Jigme Dorjee grew up witnessing his family endure severe hardship under Chinese rule. His uncle, a village monastic abbot, was detained in Pawo Tramo Prison, where he was imprisoned for twenty-three years and ultimately tortured to death. Deeply affected by this persecution, Jigme Dorjee made several attempts to escape into exile, many of which initially failed.

During his first escape attempt, he was apprehended by Chinese border police and detained for one week. He later participated in a protest in Lhasa on 1 March 1988 and successfully escaped to India, but returned to Tibet due to difficulties related to climate and living conditions. On 18 May 1989, he was detained again for several weeks. A subsequent attempt to flee into exile also failed, and both he and his driver were arrested, interrogated, and detained at Sangyip Prison.

Although released in June, he was rearrested the same month and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, during which he was subjected to forced labor. In 1992, he was transferred to Trisam Prison and was released in 1994. On 8 May 1995, he made another unsuccessful escape attempt and was rearrested on the night of 23 July 1995. He was interrogated for possessing Voice of America interviews and portraits and teachings of the Dalai Lama.

On 27 March 1997, Jigme Dorjee successfully escaped into exile in India.