Tibet on Fire: Self-Immolations Against Chinese Rule

By Tsering Woeser and Kevin Carrico

Why Tibetan monks are setting themselves on fire

Since the 2008 uprising, nearly 150 Tibetan monks have set fire to themselves in protest at the Chinese occupation of their country. Most have died from their injuries. Author Tsering Woeser is a prominent voice of the Tibetan movement, and one of the few Tibetan authors to write in Chinese. Her stirring acts of resistance have led to her house arrest, where she remains under close surveillance to this day. Tibet On Fire is her account of the oppression Tibetans face and the ideals driving those who resist, both the self-immolators and other Tibetans like herself.

With a cover image designed by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, Tibet on Fire is angry and cogent: a clarion call for the world to take action.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 12, 2016
• ISBN: 9781784781552

Tsering Woeser

Tsering Woeser is a poet, essayist and blogger, and one of the Tibetan movement's most prominent voices. In 2011 she was awarded the Prince Claus Prize and the International Women of Courage Award by the US Department of State. She lives under close surveillance in Beijing.

Reviews for Tibet on Fire

[le.vert.galant · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Since 2008 over 140 Tibetans have set themselves on fire as independent acts of non-violent protest against the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the Chinese government's attempt to eradicate Tibetan culture and language. They are an unprecedented expression of the despair felt by individual Tibetans at the apartheid-like conditions under which they live: race-based denial of free movement, constant surveillance, harsh repression. For someone who does not live under such a system, it is hard to image the conditions that could drive a person to commit such a horrific act.

While few of the self-immolators give international attention as a reason for their action, the lack of official foreign support for a free Tibet is disheartening. In the words of Ai Weiwei, who designed the cover of this book: Tibet is the most serious test for today's China and for the international community's standards of human rights and justice. There is no dodging this test, and there is no getting around it. And thus far, everyone should be disgraced and ashamed at the results.

This short book looks at the motivations behind these protests and the recent events that have given rise to them. It is a political and journalistic work rather than a piece of literature; however, it is powerfully expressed with excellent documentation.