastery in Tibet that he had died on Mar 29 of a “heart attack”. The abbot had no history of heart ailment.
His death was shrouded in controversy, even mystery, owing to the manner in which the cremation of his body was carried out in Vietnam on Apr 20 in the middle of the night amid tight security. It took place under the supervision of Vietnamese and Chinese officials, without the presence or consent of his family or monastery. Restrictions were imposed on his monastery while the dissemination of his teachings was discouraged.
The experts have stated that the sequence of events “raises serious concerns regarding arbitrary deprivation of life, violations of the right to liberty and security, and the prohibition of enforced disappearance.” They have urged both governments to ensure an independent, prompt, and transparent investigation in line with international human rights standards, including compliance with the Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016), which requires deaths in custody to be investigated promptly, independently, and transparently.
They have called on both governments to provide details of his arrest, the legal basis for his detention, the role of Chinese officials in his arrest in Vietnam, and the exact circumstances of his death. They have also requested clarification on the legality of his cremation without family approval, as well as an investigation into restrictions on his monastery.
It is not clear whether China and Vietnam have responded to the communications from the UN rights experts.