Chinese man in Tiananmen Square self-immolation protest

[alp227]

Source: BBC

A man set himself on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square last month, the Chinese authorities have confirmed.

Beijing's public security bureau said that the act of self-immolation occurred close to the square's portrait of Chairman Mao.

The 42-year-old man, named only as Wang from Huanggang city in Hubei province, set himself on fire following a legal dispute, officials said.

After receiving hospital treatment he has now recovered from his injuries.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15768036

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[maddezmom]

1. kick

[Mazdak]

2. China confirms fiery protest in Tiananmen

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

A Chinese man set himself alight in Tiananmen Square last month, authorities say, the first such protest reported in the politically sensitive heart of the capital in more than a decade.

Police moved quickly to put out the fire and the 42-year-old man survived, the Beijing Public Security Bureau said in a statement on Thursday, adding that he was protesting against the outcome of a civil lawsuit.

A photograph on the website of Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper showed a man lying on the ground in the square surrounded by police officers under the iconic portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

Nine Buddhist monks and two nuns have set themselves alight in ethnically Tibetan parts of Sichuan province since the start of 2011 - a development rights groups say shows a growing desperation over what they call religious repression in the area.

Read more: http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/china-confirms-fiery-protest-in-tiananmen-20111117-1nkzr.html

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Something's rotten in the State of China.

[PETRUS]

3. Wow.

Last month I met a man down in Zuccotti park who says he protested in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Obviously he got out of China. But he said many friends and members of his family are still there, and that the essential struggle is far from over.

[Mosaic]

4. Democratize already China

Stop the authoritarianism. Cut the crap!

[BlueToTheBone]

5. Yeah. Be like America, damn it! n/t

[christx30]

6. I can't understand

people like the leadership in China and Syria. They just love power so much that they will murder 10's of thousands of people to keep people from having a voice in their own country. People are willing to die to shrug off the yoke of an oppressive government. We see it in Syria, we saw it in Libya, we've seen it in the United States, Egypt, Tunisia. People are tired of oppression. And it's not about them wanting to be more like the United States (because who, in this country, can look at what is happening to the Occupy protestors and see the security apparatus in this country and still call us "free"). It's about wanting to be free to make decisions for yourself on what is best for yourself and your family. People understand that the leadership is NOT all knowing and does not have their best interests in mind. They understand that, to the leadership of their respective countries, they are just cannon fodder, slaves, or "useless eaters" and they want more for their own lives.
It all comes down to this: Freedom is the birthright of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Anyone that fights against it is, in my opinion, committing a crime against humanity, and against nature.