Dhondup Wangchen
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Dhondup Wangchen ( bo, དོན་གྲུབ་དབང་ཆེན་, Wylie: ''don grub dbang chen''; born 17 October 1974) is a
Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...
filmmaker imprisoned by the Chinese government in 2008 on charges related to his documentary '' Leaving Fear Behind''. Made with senior
Tibetan monk 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 ...
Jigme Gyatso, the documentary consists of interviews with ordinary Tibetan people discussing 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 ...
, the Chinese government, the
2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
, and
Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
migrants to the region. After smuggling the tapes of the interviews out of Tibet, however, Dhondup Wangchen and Jigme Gyatso were detained during the
2008 Tibetan unrest 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...
. Dhondup Wangchen was sentenced to six years' imprisonment for subversion. Numerous international human rights organizations protested his detention, including
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
, which named him a prisoner of conscience. In 2012, he was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the US-based
Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...
. He served his full six-year sentence and was released from prison on 5 June 2014. In December 2017 Wangchen escaped from China to the United States, arriving in San Francisco on 25 December, where his wife and children live, having been granted political asylum in the United States in 2012.


Early life

Dhondup Wangchen was born in 1974, in Bayen in the Tsoshar region of
Qinghai Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
province (formerly part of
Amdo Amdo ( am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the bi ...
, Tibet). His family were farmers. He later moved to the capital of
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
. There Dhondup Wangchen witnessed a pro-independence demonstration repressed by security authorities, an experience that a relative would later describe as critical to his "political awareness". In 1993, he and a cousin crossed the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
into India to receive the blessing of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. Dhondup returned to Tibet shortly after to act as an activist for the Tibetan cause.


''Leaving Fear Behind''

In 2007, Dhondup Wangchen and friend Jigme Gyatso, a senior Tibetan monk, conceived of a documentary interviewing ordinary Tibetan people on their views of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government in the year leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The documentary was to be called ''Leaving Fear Behind''. The pair coordinated their efforts with a Dhondup Wangchen's cousin Gyaljong Tsetrin, who remained in Switzerland. In preparation for likely reprisals by the Chinese government, Dhondup Wangchen moved his wife, Llamo Tso, and their four children to
Dharamsala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...
, India. Between August 2007 to March 2008, Dhondup Wangchen and Jigme Gyatso gathered interviews from 108 Tibetan individuals discussing the political situation, all of whom agreed to have their faces shown on camera. The pair gathered 40 hours of interview footage shot by a single camera. They had completed filming and just smuggled the tapes out of
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, the Tibetan capital, when riots erupted and began to spread through Tibetan-majority areas of China. As part of the government response that followed, both Jigme Gyatso and Dhondup Wangchen were detained on 28 March in Tong De,
Qinghai Province Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...
. The footage was taken to Switzerland, where colleagues at Dhondup Wangchen's production company, Filming for Tibet, assembled it into ''Leaving Fear Behind''. The 25-minute documentary constructed from Dhondup Wangchen and Jigme Gyatso's footage showed ethnic Tibetans criticizing the choice of China to host the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
, praising the Dalai Lama, and expressing dislike of ethnic Han migrants. The result was described by ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' as "an unadorned indictment of the Chinese government". Dhondup Wangchen states in the documentary that "My aim for this film is not to make a famous or particularly entertaining film. This film is about the plight of the Tibetan people—helpless and frustrated." The film premiered on the opening day of the Olympics and was clandestinely screened for foreign reporters in Beijing.


Trial and imprisonment

Following Dhondup Wangchen's March 2008 arrest, he was held for several days in unofficial detention at Gonshang Hotel. Amnesty International reported that while there, Chinese security forces beat him and deprived him of food, water, and sleep. He was later moved to
Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...
City No. 1 Detention Centre, where he was held
incommunicado Incommunicado, from the Spanish incomunicado, means "cut off from contact", "impossible to reach". It may also refer to: *''Incommunicado'', an album by Alex Smoke * "Incommunicado" (song), a 1987 single by Marillion * Solitary confinement, one o ...
until April 2009, when he was allowed to meet with his lawyer, Li Dunyong. Three months later, however, Li Dunyong dropped his case, reporting that he had been ordered to do so by judicial authorities. Another lawyer was reportedly threatened with the closing of his law firm if he chose to defend Dhondup Wangchen. On 28 December 2009, Dhondup Wangchen was sentenced to six year's imprisonment for subversion, following a
secret trial A secret trial is a trial that is not open to the public or generally reported in the news, especially any in-trial proceedings. Generally, no official record of the case or the judge's verdict is made available. Often there is no indictment. ...
in Xining. On 7 January 2010, Filming for Tibet reported that he had been unable to appeal his sentence because he had been denied access to his lawyer until his right to appeal expired. His family stated that he has contracted Hepatitis B while imprisoned, and his health was said to be failing. In April 2010, he was transferred to Xichuan Labour Camp in Qinghai Province, where prisoners' work reportedly includes the manufacture of bricks, concrete, and aluminum-alloy windows. On 6 April 2012,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
issued another appeal on Wangchen's behalf warning that he was being denied needed medical treatment.


