Tibetan Activist and Writer Tsering Woeser Under House Arrest

Tsering Woeser, the award-winning Tibetan writer and blogger profiled by Sampsonia Way in 2011, has been barred from collecting an award from the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing and issued a month-long house arrest order.

Writing on her social networking page, Woeser said she was invited to receive her 2011 Prince Claus Award at a dinner reception at the Netherlands Embassy but on the eve of the private felicitation ceremony, officials from the Beijing Public Security Bureau arrived at her doorstep and issued orders barring her from visiting the Embassy.

“Why have I been ‘made the exception’? Could it be because I’m Tibetan? A dissident writer?”

Woeser commented on her Facebook page, “I’ve never heard of anyone being stopped and not permitted to go and get that prize. Why have I been ‘made the exception’? Could it be because I’m Tibetan? A dissident writer? Suddenly the Chinese Foreign Ministry has been disturbed and has had to get to work and issue bans. And they’ve had to send State Security around! The Communist Party is so cool!”

Read a Sampsonia Way profile of Woeser.

Here is the video with which Woeser was introduced at the ceremony for the Prince Claus Awards.