(dpa) - A popular Tibetan singer and writer has been detained by Chinese authorities, a US-funded, pro-democracy radio station reported.
Plainclothes security officers escorted Jamyang Kyi from her office at the state-owned television station Qinghai TV in the western city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, on April 1, Radio Free Asia said Wednesday in a report that cited several unnamed sources in Xining and Beijing. She had not been seen since.
A source in Beijing told the station that Jamyang Kyi, who also works as a TV producer on Qinghai TV's Tibetan-language programming, had been formally arrested by the Xining Public Security Bureau but the charges against her were not known.
Xining lies in an area with ethnic Tibetan populations and has seen anti-China protests and unrest since demonstrations broke out March 10 in Lhasa on the 49th anniversary of a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.
Jamyang Kyi, who is in her mid-40s, is well-known for her activism on women's issues, as a performer of pop and traditional songs, and for her blog. She has travelled extensively, including a 2006 trip to the United States to perform and lecture.
Tibetan sources told Radio Free Asia that Chinese authorities have questioned numerous Tibetans who have travelled out of the country in the wake of last month's protests.