Denied passport, Tibet poet can't receive US award

BEIJING (AP) - The United States would like to present an outspoken Tibetan author with an award for courage, but the activist will be unable to travel to receive the honor because Chinese authorities have routinely denied her a passport.

Poet and activist Tsering Woeser is one of 10 women named for the International Women's Day honor in Washington, in part for her efforts in documenting a wave of Tibetans who have set themselves on fire to protest Beijing's rule.

She says her latest application for a passport was denied by police - as it has been for years - and that she was told the reason was that she's deemed a threat to security, presumably because of her activism.

Police in Beijing did not immediately respond to a faxed list of questions.