International response

Jigme Gyatso and Dhondup Wangchen's arrests were condemned by numerous human rights groups.
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
protested the arrests of both men, noting Jigme Gyatso to be at risk of further torture and naming Dhondup Wangchen a prisoner of conscience.
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
,
Front Line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...
,
The Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journ ...
,
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, and the
Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is a Tibetan non-governmental nonprofit human rights organization. The TCHRD investigates and reports on human rights issues in Tibet and among Tibetan minorities throughout China. It is ...
also advocated on Dhondup Wangchen's behalf. Blogging from under
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
in Beijing, Tsering
Woeser Tsering Woeser (also written Öser; ; , Han name Chéng Wénsà 程文萨; born 1966) is a Tibetan writer, activist, blogger, poet and essayist. Biography Woeser, a quarter Han Chinese and three quarters Tibetan, was born in Lhasa. Her grandfath ...
wrote in 2010, "''In fact, we are living in a country where the spiritual has already been undermined, when someone like Dhondup Wangchen who has been the conscience of mankind is consigned to a dark prison, I am afraid the future of this country will sink into hatred and brutality.''" On 10 March 2011, former
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
called for Dhondup Wangchen's release in honor of
Tibetan Uprising Day Tibetan Uprising Day, observed on March 10, Congressional Record: March 10, 2004 (Senate). Page S2538-S2539.Iyer 2008, pg. 225 commemorates the 1959 Tibetan uprising against the presence of the People's Republic of China in Tibet. The failure of ...
. Also in early 2011,
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
's American Repertory Theater and System of a Down's Serj Tankian dedicated their production of '' Prometheus Bound'' to him and seven other activists, stating in program notes that "by singing the story of Prometheus, the God who defied the tyrant Zeus by giving the human race both fire and art, this production hopes to give a voice to those currently being silenced or endangered by modern-day oppressors". A coalition of human rights and Tibetan activist groups calling for Dhondup Wangchen's release held a rally in New York City's
Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
on 9 March 2012, the day before Tibetan Uprising Day. Speakers included Dhondup Wangchen's wife Lhamo Tso as well as poet-activist
Tenzin Tsundue Tenzin Tsundue (born 1975) is a poet, writer and Tibetan refugee and activist. As of 2019 he has been taken into preventive custody, arrested or jailed 16 times for short durations for his activism by Indian authorities, as India does not allow ...
. Excerpts from ''Leaving Fear Behind'' were shown on a twelve-foot video screen beneath the
Xinhua Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
Jumbotron. In 2012, Dhondup Wangchen won the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists. The award recognizes journalists who show courage in defending press freedom despite facing attacks, threats, or imprisonment. He was honored in absentia at the organization's November 2012 banquet due to his ongoing imprisonment. In 2014, he received the
Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent Václav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent is an award established in 2012 by the New York City-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF). According to HRF President Thor Halvorssen Mendoza, Thor Halvorssen, the prize recognizes individuals "who engage i ...
.


Later life

He served his full six-year sentence and was released from prison on 5 June 2014. In December 2017 Wangchen escaped from China to the United States, arriving in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
on 25 December, where his wife and children live, having been granted political asylum in the United States in 2012.


See also

*
Tibetan independence movement The Tibetan Independence Movement () is the political movement advocating for the separation and independence of Tibet from the People's Republic of China. It is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora in countries like India and the United Stat ...


Notes


References


External links

*
Filming for Tibet
Dhondup Wangchen's production company *
Leaving Fear Behind
' on
Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wangchen, Dhondup 1974 births Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by China Chinese prisoners and detainees Living people People from Haidong Tibetan activists Tibetan journalists Writers from Qinghai