Dharamshala — The Chinese authorities destroyed more than 300 Tibetan Buddhist stupas and the statue of Padmasambhava in Drakgo county, Karze, eastern Tibet, in June 2025. This is the second time the authorities have destroyed a large number of stupas and statues in Drakgo county in recent years, in a bid to eradicate Tibetans' faith in Buddhism.
According to UN, EU, and the Human Rights Desk, Tibet Advocacy Section, DIIR, Central Tibetan Administration, the Chinese authorities have demolished more than 300 medium-sized Tibetan Buddhist stupas and three larger Buddhist stupas at Lungrab Zang-ri (ལུང་རབ་རི།) near Janggang monastery་(འཇང་སྒང་དགོན།), Drakgo county (བྲག་མགོ་རྫོང་།), Karze, eastern Tibet, in late May and early June 2025.
This action is one of many repressive policies launched by the Chinese government to eliminate Tibetan cultural and religious heritage. China is reverting to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, China razed over 6,000 Tibetan monasteries and demolished hundreds of thousands of sacred Buddhist scriptures.
The Chinese authorities destroyed a newly constructed statue of Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, the late founder of Larung Gar Buddhist Academy (Larung Gar), and a sacred statue of Guru Padmasambhava. These acts have deeply traumatised Tibetans and the local community.
"The crackdown has intensified following Decree No. 22 issued by the National Religious Affairs Bureau on December 1, 2024, which mandates that all monasteries must operate under strict government control starting January 1, 2025, through the implementation of Article 43 of the Monastery Management Regulations," said the source.
Khenpo Tenga (བསྟན་དགའ།) of Janggang monastery, who was involved in the construction of the Lungrab Zang-ri stupas and statues, has been denied travel and religious activities, including meetings with his disciples. Similarly, monasteries in the Amdo region of Tibet have been banned from allowing more than five monks to travel together during the period surrounding the celebrations for 90the birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Following the demolitions, the Chinese authorities imposed strict surveillance of the region. Anyone attempting to share information or even talk about the destruction with the outside world risks immediate detention for ‘divulging state secrets’. The entire area surrounding the demolition site has been locked down and no one is allowed in or out.
The crackdown extended beyond Drakgo county. In June, the authorities imposed severe restrictions in the Karze region due to demolitions. In July, as the world celebrated the 90th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Chinese authorities banned all public gatherings in the Karze region and neighbouring areas until July 23, 2025.
The Chinese government also demolished a 99-foot statue of Buddha and destroyed 45 huge prayer wheels that were erected near a monastery in Drakgo county, on December 12, 2021. The statue was demolished just six years after it was built.
"Tibetan cultural identity. The destruction aligns with China’s broader strategy of cultural genocide in Tibet, designed to erase Tibetan culture by forcibly aligning religious practices with the Chinese Communist Party’s political agenda," CTA stated.
"Chinese authorities have unleashed a reign of terror against Tibetan religious leaders, scholars and influential Tibetan leaders. Tibetans who refuse to comply with the Chinese government’s assimilationist “re-education” campaigns are subjected to arbitrary detention on fabricated charges, long-term imprisonment, and systemic social exclusion. In the most egregious cases, they have disappeared or secretly executed," the exile government said.
