In Drago county, images from late last year of authorities demolishing a 30-meter (100-foot) tall Buddha statue and a monastery school were leaked to the Tibetan government-in-exile. The demolitions were first reported by Radio Free Asia, a U.S.-funded news agency, and confirmed by AP and others using satellite imagery.

Jampa of the Garze county foreign affairs office said he had not heard of the demolitions, and denied any restrictions on faith. Religious freedoms are protected by the Chinese constitution, he said, “like in America.”