Students for a Free Tibet held a demonstration in Delhi over the suspicious death of Tibetan monk Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Vietnam following his arrest. Activists are calling for justice, the return of his body, and an independent inquiry, coinciding with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, India – April 14, 2025 – A group of 20 Tibetan activists from Students for a Free Tibet (SFT)-India staged a demonstration outside the Vietnam Embassy in New Delhi on Monday, demanding accountability for the death of Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. The monk reportedly died in Vietnam on March 29, 2025, days after being arrested by Vietnamese police and alleged Chinese agents.
The protesters called for transparency, an independent international investigation into the circumstances surrounding Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche’s death, and justice for the revered religious figure. They also demanded the immediate release of his remains to his family and monastic community, as well as accountability from both Vietnamese and Chinese authorities involved in his arrest on March 25th and subsequent death.
Holding a banner that read “Release the body! Reveal the truth! Justice for Tulku Hungkar Dorje,” the activists displayed photos of the deceased Rinpoche, Tibetan flags, and a symbolic representation of his body. They chanted slogans like “Justice for Hungkar Dorje,” directly implicating Chinese President Xi Jinping with the statement, “XI Jinping has blood on his hand.”
SFT Activist gathered outside the Vietnam Embassy in Delhi ahead of Xi Jin Ping’s visit to Vietnam,demanding accountability for the death of Tulku Hungkar Dorje in Vietnamese custody under Chinese pressure. #Tibet #JusticeForTulkuHungkar #TibetWillBeFree #StopChinaViolence pic.twitter.com/tDUqBoz2s2
— SFT India (@SFT_India) April 14, 2025
According to SFT, this protest in Delhi is part of a global wave of demonstrations organized by Tibetan exile communities and Tibet support groups. The timing of the protests coincides with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Vietnam on April 14th and 15th, 2025, a period that protesters fear could hinder any attempts at transparency and accountability in the case.
Tenzin Passang, National Director at SFT-India, addressing the gathered activists, stated, “We are here today to demand justice for Tulku Hungkar Dorje, a man who dedicated his life to protecting Tibetan culture. His death is not just a tragedy—it is an international crime. The Vietnamese government must be held accountable for allowing Chinese agents to operate on its soil and detain a Tibetan refugee. We will not be silent while our leaders are murdered in exile.”
Sonam Tsewang, President of SFT-Delhi, echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the broader implications of the case. “This is not just about one life lost. It is about state-sponsored eradication of Tibetan identity and the long arm of Chinese repression reaching even into exile. As Xi Jinping arrives in Vietnam, China is a threat to peace in Asia. Vietnam must not trust China. We demand Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s body be returned. And we demand international accountability.”
སྤྲུལ་སྐུ་ཧཱུྃ་ཀར་རྡོ་རྗེ་མཆོག་ལ་དྲང་བདེན་གྱི་ཐག་གཅོད་ཡོང་སླད་ལྡི་ལི་ནང་གི་ཝི་ཏི་ནམ་གཞུང་ཚབ་ཁང་མདུན་དུ་ངོ་རྒོལ་སྐད་འབོད།
Tibetans Protest Outside Vietnamese Embassy, Call for Transparent Investigation Into Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche’s Death#tulkuhungkardorjehttps://t.co/UogrxUsAoH— Voice Of Tibet (@VOT_Tibetan) April 14, 2025
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Dawa Lhamo, one of the protesters, urged Vietnam not to become complicit in China’s crackdown on Tibetan freedom, drawing a parallel to the death of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche in Chinese custody in 2015. “Just like Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who died in Chinese custody in 2015, Tulku Hungkar Dorje was a beloved community leader. His death must not be ignored or hidden behind diplomatic handshakes,” she said.
SFT has announced plans for further protests outside Vietnamese embassies in major cities worldwide this weekend, aiming to raise international awareness about China’s repression of Tibetans both within Tibet and in exile.
The Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetans in Tibet and in exile, various Tibetan NGOs, and Human Rights Watch have also issued calls for the Vietnamese government to conduct a thorough investigation into the “sudden and mysterious” death of Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. They have collectively demanded justice, the return of his body, and the right for his monastic community to perform traditional offerings.
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Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche had reportedly fled to Vietnam in late September 2024 after being interrogated by Chinese authorities in Qinghai province regarding his composition of a long-life prayer for the Dalai Lama and allegations of failing to implement Chinese government education policies in his schools. He lived in Vietnam under difficult circumstances until his arrest on March 25, 2025.
