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Tibetan director Pema Tseden hospitalized after detention by Chinese police

Tibetan director Pema Tseden hospitalized after detention by Chinese police

Tibetan director Pema Tseden was hospitalized after being taken away and handcuffed by police in Northwestern China last Saturday. Two days after being detained at the city’s airport, the 46-year-old was taken to hospital, having sustained injuries while in police custody. According to Dukar Tserang, a sound engineer who worked with the director, said Tseden flew from Beijing to Xining airport in Qinghai Province and found a luggage was left in the baggage claim area Saturday evening. When Tseden returned to get his luggage, police forcibly cuffed his hands behind his back and brought him to airport's police station, where he was subjected to an all-night interrogation, according to Tserang. Tseden was held because he "intruded" into a restricted area at the airport without heeding security personnel's warning, according to a Xining police weibo account on Wednesday. Tseden has been known for his film featuring Tibetan culture and he won the best adapted screenplay award of Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards for his film "Tharlo" in 2015. Tseden has said that making movies on Tibetan issues has to go over many screenings at the United Front Work Department, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, and the State Administration for Religious Affairs.