Woeser's writings, as a poet and political analyst, are highly influential in Tibet and China, and in Tibetan and Chinese communities across the world. Born in Lhasa Woeser is three quarters Tibetan and one quarter Chinese, and her father served as a high ranking officer in the People's Liberation Army. After studying Chinese  literature, she became a reporter in Kham but relocated to Beijing after the political nature of her work became a cause of friction. She is married to the Chinese author Wang Lixiong, who also writes political material about Tibet.

Growing up watching films about “serfs' tragic lives” in Tibet, she believed for a long time in the Chinese government, but grew to question the legimtimacy of the state's interpretation of history and the situation in Tibet.  She had read material written about Tibet which had been smuggled into the country, and when she asked her father about the materials she was reading, they confirmed that he suspicions about Chinese rule in Tibet were true. She has referred to her education as a 'red education', in that despite being mainly Tibetan, education in Tibetan was not available to her. She said of her realisation about the truth of Chinese occupation:

“It was incredibly moving and completely the opposite of what I’d learned in school. We had been taught that the old Tibet was dark and backward and a very frightening place, and that the PLA came and gave us a better life.”

Woeser has published various books in China including 'Tibet above', 'Burgundy Red' and 'Notes on Tibet', and it is the latter publication which has caused her the most troubles with the authorities. She was removed from her post in the TAR Literature Association and deprived of her means of income. The house assigned to her was also confiscated, and her medical and retirement insurance removed. She was also denied the right to apply for a passport, effectively ensuring that she is unable to leave China. She later explained that "as a writer, I felt I needed to write about these things. The real Tibet, not the false Tibet presented by the government."

This is the letter she wrote to the TAR Literature Association after these punishments were delivered:

Wenlian Party Group:

09/14/2003

The charges against Notes on Tibet have mainly centered around my points of view on religion and Tibet's reality. Asking me to "jump the hurdle" is to demand that I state that my believing in Buddhism is false, that I should not have used my own eyes to observe Tibet's reality, and that in my future writing I must renounce religion and keep in tune with official directives to describe Tibet... Regarding all of these demands, I can only say that I am unable, and also unwilling, to jump this kind of "hurdle." From my perspective, to cooperate is to violate the calling and conscience of a writer. Under the current circumstances, staying in Lhasa to receive the re-education that I am not going to accept would not create any positive result; and it would add too much unnecessary trouble to everyone and make it difficult for the Association to close the case. Therefore, I think the best choice is to have me temporarily leave Lhasa and wait somewhere else for the final outcome to be announced by the concerned offices. I am willing to face any result of my own decision.

In spring 2008, when protests broke out across Tibet, Woeser used her internet blogs to discuss the issue and share information with the outside world about what was happening in the country. Despite being put under house arrest, she managed to share the views of Tibetans with the outside world from her home, and her blog was often disrupted, hacked or inaccessible due to its political nature. The information she was able to relay was invaluable to Tibet support groups outside Tibet, and a source of inspiration for those who were able to access the information in China and Tibet. In August 2008, Woeser was detained when she visited Lhasa to see her mother, was accused of taking photos of the huge military build-up in Lhasa at the time and told to leave her mother's home. As she left Lhasa, she wrote the following poem:

A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Where the fear is in your breathing, in the beating of your heart,
In the silence when you want to speak but don’t,
In the catch in your throat.

A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Where constant fear has been wrought by legions with their guns,
By countless police with their guns,
By plainclothesmen beyond counting,
And still more by the colossal machinery of the State that stands behind them night and day;
But you mustn’t point a camera at them or you’ll get a gun pointed at you,
maybe hauled off into some corner and no one will know.

A hurried farewell to Lhasa,
Where the fear starts at the Potala and strengthens as you go east, through the Tibetans’ quarter.
Dreadful footsteps reverberate all round, but in daylight you won’t glimpse even their shadow;
They are like demons invisible by day, but the horror is worse, it could drive you mad.
A few times I have passed them and the cold weapons in their hands.
A hurried farewell to Lhasa:
The fear in Lhasa breaks my heart. 
Got to write it down.
 

Woeser uses new media to bring the Tibetan issue to international audiences, and has continues to be a source of inspiration for both Tibetan and Chinese bloggers who wish to speak openly about their political views. Despite living in Beijing, she bravely speaks out about life under Chinese occupation, and keeps the debate about Tibet alive. Woeser and her husband remain involved in political analysis, and both signed a petition in July 2009 supporting the right of the Uigyur people of East Turkestan (Xinjiang) to determine their own future.

Woeser's work is translated into English and posted on the popular Tibetan blog site High Peaks, Pure Earth