An 18-year-old Tibetan set himself ablaze on Monday while walking from a bridge to a Chinese office in Sichuan's Aba Autonomous Prefecture. The incident marks the third self-immolation in the past three days, and the 25th in the past 12 months - 18 of which proved fatal, including this latest case. more ›

The Chinese press has been arguing that these protests violate Buddhist principles and rules, but in fact they resonate strongly with Buddhist tradition. Suicide is shunned in Buddhism if carried out for personal reasons, but self-sacrifice for a noble cause is highly regarded. There are many stories about the Buddha doing this in former lives, most famously one in which he sacrifices himself by giving his body to a dying tigress so she can feed her cubs. So an act that is done for the good of the community is considered noble, and especially so if it is done by a member of the clergy. more ›

A new report in the state-owned Tibet Daily claims that Tibetans are praising a new government program that provides them with basic public amenities and propaganda material. more ›

Amidst disputed reports that three more Tibetan herders set themselves ablaze over the weekend to protest the government's repressive policies (bringing the total number of self immolations over the past year to 19), the Chinese government has vowed to continue it's crackdown on what it has described as a "handful of criminals illegally gathering and smashing and looting." more ›

A Tibetan activist group has released a video that purportedly shows the moment Palden Choetso, set herself on fire and burned to death in a widely publicised self-immolation protest in Sichuan on November 3. More here. more ›

To those who might think it inappropriate for us to introduce something so difficult to watch in their daily info drone, we'd argue that footage of Tsewang Norbu's self-immolation, the second incidence in 2011 after Phunstog of Kirti Monastery did so in March, is necessary to ensure the story of Tibet's political repression doesn't get lost in the global news cycle. more ›

Peter Foster of The Daily Telegraph breaks the story of a man who set himself on fire October 21 on Tiananmen Square, but the incident appeared nowhere in Chinese news media. Here's what happened according to a reader who witnessed the incident: more ›

• Wen Jiabao spooked everyone out recently by telling a story that isn't heard very often, of how his own family was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution.
• A group of university professors at Yangtze University in Hubei recently got on their knees for NIMBY protests against a steel processing plant near their campus.
• Chongqing's leadership is all about giving to the 99%, while Guangdong's bigwigs would prefer to keep it amongst the 1%. A bit simplistic an explanation, but that's apparently all anybody understands these days.

more ›

A few links to start off your day: more ›

The Sichuanese city of Aba, home of the Kirti Monastery that's had 9 Tibetan monks self-immolate since March, is currently witnessing a huge show of police wearing riot gear, as seen in a new video from the AFP. more ›

Following eight self-immolations by Tibetan monks this year, a Tibetan nun has set herself on fire and died yesterday. This is believed to be the first case of a female self-immolation in the region. Via RFA:

Tenzin Wamgmo, about 20 years old, called for freedom in Tibet and the return of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader living in exile in India, before succumbing to her burns. more ›

At the Kirti Monastery in Northern Sichuan, two teenaged Tibetan monks set themselves on fire on Monday, in what looks to be the second case of self-immolation by Tibetan monks in six weeks, and the third separate incident this year. more ›

Global Voices called our attention to a recent project created by an anonymous Chinese blogger devoted to charting incidents of violent eviction throughout China on a "Bloody Map" (xuefang ditu, 血房地图.) His motive is to inform the public and encourage new home buyers to boycott any property stained by violent acquisition. From his Sina account:

The goal of Bloody Map is to collect and list cases of violent eviction which have, or will, already faded from public view; some cases going back 2-3 years I had to dig up myself, but with your support, it'll be much easier. When I say that new housing is being built right now on land covered in blood, people know what I mean. more ›

Last month in Jiangxi, three people (mother, daughter, and family friend) set themselves on fire to protest the demolition of their home to make way for a public transportation project. The family friend, an elderly man, died of his wounds and the mother and daughter, both members of the Zhong family, were seriously injured. Now two party officials have been sacked for the widely publicized debacle. more ›

• We've seen a lot of hotties selling cars - but never have they been male, until now. In Guangzhou. [WSJ]
• Charles Darwin is popular in China! Though he never set foot in the country, his theory has deeply influenced China's social and natural sciences, political thoughts and life philosophy. [Beijing Review]
• Everyone wants the Chinese to buy more, but despite fistfuls of initiatives to boost consumer spending... nothing. Why? [New Yorker]

From Xinhua News Agency:

"上海市警方确认，9月11日11时许，上海市外滩陈毅广场发生一起自焚事件，自焚者当场死亡。目前，死者身份及自焚原因正在查证之中。The Shanghai police has confirmed a self-immolation incident that happened at Chen Yi Plaza on the Bund at 11am on Sept 11. The self-immolator died on the spot. The identity of the deceased and the reason behind the action is being currently investigated."

...censors are blocking all comment on the motives of the man on every website. Was he an activist of the Falun Gong banned movement? Was he a Tibetan Buddhist? How about a disgruntled property rights activist? Whatever the cause, there is a story there, and the government may not want the motive to come out. But at least it’s a step in the right direction to allow Xinhua to report the news.