A Tibetan singer well known as a feminist activist has been taken by Chinese authorities and her family has received no word of her fate.

Jamyang Kyi was detained on April 1, friends said. The US government-supporting Radio Free Asia quoted unidentified sources as saying that she had been formally arrested in the western city of Xining. However police made no comment.

Kyi, a longtime producer in the Tibetan-language section of Qinghai Television, the state-run channel for western Qinghai province bordering Tibet, has not been seen since April 7. That was when her husband was last allowed contact with her, friends said.

Laomao Jia, who also works at Qinghai Television, said that he did not know who had taken his wife into custody. He told the Associated Press: “Everything is a mess right now.”

Beijing maintains strict controls over culture and education among Tibetans, and authorities could be investigating any contact Kyi had while overseas with members of the exiled Tibetan community — especially those linked to the Dalai Lama.

There was no word as to whether the singer had been linked to anti-Chinese protests in Tibet and neighbouring regions with large ethnic Tibetan populations since monks first staged a demonstration on March 10 in the capital, Lhasa. The protests turned violent on March 14. The authorities in Lhasa have issued 25 wanted lists, taking the total number of those sought in connection with the riots to 169. More than 1,000 people have been detained in Lhasa, including more than 400 who have been formally arrested and charged.

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