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His followers say the abbot, who had been missing for over eight months, had fled to Vietnam to escape Chinese government persecution for his work as an educator and promoter of Tibetan language and culture. <\/p>\n
They say he died in custody after he was arrested in a joint operation by Vietnamese police and Chinese government agents, and have made repeated calls for an independent probe into this death<\/a>. <\/p>\n More than 30 Chinese officials and over 40 Vietnamese police and government officials reportedly supervised the transportation of the body to the crematorium, said Ju Tenkyong, director of the Amnye Machen Institute, a Dharamsala-based Tibetan center for advanced studies.<\/p>\n They were under pressure to complete the cremation by noon on Sunday with authorities confiscating the phones of all the people involved in the cremation, Tenkyong told RFA, citing sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n A delegation of monks of Lung Ngon Monastery, who had travelled to Vietnam on April 5 to collect the remains of Tulku Hungkar Dorje, were prevented from seeing documents related to the cremation, nor were they able to meet with any Vietnamese government officials to discuss it, the sources told RFA. It was not immediately clear if they were allowed to be present at the cremation.<\/p>\n The cremation took place at Long Tho Cremation Park in northern Ho Chi Minh City, located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from Vinmec Central Park International Hospital, where his body was kept after his death. The park, constructed in 2014, is in the same location where a Tibetan Buddhist temple now stands.<\/p>\n \u201cThis deeply disrespectful act strongly suggests an attempt to eliminate crucial evidence and prevent the truth from emerging. We fear a coordinated effort to cover up the circumstances of his arrest and death, potentially involving Chinese authorities,\u201d said Dr. Zoe Bedford, executive officer of Australia Tibet Council.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world must call this what it is: a potential cover-up of what could be a state-sanctioned killing,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n The Vietnamese and Chinese governments have not made any public statements about the abbot\u2019s death, nor have they responded to RFA\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n Through this month, the global Tibetan community and rights groups have staged protests outside Chinese embassies in India and elsewhere<\/a>, and submitted appeals to the Vietnamese government, urging a transparent investigation and the handover of Tulku Hungkar Dorje\u2019s body to his monastery. <\/p>\n In Tibet, Tulku Hungkar Dorje\u2019s monastery and local residents in Gade county have been barred from holding public memorial services for the abbot, while several Tibetans who shared his photos or messages mourning his loss on social media have been interrogated and detained, <\/a>underscoring the sensitivity of his death.<\/p>\n \u201cEven now, Lung Ngon Monastery is facing immense difficulties, and forwarding and disseminating photos and information about Rinpoche is strictly forbidden. The monastery has been threatened with shutdown if it violates orders from the Chinese government,\u201d said Tenkyong.<\/p>\n Edited by Tenzin Pema and Mat Pennington<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Tibetan](\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/resizer\/v2\/EGNNUCM67FFO3GSU5YKTDJA56Q.jpg?auth=68e89f51946e7456670b4e3acd19bd002929b6012a52a967d7f5d94a75e1a639&smart=true&width=1500\")
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