"This was, at the beginning of the 2000s, the only way that the Tibetans, who remained in their country, found to protest against the Chinese occupation and atrocities: self-immolation by pouring gasoline all over the body and then dropping a match. This sacrifice, reminiscent of that of Buddhist monks in Vietnam who protested the American presence, captured the imagination of the world and embarrassed the Chinese. Dolma Tsering, a member of the Tibet Parliament in Exile, notes: “Chinese propaganda gives the image of a Tibet bathed in happiness, with a bright future. The fact that 149 people have set themselves on fire since 2009 is a sign that something is wrong. »"