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Friday, June 11, 2004 Author of Tibet Mysteries Banned in China Eliot Pattison, writer of an acclaimed series of mystery books set in Tibet, has so upset authorities in China that they are blocking access to his website within China. Pattison joins a long list of human rights activists who have been singled out by Beijing for censorship -- but he is believed to be the only writer of fiction to be thus censored. Although such censorship of internet sites was common in the period following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, restrictions began to ease in recent years. Since last year’s change of government leadership, however, authorities have sharply increased their censorship activity. Pattison's mysteries incorporate the Chinese gulag for Tibetan political prisoners and China's dismantling of Tibetan culture into their plots. His books have been highly successful in introducing these issues to new audiences -- human rights activists state that his novels capture the realities of China's treatment of ethnic minorities better than most works of nonfiction. Pattison's works have been compared to those of Solzhenitsyn, whose books in an earlier generation brought much-needed global attention to the Soviet gulag -- but which also attracted Soviet censors. As soon as it was released, Pattison’s first novel The Skull Mantra, became a popular black market item within China as its citizens realized the book explained aspects of their country their government would never speak about. "Beijing’s treatment of Tibet is heart-wrenching," Pattison explains. "But the average Chinese knows nothing about it." Interest in Pattison’s books soared after The Skull Mantra won the prestigious Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Since then his four novels have been translated into twenty languages and have been adapted to radio drama in Europe. Some editors have suggested that he has created a whole new genre of "campaign thrillers" which construct mysteries around the human suffering caused by certain political decisions. Pattison began traveling to China the month that relations between Washington and Beijing were normalized in 1980. On his many repeat visits he became increasingly appalled at the rigid police control of Tibetan temples and other ethnic centers. "After writing several nonfiction books I wanted to try my hand at writing mysteries," Pattison explains, "but also very much wanted to find a way to tell the world about the struggle Tibetans and other minorities of the region face trying to maintain their identity. Writing this series became the perfect answer." While angered by China’s blocking of his website, he is not surprised -- "the list of websites deemed politically undesirable to Beijing numbers in the hundreds," he notes. "Censorship may be a way of life in China, but it is difficult to reconcile such repression with Beijing's interest in becoming a leading member of the global community. At the end of the day, of course, it just underscores the points I make in my books." Since Beijing decided against allowing universal suffrage in Hong Kong last month, official intervention in certain websites and internet chat rooms has been intense. State security agents are assigned to sweep the internet and block sites they deem undesirable to Beijing, including many which originate offshore, and censors have established a presence inside all major news media organizations in the country. Related Links: · Eliot Pattison's Website · Interview with Eliot Pattison Click here to return to the homepage of The Write NewsTM Click here to subscribe to our free weekly email newsletter. www.writenews.com Copyright © 1997-2011 by Writers Write, Inc. All Rights Reserved.