Ngawang Jangchub, 28 years old, died in the first week of October 2005 under mysterious circumstances in his quarter in Drepung Monastery, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). He was found dead a day after he had a heated argument with “work team” officials conducting the “patriotic education” campaign in the monastery.
The “work team” officials have arrived in the monastery in the beginning of October 2005 to conduct the campaign. As stipulated by the guidelines of the campaign, the monks in the monastery were required to condemn the Dalai Lama as a “splittist” and to pledge their loyalty to the Chinese government. Some of the monks refused to be “educated” and an argument erupted between them and the officials. It is reported that during the argument, Ngawang flatly refused to condemn the Dalai Lama calling him “the saviour for the present and the next life”. He told the officials that he had no regrets, even if he was to be expelled from the monastery.