(TibetanReview.net, Jan24’26) – China removed the head-lama of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yushu prefecture of Qinghai province from his provincial level political advisory and religious bodies in Dec 2024 and arrested him for having allegedly helped a fugitive monk, since deceased, to get a teaching position in his monastery, said Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (tchrd.org) Jan 24.
The centre said the whereabouts of Lobsang Lungrig, 51, the head-lama of Ba Gön Monastery, a Gelug monastery located in Chumarleb (Chinese: Qumalai) County, had remained unknown ever since he was taken away by Chinese authorities in Dec 2024.
The centre said the provincial party-mouthpiece Qinghai Daily had announced Dec 26, 2024, that “Luosong Longri”, had been removed from his position as a Standing Committee Member of the Qinghai Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and that his CPPCC membership qualifications had been revoked. The decision was reportedly taken at the 11th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th Qinghai Provincial CPPCC of which he was Vice Chairman.
He was also stated to have held numerous other positions, including as Vice President of the Buddhist Association of Qinghai Province, Executive Vice President and Board Member of the Buddhist Association of Yushu Prefecture, and Vice Chairman of the Yushu Prefectural CPPCC.
Although no reason has been given for Lobsang Lungrig’s arrest, it is believed to be linked to allegations that he had helped a Geshe (top designation of a monk scholar) who had returned from India to live and teach at his monastery and for having allegedly sent funds to India.
That Geshe had been expelled from his home monastery in Tsawa area of Chamdo City, Tibet Autonomous Region, following which he fled to Chumarleb after an arrest warrant was issued against him, the centre said. The monk was later stated to have died in Ba Gön.
The Qinghai Daily report was also stated to have announced that along with Lobsang Lungrig, officials named Ma Fengsheng and Zhao Xuezhang had also been removed from their positions for discipline violations. However, the announcement was stated to be silent on the reason for the removal of Lobsang Lungrig from his post.
Lobsang Lungrig was born on Aug 25, 1975 in Chumarleb County and recognised in 1982 as the 11th incarnation of Bartri Gyuchen. After studying for more than 21 years at Sera Monastery, Lhasa, he was, in Jul 2002, appointed as advisor to the Kagyur and Tengyur Collation Office of the China Tibetology Research Centre. He graduated from the Advanced Tibetan Buddhist Institute of China in 2003 and later obtained a Master’s degree from Qinghai Normal University in Mar 2015, the centre said.