Tamdrin Dorjee, Tibetan man, self-immolates in protest of Chinese rule

Tamdrin Dorjee, the grandfather of revered Buddhist figure Gungthang Rinpoche, self-immolated as a protest of Chinese rule.

The 52-year-old lit himself on fire near the Tso Monastery in northwestern China's Gansu province, the Associated Press reported. He reportedly shouted slogans demanding Tibetan freedom as he did it, the Tibetan Post reported. 

"The local Tibetans refused to hand over his body to Chinese authorities and they took his body back to his home. As a mark of respect, they then gathered to pay their last respects to Tamdrin Dorjee and offered traditional scarves to his body," Gedhun Tsering, a Tibetan writer in exile, reported to the Tibetan Post. 

More from GlobalPost: Third Tibetan self-immolation in China in a week

Dorjee's is the latest in a string of protest immolations by Tibetans, and the fourth so far this month. 27-year-old Tibetan Sangay Gyatso set himself on fire in the same region last week, UPI reported. 

Over 50 Tibetans have self-immolated since 2009, and most have died in the process, according to BBC News. 

Though China blames the Dali Lama for inciting the protests, though he (along with activist groups and the Tibetan government in exile)  denies the allegations, blaming the immoations on China's tightened control and religious oppresion in the region, BBC reported.