Lobsang Dhondup, son of Phakpa Lha Regent Thupten, became a target of the authorities following a confrontation in April 1982 with a Chinese national, Liu Chiang Lee, whom he assaulted after witnessing the exploitation of Tibetan laborers. In retaliation, he was arrested on 26 February 1983 and subjected to four days of severe beatings with electric batons by approximately 15 Chinese soldiers. He was subsequently sentenced to two years and six months’ imprisonment at Powo Prison, where he was subjected to forced labour.

On 27 September 1989, Lobsang Dhondup and his friend Tsering Dorjee participated in a demonstration. He was shot at during the protest but managed to escape, while Tsering Dorjee was arrested and tortured during two months and fifteen days of detention. A woman named Thakchoe, who was also present at the protest, was detained and tortured for six months, including being confined in a refrigerator.

On 10 December 1989, Lobsang Dhondup was again arrested and beaten by Chinese police for celebrating the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Later, on 21 October 1991, during the wedding ceremony of Dege Prince Kalsang Wagdue, he witnessed eleven Chinese individuals assaulting two Tibetans at a local Chinese restaurant. He intervened in the altercation, during which two Chinese men were stabbed.

Following these events, Lobsang Dhondup sold his belongings and fled into exile in India.