According to newly confirmed sources, Tibetan singer A‑Sang, a young artist in his 20s from Kashul village in Barma Township, Ngaba (Aba) County in Sichuan was rearrested in August 2025 shortly after an earlier release.
Timeline of events
- On 6 July 2025, during celebrations marking the 90th birthday of Dalai Lama, A‑Sang shared a performance of the song Prince of Peace — originally sung by another Tibetan artist on his social‑media (Kuaishou) account.
- On 8 July 2025, he was arrested by authorities in Ngaba.
- In early August 2025, A‑Sang was reportedly released but under tight surveillance, with his social‑media activity banned.
- A few days later in August, after briefly reappearing online, he was rearrested.
Info from sources close to him now says A‑Sang remains detained without formal charges and has not been allowed to see his family. Family members had been assured in October they could visit him, but that promise hasn’t been honoured.
His family (like many in Ngaba) remain under strict surveillance and are reportedly prohibited from speaking about his case. As a result, little independent information is available about his current status, health, or the conditions of his detention.
Cultural Expression and State Crackdown in Context
- The song “Prince of Peace” pays tribute to the Dalai Lama referencing his birthplace in Amdo, his leadership in central Tibet, and his exile in India. Such references are highly sensitive under China’s strict controls on expressions of Tibetan identity and loyalty to the exiled spiritual leader.
- The timing of the arrest coincided with a broader wave of repression across Tibet: ahead of and during the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, the authorities reportedly deployed heavy security, restricted religious practices, intensified identity checks, and monitored communications of Tibetans broadly.
- The crackdown seems not limited to religious figures or political dissidents: artists, singers, and cultural practitioners including A‑Sang and his collaborator have been targeted simply for peacefully expressing cultural or spiritual sentiments.
Why This Matters
- A‑Sang had become one of the most popular young Tibetan singers among Tibetans in Tibet, with reportedly hundreds of thousands of followers on Kuaishou.
- His arrest and now prolonged detention while barred from seeing family sends a chilling signal to other young Tibetan artists: creative or cultural expression that references Tibetan identity or the Dalai Lama may be treated as subversive or criminal.
- The case underscores how cultural repression is being used as a means of social control silencing not just overt political dissent, but also heritage, memory, and identity.
As stated by the president of International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), “The arbitrary detention of young artists and minds is a desperate practice employed by paranoid and fragile States.”
What’s Still Unknown
- There have been no formal charges made public against A‑Sang. It remains unclear under what laws he is being detained or whether he will face trial.
- His exact place of detention, his physical and mental conditions, and whether he has access to legal representation remain unknown. Families and trusted sources have been denied access or updates.
- Given heavy surveillance and the suppression of independent information flow, verification by outside human‑rights organisations remains extremely difficult.
Broader Implications & International Response
The case of A‑Sang fits into a broader pattern of repression documented across Tibet: arrests and secret detentions of cultural figures, writers, and monks who express Tibetan identity or loyalty to the Dalai Lama.
Activist groups including ICT are highlighting this arrest as emblematic of a wider crackdown warning that state authorities are increasingly targeting young people and artists rather than only traditional “political” dissidents.
International human‑rights watchers may see this as a test case: whether China will formally press charges and whether the global community will hold Beijing accountable for violations of freedom of expression and arbitrary detention.
Conclusion
The rearrest of A‑Sang is a deeply troubling development not only for him and his family but for cultural expression across Tibet. What began as a peaceful tribute to the Dalai Lama has turned into an example of arbitrary detention, restricted access, and severe consequences for exercising basic artistic freedom.
