China puts Tibetan Writers Under House Arrest

April 27,2016: Prominent Tibetan writers Tsering Woeser and her husband, Wang Lixiong, told Voice of America (VOA) they were placed under house arrest Wednesday in Beijing.

According to an email from Woeser, the couple are to remain in their home for the remainder of the week because of a five-day visit to China's capital by the head of the American Himalayan Foundation, with whom Woeser is not personally familiar.

Woeser said neither she and nor her husband had ever had any contact with the foundation or received notification of its president's visit. Her protest on Twitter caused concern and angry cries from supporters.

She also tweeted a message to the foundation notifying the group of their house arrest.

AHF made no response to VOA's interview request by the deadline of filing the story.

Woeser, who has been recognized for speaking out publicly about human rights conditions for China's Tibetan citizens, is regularly under state surveillance and placed under house arrest by Beijing. In 2013, she was denied a passport after planning to travel to the United States to receive a State Department "Women of Courage" award to mark International Women's Day.

Woeser and her husband rank among China's best-known thinkers on Beijing's policies regarding ethnic minorities.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Mandarin service.