A Tibetan man died after setting himself on fire near the United Nations headquarters in New York City, according to reports from The Guardian.
The incident occurred during an appeal for Tibetan independence.
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New York City police responded to an emergency call at approximately 6:30 p. m.
ET and found the man severely burned. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The victim was identified as an Uber driver who carried a Tibetan flag to the scene.
Activists and an exiled Tibetan media outlet named him as Lobga Rangzen, a participant in local community gatherings.
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Lobsang Paljor, a fellow Uber driver who knew the activist, said the man was enraged by restrictions imposed by the Chinese government on his countrymen.
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Tencho Gyatso, president of the International Campaign for Tibet, expressed condolences, calling the victim a tireless advocate for Tibet.
The incident coincides with China's new ethnic unity law, which took effect this week.
The law establishes a shared national identity among 55 ethnic minority groups, including Tibetans and Uyghurs, and grants Beijing legal grounds to target individuals outside its borders.
China established control over Tibet in 1950, describing it as a peaceful liberation from feudalism.
However, international human rights groups and exiled communities condemn Beijing's rule as oppressive, a charge China rejects.
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The International Campaign for Tibet reported that more than 150 Tibetans engaged in self-immolation between 2009 and 2022, with 10 occurring while in exile.
