Zhaxi Dunzhu / 扎西顿珠
Zhaxi Dunzhu (Chinese: 扎西顿珠) is a Tibetan herder from Fenjia village in Tanke town, Zoige (Ruoergai) county, in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan province. In December 2015 he staged a solo protest on the streets of the county town and was detained by police. In 2016 he was formally arrested and sentenced by the prefecture authorities. The charge against him, the length of his sentence, and the prison where he is held have not been publicly documented.
Background
Zhaxi Dunzhu made his living as a herder in Fenjia village, Tanke town, Zoige county. According to the case record, villagers in his area had for years been affected by the seizure of their land by the government and by forced relocation without resettlement. Residents carried out repeated peaceful petition efforts — sending representatives to the provincial capital, holding sit-ins, submitting joint-signature letters, and gathering to demand a fair resolution — asking the authorities to verify whether the land requisitions had been carried out illegally and to handle the matter justly. None of these efforts brought results.
The 2015 protest and detention
On December 19, 2015, Zhaxi Dunzhu carried out a lone protest on the main avenue of Zoige county town. He was draped in a Buddhist prayer flag and held aloft a large portrait of the Dalai Lama, jogging along the street in a demonstration against government oppression. Police brought him under control and detained him within a very short time.
Arrest and sentencing
In 2016, Zhaxi Dunzhu was formally arrested by the Aba prefecture authorities and sentenced to a fixed-term prison sentence. The specific charge, the length of the sentence, and the prison where he served or is serving it are not publicly known.
Related case
Fellow Zoige county resident Zhaxi Jie (扎西杰) filmed Zhaxi Dunzhu’s protest and circulated the footage online. He was detained the same month and sentenced alongside Zhaxi Dunzhu in 2016.
Current status
His present status is unknown. The only public records — a human-rights case database entry and a 2026 prisoner roster — document the 2016 sentencing but provide no release information and no current whereabouts. No source has reported his release, but no source has confirmed he remains in custody.
See the Media Profile & Archive for the documented source record of this case.