Phuntsog Nyidron (born 1969) is a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

and a former high-profile prisoner in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

. In 1989, she and eight other nuns traveled from her hometown to the provincial capital of

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...

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 Drapchi Prison, or Lhasa Prison No. 1 (, lit. "four corners"; ), is the largest prison in Tibet, China, located in Lhasa. Drapchi is named after its location and was originally a military garrison until it was converted into a prison after th ...

that same year. During her incarceration, she produced and smuggled out tapes of her and other prisoners' political songs, engaged in

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

s, 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 The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

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.

Biography

Phuntsog Nyidron was born in Phenpo near

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 1969. She did not attend school, enrolling in the Michungri Nunnery at age 18, and becoming the semiofficial leader of the nunnery. During the holiday of

Losar Losar (; "new year"William D. Crump, "Losar" in ''Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide'' (McFarland & Co.: 2008), pp. 237-38.) also known as Tibetan New Year, is a festival in Tibetan Buddhism. The holiday is celebrated on various d ...

in 1989, the year where the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

won the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

, she traveled with eight other nuns to the capital, Lhasa, while it was under

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

because of the 1989 Tibetan unrest. Against the advice of the Lhasans her group spoke to, she and three other nuns split with the main group, went to the

Barkhor The Pargor Subdistrict, traditionally known as the Barkhor (; ), is an area of narrow streets and a public square located around Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, Tibet, China. The Barkhor is a popular devotional circumambulation for pilgrims and l ...

area around Jokhang Temple, and distributed leaflets and shouted slogans such as "Chinese get out of Tibet" and "Long Live Dalai Lama". They were arrested by local Tibetan police and sentenced to nine years' imprisonment by the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court for "counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement". Dui Hua Welcomes Phuntsog Nyidron's Arrival in the United States. In 1993 while still in prison, she secretly recorded and smuggled out songs with some other prisoners that praised the Dalai Lama and demanded an independent Tibet, for which she was again convicted of counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement and her sentence extended for eight more years. For the remainder of her time in

, she did other political actions such as

s, and made allegations of corporal punishment and other mistreatment in prison. The Prison Law of the People's Republic of China was amended in 1994 to address such abuses.Testimony of Ms. Phuntsog Nyidron SANASHIGA
/ref> Her sentence was reduced one year in 2001, and commuted completely in 2004, following calls and visits from groups like the

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is a U.S. federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the lead ...

and several United States parliamentarians. The Chinese government, "taking account the strong views of the Bush administration", released her for better relations with the United States, and to signal an increased willingness to talk with the Dalai Lama. She was the last of the 14 "Singing Nuns", named as such by the media for their 1993 album that was released from prison. In 2006, she was granted permission to leave for the United States for medical treatment. She subsequently moved to Switzerland, successfully applying for

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nyidron, Phuntsog Tibetan Buddhist nuns 1969 births Living people Tibetan people Tibetan women Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet Chinese prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China Tibetan activists Swiss people of Tibetan descent 20th-century Buddhist nuns 21st-century Buddhist nuns