Beijing: State media have confirmed that two former Tibetan monks have set themselves on fire in far western China, in what an activist group says is the latest in a series of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule.
The official Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday that a 22-year-old man set himself on fire at a crossroads in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province and was hospitalised with serious burns. It said another man burned himself to death in a hotel room.
It said both of the men were former monks. The London-based group Free Tibet said the men were protesting tight Chinese control over Tibetan life and culture.
At least 14 people are believed to have set themselves on fire in the past year, mostly in heavily Tibetan areas of Sichuan.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012, 15:19