The Tibetan Flag

The act of setting oneself on fire or "self-immolation", has become most dramatic and upsetting in the recent years since ethnic conflicts have risen with the Tibetans living under Chinese rule. 

Since the exile of the Dalai Lama, Beijing has almost zero-tolerance for religious freedoms of many Tibetans as the government claims they give rise to unrest within China. 

The court, located in a Tibetan autonomous area in Sichuan, convicted Lorang Konchok, a 40-year-old monk, to death with a two-year reprieve and stripped him of his political rights for life. His nephew, Lorang Tsering, 31, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison and stripped of his political rights for three years. 

The two men encouraged eight people to self-immolate, three of which died as a result, Xinhua reported. The other five either did not go through with the plan or were forced by police to abandon their plans.

In the past year, over 95 Tibetans had set themselves on fire. In November alone, 28 self-immolations took place when China’s political elite handed their power over to the next generation of leaders in its Communist Party Congress. According to the International Tibet Network, 81 of the 95 died.

The leadership of China views self-immolation as both an act of political disobedience and also as an attempt to bring further ethnic conflict to China.  

The Tibetans engage in both protest and violent acts such as self-immolation as a way to express their discontent but also to hope to encourage others to stand up for what they believe in. 

China is a country with many ethnic groups represented, one of which is Tibetan. Throughout the past 50 years, provinces such as Xin Jiang and Tibet have shown the greatest animousity against the Chinese rule. Tibetans living under Chinese rule have seen a history of oppression under Chinese rule.

China has held a centuries-old historical claim to Tibet. 

Further news of protests to the event have yet to surface as Tibet continues to be monitored meticulously by the China's censorship bureau. 

With China’s recent turn over of leadership, the changes in their domestic and ethnic policies will hopefully bring rise to peace and mutual understanding.