Death of Tibetan religious leader Trulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche.
16 April, 2025
Tulku Hungkar Dorje was the Rinpoche of Lungngon Monastery in Gade County, Golog, Amdo since 2002. A highly respected and popular figure amongst people in his County, he was also well-known for this contributions to education and preservation of Tibetan culture and language.
The awful news of his demise was made public by the Central Tibetan Administration, through a media release on 8th April 2025. Many reports suggest the involvement of the Chinese Government in his death. Vietnam currently has not provided any more information about this incident.
Australia Tibet Council (ATC) and other Tibet Support Groups together made a joint-statement on 9 April, 2025, urging the Vietnamese Government to carry out independent investigation into his death and ensure his remains are returned to his family and monastery. Read full statement
Timeline
November, 2024: Deemed missing since at least November 2024
December, 2024: Locals in Gade expressed concern about him, local authorities reportedly banned all discussion of the issue in public.
25 March 2025: Arrested from his hotel room in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam by Vietnamese police and Chinese secret agents.
28 March 2025: Hungkar Rinpoche was transferred to a local public security office.
He passed away either the same day, or according to other sources on 29th March 2025.
His body is reportedly still at Vinmec Central Park International Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
1 April, 2025: The Administrative Office of Lungnon Monastery, Hungkar Rinpoche’s monastery in Tibet, presented a Death Certificate of Tulku Hungkar, to a select few.
They were not allowed to take photos or keep copies of the death certificate.
Death certificate was issued by a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
3 April, 2025: Senior monks at Lung Ngon monastery issued a public statement stating that Humkar Dorje had “exhibited signs of ill health,” had “departed alone to an unknown place” at an unspecified date for a religious retreat,
and had “suddenly died of illness” in Vietnam on March 29, without giving further details.
April 5, 2025: Followers in India said that he had been in Vietnam following a Chinese police interrogation in Tibet in September, 2024.
Followers in India said he fled his monastery in late September 2024 after government officials and local security questioned him.
Followers in India said Vietnamese police, allegedly acting in concert with operatives of China’s Ministry of State Security, had detained him on 25 March, 2025. He died four days later.
5 April, 2025: Five monks from the monastery, accompanied by Chinese government officials and delegates, traveled to Vietnam to retrieve his body.
On the same day, a meeting was convened at the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam where Chinese officials attended.
The five Tibetan monks from the monastery were not allowed to sit in the meeting.
It remains unclear whether delegates from the monastery were able to view the actual body or transport it back to the monastery.
The above timeline is made up of the very limited information available.
Sources:
Central Tibetan Administration Media Release