Ngawang Sangdrol
Encyclopedia
Government of the People's Republic of China
All power within the government of the People's Republic of China is divided among three bodies: the People's Republic of China, State Council, and the People's Liberation Army . This article is concerned with the formal structure of the state, its departments and their responsibilities...
, for peacefully demonstrating against the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1992. Her sentence was extended repeatedly for continued protest in prison, which included recording a tape of freedom songs with 13 other nuns from Drapchi Prison that was smuggled out of Tibet. As a result of intense international pressures from various Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
and Tibetan political organizations, as well as John Kamm
John Kamm
John Kamm is an American businessman, Human Rights activist, and founder of The Dui Hua Foundation. He is credited with having helped over 400 religious and political prisoners in China.- Early work :...
, director of the Dui Hua Foundation
Dui Hua Foundation
The Dui Hua Foundation is a San Francisco based non-profit organization dedicated to improving universal human rights by means of a well-informed dialogue between the United States and China...
, her sentence was commuted to 11 years from her original 23-year sentence. She was released in October 2002. A documentary film by Marie Louville
Marie Louville
Marie Louville, is a French journalist, specialist of Tibet, director of documentary films on Tibet.In 1987, the Dalai Lama was not yet given the Nobel Peace price and the Tibetan cause was therefore yet not so well known, she directed a report on the situation in Tibet that will be broadcast...
"Prisonnière à Lhassa" (The Prisoner of Lhasa) explains in detail the life and the release of Ngawang Sangdrol.
Music in Prison
In 1994, Ngawang Sangdrol and 13 other nuns clandestinely recorded songs and poems in tribute to their homeland and the 14th Dalai Lama14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama is the 14th and current Dalai Lama. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years...
from inside Drapchi prison. The recording made it out of Tibet and the CD, "Seeing Nothing but the Sky" is available through the Free Tibet Campaign
Free Tibet Campaign
Free Tibet or Free Tibet Campaign is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, founded in 1987 and based in London, England. It stands for the rights of Tibetans to determine their own future and campaigns for "an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of...
in London.