'I burned Mao`s portrait". The incredible story of a Tibetan, who spent 10 years fleeing China through the Himalayas

Phurba Tsering was 30 years old when he burned a portrait of Mao Zedong along with his trash on the banks of a Tibetan river, realizing too late that the Chinese Communist Party had eyes everywhere. The police came a few days later, and he never returned home.

Between the beatings, he was interrogated, pointing to two photos. One was of the Dalai Lama, which the police found in his house. The other was of Phurba by the river, burning a poster of Mao.

"Why are you so ungrateful to the Communist Party leaders? What are you doing with the portrait?" asked the officer nicknamed Crooked Nose. "I'm just burning the garbage," replied Phurba. "So you consider the Communist Party leaders garbage?" "Yes," he said, overcome with anger.

This dialogue broke his whole life. Miraculously managing to escape from prison, Phurba wandered the mountains of Tibet among wolves and griffins for almost 10 years. His family suffered the same.

Edition The Wall Street Journal published Phurba's story, like a gripping film. How he walked through the Himalayas to Nepal: LIGA.net tells briefly.