Q&A: Author Amy Yee on Tibetan refugees in 'Far From the Rooftop of the World'

In March 2008, Amy Yee — then a Delhi correspondent for the Financial Times — attended a press conference given by the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India, where he had established a government in exile nearly 50 years before.

Earlier that month, protests marking the 49th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule had led to crackdowns, with more 100 Tibetans killed in clashes with security forces.

Yee was surprised when the Dalai Lama singled her out from the crowd of reporters. He asked if she was Chinese. Yee, whose parents are from Hong Kong, hesitated before answering that she is American. After surprising her further with a large bear hug, the Dalai Lama commanded Yee to "tell them" — meaning the Chinese — that only talks between Tibet and China would resolve the crisis.

That first visit to Dharamsala sparked Yee's interest in the lives of Tibetan refugees. Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, more than 100,000 Tibetans have fled the country. A large majority