Questions hang over China-defying Tibetan lama’s death in Vietnam

Tibetans want to know if Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche’s mysterious demise in Vietnam was ordered or orchestrated by China

Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche, also known in official records as Waxi Longre, was reportedly found dead on March 28, 2025, at an apartment located in VinHomes Central Park, one of the most high-profile residential complexes in Vietnam.

While the Vietnamese government has attributed his death to natural causes, official inconsistencies and suspicious details have raised serious concerns among the Tibetan diaspora and international human rights observers.

Hungkar Dorje was widely recognized in the Tibetan Buddhist community for his lineage as a reincarnated lama and as the abbot of Lung-ngon Monastery, a respected center of traditional Nyingma teachings.

Known for his charismatic teachings and independence, Hungkar Dorje publicly refused to welcome the Chinese state-appointed Panchen Lama during an official visit, a significant and rare act of spiritual defiance against Beijing’s control over Tibetan religious affairs.

His stance made him a spiritual figure of importance and, arguably, a political target. Many in the Tibetan diaspora believe he was under Beijing’s surveillance and at risk of retaliation for his stance.

Beijing’s 1995 appointment of its own Panchen Lama — after detaining the boy recognized by the Dalai Lama — created a deep rift over who has authority to select Tibet’s top religious figures.

China has insisted it will control the choice of the next Dalai Lama, while Tibetans in exile say only the current Dalai Lama and the monastic tradition can determine his reincarnation.

Conflicting identity and entry status

In Vietnam’s reply to the United Nations Special Procedures (Ref: AL VNM 4/2025), the deceased is referred to as Waxi Longre, a Chinese national of Tibetan ethnicity, born on August 15, 1967.

However, two separate communications submitted to the UN by Tibetan sources (Refs: AL CHN 15/2025 and AL VNM 4/2025) identify Hungkar Dorje as born in 1969, indicating a key discrepancy in identity records.

Furthermore, the Vietnamese government admits that Hungkar Dorje entered and exited Vietnam legally seven times between 2017 and 2023. His last legal entry was on October 8, 2023, with a legal exit on October 25, 2023.

Yet, they also claim that in October 2024, he reentered the country illegally, without explaining how a high-profile Tibetan lama was able to bypass border security and live undetected for months.

The Vietnamese response further states that Hungkar Dorje stayed “with several women of different nationalities” at an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City and did not report his temporary residence.

However, the government provides no concrete evidence for these claims  no identities, dates or testimonie,  raising questions about whether this language was used to delegitimize or mischaracterize his final days.

According to sources close to the Tibetan community who spoke to Asia Times, Hungkar Dorje was found inside VinHomes Central Park, and his body was later moved to Vinmec International Hospital, a private medical facility located within the same complex.

The Vietnamese government has not published any medical or forensic report to confirm the cause of death, despite the political and religious significance of the lama.

A Tibetan funeral ceremony was held on April 19, 2025, attended by family members, representatives from religious communities, Chinese diplomats and followers. The Vietnamese government claims it facilitated the return of his ashes to China on April 20, 2025.

Evidence of political interference

Further compounding suspicions surrounding the death of Hungkar Dorje are several critical details reported by independent Tibetan and international sources. According to the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) and the Tibetan news outlet Phayul:

• Over 30 Chinese officials were present at the cremation ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on April 19, 2025, alongside approximately 40 Vietnamese police officers, signaling a clear case of cross-border security coordination between the two authoritarian governments.
• Monks from Lung-ngon Monastery in Qinghai, China, where Hungkar Dorje was based, were denied full access to his body and were pressured into signing a death confirmation document without proper medical evidence. This raises serious concerns about political manipulation and lack of due process.
• Hungkar Dorje had previously refused to cooperate with Chinese authorities when ordered to welcome the state-appointed Panchen Lama, a move widely viewed by Tibetan communities as an act of spiritual resistance. This public defiance may have made him a target for extrajudicial retaliation by the Chinese Communist Party.
• The absence of clear documentation regarding his entry and movements inside Vietnam strongly suggests that he was likely fleeing political persecution and sought refuge in Vietnam. Instead of receiving protection, he was allegedly detained and died under unclear circumstances, raising the possibility of indirect refoulement or state complicity in his death.

The case raises several unresolved issues that observers and critics say demand further investigation. One, why did Hungkar Dorje allegedly need to illegally enter Vietnam in 2024, despite having a record of legal entries before?

Two, how could immigration and public security forces fail to detect the entry and residence of a foreign religious figure in a luxury complex like VinHomes? Three, why is there a discrepancy in the reported year of birth between Vietnamese and Tibetan records?

Four, where is the evidence of the alleged individuals who hosted or financed Hungkar Dorje during his time in Vietnam? Five, why has no independent autopsy or investigation report been released?

The death of Hungkar Dorje, a highly respected Tibetan spiritual figure, on Vietnamese soil under suspicious circumstances raises profound concerns about transnational repression, lack of transparency and state accountability, not to mention Vietnamese sovereignty vis-a-vis China.

Human Rights Watch and various Tibetan communities are urging the UN Special Rapporteurs, the OHCHR and the international press to demand an independent inquiry into the events leading up to the prominent lama’s death.

It’s incumbent on Vietnam’s government to finally answer those calls.

By Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh – Asia Times – December 6, 2025