A former slave, she joined the People's Liberation Army and rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution, when she became Vice-Chairwoman of the Revolutionary Committee of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
She was a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party for 14 years and was the only woman leader in the TAR government from 1979 to 2002.
In May 1966, her article praising Mao Zedong Thought was published in the People's Daily, the official CCP mouthpiece.
[2][3] She was elected Secretary of the new CCP Secretariat of TAR in August 1971, and Chairwoman of the Tibet Women's Federation in July 1973.
[2][3] After Deng Xiaoping came to power, most leaders who rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution lost their positions, but Basang was reelected to the 11th and 12th Central Committees, keeping her seat until 1987.