Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China [Hardcover]

Rebiya Kadeer (Author), His Holiness The Dalai Lama (Introduction), Alexandra Cavelius (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2009

A remarkable autobiographical journey from humble beginnings to a position as a powerful world figure fighting for her nation’s self-determination.

Along the ancient Silk Road where Europe, Asia, and Russia converge stands the four-thousand-year-old homeland of a peaceful people, the Uyghurs. Their culture is filled with music, dance, family, and love of tradition passed down by storytelling through the ages.

For millennia, they have survived clashes in the shadow of China, Russia, and Central Asia. Rebiya Kadeer’s courage, intellect, morality, and sacrifice give hope to the nearly eleven million Uyghurs worldwide on whose behalf she speaks as an indomitable world leader for the freedom of her people and the sovereignty of her nation.

Her life story is one of legends: as a refugee child, as a poor housewife, as a multimillionaire, as a high official in China’s National People’s Congress, as a political prisoner in solitary confinement for two of nearly six years in jail, and now as a political dissident living in Washington, DC, exiled from her own land.

16 pages of photographs

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When her father is beaten, and her family is forced from their home in Uyghurstan (a swath of Chinese land north of Tibet), Kadeer's idyllic childhood comes crashing to an end. Though still a young woman, she resolves to defend Uyghurs from "tireless Communist indoctrination;" by 1957, she writes, "I wanted to stop seeing posters of Chairman Mao's adipose face, with that forever grinning mouth, plastered over every wall." Kadeer charts the routine public humiliation, banishment, execution, and forced flight of her Ugyhur friends and neighbors. In her late twenties, anxious to provide for her children and take control of the future, Kadeer reinvents herself as a businesswoman, but never turns her attention away from political activism. By the early '90s, the USSR has dissolved and Kadeer has become the wealthiest woman in China, but the oppression of Ugyhurs continues, remaining largely unknown outside the region. Even after Kadeer wins a seat in China's National People's Congress, she is unable to counter the negative effects of Chinese bureaucrats on the Uyghur region. Finally, her efforts land her in prison for six years. Her remarkable resilience in the face of horrendous conditions typifies her tireless lifelong struggle. Her story is a compelling testament to the human spirit's obstinate right to be free.
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Review

“This memoir of singular bravery in a little-known corner of the Chinese Republic is a compelling testament to the human struggle for freedom, told with gravitas, warmth, and hard-won wisdom.” (Publishers Weekly )

“A defiant political tell-all...Kadeer writes perceptively about the many humiliations imposed by Beijing on the Uighurs...We are constantly reminded of the author’s qualities: she is chaste, smart, beautiful, clever, strong, indomitable, selfless, moral, wise, and fearless—especially fearless...This remarkable life is now added to the saga of the Uighur people.” (The New York Times )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 426 pages
• Publisher: Kales Press (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979845610
• ISBN-13: 978-0979845611
• Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 6 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,199,373 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Dalai, Lama

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Name One Only Whispers in China July 29, 2009

By Expat_in_Xinjiang

Format:Hardcover

Within the borders of China's far western province of Xinjiang - a land of camels, deserts and ethnic tensions - the name "Rebiya Kadeer" is rarely spoken above more than a whisper. While some people may do this as a sign of respect to the leader of Xinjiang's minority Uyghur people, the primary reason is out of fear. Nobody quite knows what would happen if you are found discussing this woman in China, but few are willing to find out.

Following the July 5th riots in Urumqi, the name `Rebiya Kadeer' was again thrust into the global spotlight, accused by the Chinese as an instigator of unrest but seen by many of her fellow Uyghurs as an inspiration of peace. While she now resides in the United States where she has become the president of the World Uyghur Congress, her picture has again been splashed across newspapers all over Xinjiang accompanied by stories painting her in a less-than-friendly light. Conflicting stories in the Chinese and international press begs the question that few before the riots this month ever thought to ask:

Who is Rebiya Kadeer?

Dragon Fighter is the first-hand account of Rebiya's journey from a poor home in the northern portion of Xinjiang to becoming one of China's richest women and by far the most influential Uyghur. Following years of success and government support she then finds herself on the verge of insanity while locked in a Chinese prison for years until she is released and handed over the United States. It is a story of greed, but it is also a story of courage and strength in the face of dire circumstances.

Now, in light of the July 2009 riots in Urumqi, her narrative becomes that much more relevant. Follow her story, judge the characters for yourself, but most importantly watch as the tensions between the Chinese and the Uyghurs grow to the inevitable point of conflict. Only one woman has the power to evoke such fear, hatred, and inspiration within the borders of Xinjiang, China. This is Rebiya Kadeer and Dragon Fighter is her story.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Defying the Chinese Dragon August 14, 2009

By Lynn C. Hazen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A few years ago I taught a lovely young Eurasian woman with delicate features, high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes who spoke five languages and had grown up in China. I did a little research after a fellow student identified her as an Uighur ( a group I had never heard of),and was amazed that her highly developed culture should be so unknown in the West. Later she told us some of the stories I have now read in this book, about betrayal, murder, infanticide, and what we now call "cultural genocide" as it is practiced today in China against the Uighur people.

This story could so easily be unbelievable fiction.It has rags-to-riches, David and Goliath, the power of the individual, love and betrayal, speaking truth to power, true feminism,survival, and so much more. But, as far as I know, it is true.

I liked the blend of the personal and the historical in the narrative. I would have liked more details about daily life in the family, but this is the story of a woman who sees her purpose as one of helping her people survive. I hope this book aids in achieving the goal. May her words give hope to the Uighurs, and influence those with the power to create positive change in the situation.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves biography, geography, motivational speakers, or just to learn about other cultures.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An epic struggle May 19, 2009

By Hadiyo Jim'ale

Format:Hardcover

This is an epic story following the life of one of the most interesting women in our times. She is not just rich but this is a woman who puts her money where her mouth is. The highlights for me from her book are when she starts a laundry business, when she starts an organization to help women from her community start business, and when she risks her life for the greater political freedoms of her people.

This book is as much about China's history as it is personal reflection. The author tells much of what has not been covered by international press, especially the way the Chinese government deals with it is minorities. It can be an eye opening in that way, too, if you are the kind of reader interested in international politics.

At 426 pages, it may not be an easy read for most readers but I would say it is a book that awakens the consciousness of its reader. No wonder the Dalai Lama signed onto it.