A Tibetan man has died after setting himself on fire near the United Nations headquarters in New York, according to police and activists. The New York City Police Department said officers responded to an emergency call at around 6:30pm ET on [date] and found a man with severe burns. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have not named the man or provided a motive. However, exiled Tibetan activists and media outlet Voice of Tibet identified him as Lobga Rangzen, a Tibetan activist who they say self-immolated after a live appeal for Tibetan independence and unity. Local news site amNewYork reported that Rangzen was an Uber driver and arrived at the scene carrying a Tibetan flag.
Fellow Uber driver Lobsang Paljor told amNewYork that Rangzen was enraged by restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on his countrymen. The self-immolation comes shortly after China’s new ethnic unity law came into effect, which has drawn criticism from the US and EU for giving Beijing legal grounds to act against people outside its borders.
The law promotes a shared national identity among China’s 55 ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans and Uyghurs, some of whom oppose Chinese governance. Tibetans have previously carried out self-immolations in protest against Beijing’s policies in Tibet and nearby regions. China seized control of Tibet in 1950, describing it as a peaceful liberation, but human rights groups and exiles condemn what they call oppressive rule.
Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, described Rangzen as a tireless advocate for Tibet and expressed deep sadness at his death. According to the campaign, there have been more than 150 self-immolations by Tibetans between 2009 and 2022, including 10 while in exile.
