Two young Tibetans in a remote area of northwest China set themselves alight, Chinese state media and a rights group said yesterday, in the latest such protest against Chinese rule.
The men, both in their 20s, set themselves on fire on Wednesday in Qinghai Province’s Chenduo County after leaving a letter calling for solidarity among Tibetans, the London-based Free Tibet said in a statement.
Xinhua news agency confirmed the incident, quoting local authorities as saying one man — allegedly a migrant carpenter from Sichuan — was “seriously injured” and still unconscious. The other victim, a herder, died, it added.
The report said authorities did not provide names or ages for the two, but Free Tibet identified them as Nyawang Norpal, 22, and Tenzin Kaldrup, 24, who died at the scene.
The Yushu Prefecture police and government — which administers the area — could not be reached.
Radio Free Asia reported that the two carried Tibetan flags and called for independence for Tibet as well as the return of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. It said one of the men, whose name it gave as Tenzin Khedup, was a former monk.
Since March last year, at least 40 people have set themselves on fire in Tibetan-inhabited areas of China in protest at repressive government policies, according to activists.
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