MCLC: voice of Tibet

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: pjmooney <pjmooney at me.com>
Subject: voice of Tibet
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Here’s a PRI report on Woeser. Go to the link to hear the report.

Paul

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Source: 
http://www.pri.org/stories/2014-02-11/woman-voice-tibet-china-and-world

This woman is the voice of Tibet for China and the world
Matthew Bell

When a 29 year-old Tibetan man set himself on fire earlier this month to
protest Chinese rule there, he was among more than 100 who have chosen
this form of protest. And the world might not have heard of them except
for the writing of Tsering Woeser.

Woeser grew up in Tibet, but now lives in Beijing with her Chinese
husband. When I met her there in November, she had just returned from a
three month trip to Lhasa, the capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Tibetans visiting Lhasa from outside the holy city are forced to give up
their ID cards, Woeser told me. They also are required to stay in
designated areas.

"This kind of segregation I thought would never happen to us [Tibetans],"
Woeser said. "This only applies to Tibetans, not Han [ethnic Chinese]
people. If they enter Tibet, they can move around completely freely."

Woeser said this is the kind of Chinese policy that explains why more than
120 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest of Chinese rule since 2009.
She published a book late last year that profiles the Tibetans who have
set themselves on fire.

"I am a Tibetan and I wanted to explain why Tibetans continue to
self-immolate as a political protest," she said. "They are suffering a lot
and the world has kept silent."

In addition to her books, Woeser is a prolific blogger
<http://woeser.middle-way.net/>. Interestingly, she writes in Chinese, the
language she grew up with in school in Tibetan towns in southwestern
Sichuan province. This makes Woeser's voice for the rights of Tibetans
unique, says Elliot Sperling of Indiana University's Tibetan Studies
Program.

"There is a tendency among many people who are interested in Tibet to see
Tibet as frozen in this sort of idealistic Buddhist, or even folk, kind of
culture. But all culture is dynamic."

Sperling says Woeser embodies this dynamism. Other Tibetan intellectuals
are doing the same from afar. Many of them live in the West and they read
and write in English. "But Woeser really represents this within the
People's Republic of China," he said. "In other words, she represents
somebody who's very much engaged in the modern world."

That brings big challenges, of course. Tibet is a highly sensitive issue
for the Chinese government.

Beijing claims the rights of Tibetans are protected in China. And that the
government has gone out of its way to help develop Tibet's economy and
preserve its unique culture.

And people in China tend to buy that line, which makes Woeser's work all
the more vital, says Tenzin Tethong. He is a former cabinet member of the
Tibetan government-in-exile, who is now working for Radio Free Asia in
Washington, DC.

"This is the one area where the Tibetan story is least understood,"
Tethong said. "[The] vast majority of the Chinese public have had a very
general understanding that since Tibet became part of the PRC [People's
Republic of China], Tibetan life has improved dramatically for the better,
when in reality, there are very, very serious issues going on."

Last year, Woeser was recognized by Secretary of State John Kerry at a
ceremony for the recipients of the International Women of Courage awards.
He praised her "for courageously striving to improve human rights
conditions for China’s Tibetan citizens by illuminating their plight
through her writings, and thus giving eloquent voice to those whose
stories might otherwise never be heard."

But Woeser could not accept the award herself. She was under house arrest
in Beijing, which is a recurring nuisance for her.

Woeser continues to publish books outside of China, and to blog. She has
more than 47,000 followers on Twitter. But still, I asked, is she really
getting through to people in China?

"I have been writing about Tibet issues for so many years," she said. "I
think there is some effect. You just have to keep repeating the truth and
eventually, people will start to listen. Besides, what else is there to
do?"

As Woeser puts it in the epilogue of her book, Voices of Tibet
<https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=XioWAgAAQBAJ&source=product
search&utm_source=HA_Desktop_US&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=PLA&pcampaignid
=MKTAD0930BO1>, "As a writer, I have found my conviction to write coming
into focus gradually: To write is to experience; to write is to pray; to
write is to bear witness. Experience, prayer and bearing witness all
intertwine. And to bear witness is to give voice."