Tsering Woeser (also written Öser; ; ,
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
name Chéng Wénsà 程文萨; born 1966) is a Tibetan writer, activist, blogger, poet and essayist.
Biography
Woeser, a quarter Han Chinese and three quarters Tibetan, was born in
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
. Her grandfather, Chinese, was an officer in the
Nationalist Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
of the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
and her father was a high rank Army officer in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
.
When she was very young, her family relocated to the
Kham
Kham (; )
is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The original residents of Kham are called Khampas (), and were governed locally by chieftains and monasteries. Kham ...
area of western
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
province. In 1988, she graduated from
Southwest University for Nationalities
Southwest Minzu University (), formerly Southwest University for Nationalities (SWUN), is a multi-disciplinary higher education institute under the control of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China. The university was founded in July 1950 ...
in
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
with a degree in
Chinese literature. She worked as a reporter in
Kardzé and later in Lhasa and has lived in Beijing since 2003 as a result of political problems. Woeser is married to
Wang Lixiong
Wang Lixiong (, born 2 May 1953) is a Chinese writer and scholar, best known for his political prophecy fiction, ''Yellow Peril'', and for his writings on Tibet and provocative analysis of China's western region of Xinjiang.
Wang is regarded as ...
, a renowned author who frequently writes about Tibet. According to
Reporters sans frontières
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, "Woeser is one of the few Tibetan authors and poets to write in Chinese." When the government refused to give her a passport, she sued the authorities.
[''Tibetan writer, a rare outspoken voice against Beijing's policies, sues Chinese government''](_blank)
Herald Tribune July 23, 2008 p. 1 (iht.com)
Career
Woeser is the author of the book, ''Notes on Tibet'' (). The Tibet Information Network quotes unnamed sources that the book was banned by the government around September 2003.
According to
UNPO
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, or simply UNPO is an international organization established to facilitate the voices of unrepresented and marginalised nations and peoples worldwide. It was formed on 11 February 1991 in The Ha ...
, shortly after the alleged ban, Woeser was also fired from her job and lost her status with her
work unit
A work unit or ''danwei'' () is the name given to a place of employment in the People's Republic of China. The term ''danwei'' remains in use today, as people still use it to refer to their workplace. However, it is more appropriate to use ''danwei ...
.
Radio Free Asia
Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...
reported that she continued to post a variety of poems and articles to her two blogs: Maroon Map (, ''oser.tibetcul.net''), which, according to the author, was visited primarily by Tibetans and the Woeser blog ''(blog.daqi.com/weise)'', which was visited primarily by those of
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
ethnicity. According to RFA, on July 28, 2006, both blogs were closed by order of the government, apparently in response to postings in which she expressed birthday greetings to the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
and touched on other sensitive topics. Woeser stated that she would continue writing and speaking.
![Tsering Woeser](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Tsering_Woeser.jpg)
During the
Tibetan unrest of 2008, Woeser and her husband were put under house arrest after speaking to reporters. In December 2008, Woeser and her husband were among the first of the original 303 signatories to
Charter 08
Charter 08 is a manifesto initially signed by 303 Chinese dissident intellectuals and human rights activists. It was published on 10 December 2008, the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopting its name and style from ...
,
now joined by thousands more.
Liu Xiaobo, the author of Charter 08, was sentenced for eleven years of prison and awarded the
2010 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2010 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to imprisoned Chinese human rights activist (1955–2017) "for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China". The laureate, once an eminent scholar, was reportedly little-known i ...
. In July 2009, Woeser and her husband were one of more than 100 signatories to a petition asking Chinese authorities to release detained ethnic-
Uyghur professor of economics
Ilham Tohti
Ilham Tohti ( ug, ئىلھام توختى, lat=Ilham Toxti, yengi=Ilⱨam Tohti; ; born October 25, 1969) is a Uyghur economist serving a life sentence in China, on separatism-related charges. He is a vocal advocate for the implementation of ...
. When she was honoured with the
Prince Claus Awards
The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually si ...
in 2011, she was forbidden to receive the prize in the Dutch embassy.
Tsering Woeser defended
Tibetan actions in the 1905 Tibetan Rebellion, saying that
Zhao Erfeng
Zhao Erfeng (1845–1911), courtesy name Jihe, was a late Qing Dynasty official and Han Chinese bannerman, who belonged to the Plain Blue Banner. He was an assistant amban in Tibet at Chamdo in Kham (eastern Tibet). He was appointed in March ...
invaded the region to "brutally stop Tibetan protests", listing atrocities committed by Zhao.
Woeser's writings are regularly translated into English by the translations websit
High Peaks Pure Earth
Awards
*In 2007, Tsering Woeser was awarded the Norwegian Authors Union awards Freedom of Expression Prize.
*In 2007, she was also awarded the freedom of speech medal by the
Association of Tibetan Journalists
The Association of Tibetan Journalists is a Tibetan organization in exile, that was founded in 1997 in Dharamsala, India. The organization's stated mission is to "Facilitate free, fair and accurate delivering of information regarding activities r ...
.
*In 2010,
International Women's Media Foundation granted her with the ''Courage in Journalism Awards''.
*In 2011,
Prince Claus Awards
The Prince Claus Fund was established in 1996, named in honor of Prince Claus of the Netherlands. It receives an annual subsidy from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Fund has presented the international Prince Claus Awards annually si ...
, theme ''Breaking taboos''
*In 2013, Tsering Woeser was awarded the
International Women of Courage Award
The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...
Works
* ''Forbidden Memory Tibet during the Cultural Revolution''
* ; Woeser's First poetry Edition
* . Also published in Taiwan as .
*
* ; also published by in 2004, .
*
*
* ''Tibet's True Heart. Selected Poems.'' Dobbs Ferry, NY, 2008
Ragged Banner Press Excerpts, . Poems by Woeser (Weise), translated by A. E. Clark
Review 10−10−2008(highpeakspureearth.com
Review 10−10−2008 (savetibet.org)
* ''
Tibet on Fire: Self-Immolations Against Chinese Rule'' Verso, London (2016)
*
Forbidden Memory Tibet during the Cultural Revolution' English edition, published 2020 by University of Nebraska Press, By Tsering Woeser, Photographs by Tsering Dorje, Edited by Robert Barnett, Translated by Susan T. Chen, Foreword by Wang Lixiong.
References
External links
*
"They Have Guns, and I, a Pen": Highly Valuable New Source on the Tibetan RebellionWoeser's blogHigh Peaks Pure Earth, English translations of writings by WoeserIntroduction to Woeser, See "Secret Tibet" on this web page from the website ''Tibet Writes''
An Eye from History and Reality — Woeser and the Story of TibetAn Analysis of the Woeser Incident by
Wang Lixiong
Wang Lixiong (, born 2 May 1953) is a Chinese writer and scholar, best known for his political prophecy fiction, ''Yellow Peril'', and for his writings on Tibet and provocative analysis of China's western region of Xinjiang.
Wang is regarded as ...
Article from Woeser about the film
Dreaming Lhasa Lone Tibetan Voice, Intent on Speaking Out
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woeser
1966 births
Living people
Tibetan poets
Tibetan journalists
Chinese women poets
Charter 08 signatories
Date of birth missing (living people)
Chinese bloggers
Chinese women bloggers
Tibetan human rights activists
Tibetan writers
People from Lhasa
Tibetan women poets
Tibetan women journalists
Southwest University for Nationalities alumni
Poets from Tibet
Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award
Buddhism and women
Tibetan Buddhists
Historians of the Cultural Revolution