The latest incident occurred Sunday morning in Dari County in the northwestern province of Qinghai. A 42-year-old monk named Sopa died after drinking and pouring kerosene over his body and setting himself on fire.

Woeser, a Tibetan activist in China and trusted source, told Deutsche Welle that "Sopa was a respected monk in the region. He burnt himself at around six in the morning. The police took away the remains of the body after the explosion."

After his death, scores of angry Tibetans descended upon local police by smashing the windows and doors of the local police station, calling on the authorities to hand over the man's remains. "A memorial for Sopa was organized this morning," said Woeser, who is the author of the book "Notes on Tibet", which has been banned by the Chinese government. She was put under house arrest after speaking to reporters during the Tibetan unrest in 2008.

Two former monks at the Kirti monastery, aged 18 and 22 respectively, were also reported to have set themselves on fire on Friday in Sichuan province's Aba county, a restive region familiar with incidents of self-immolation in protest against Chinese rule.

As reported by state media agency Xinhua, the 18-year-old died in a hotel room while the 22-year-old survived and was being treated in a local hospital, which declined to comment on his condition. The latter confessed that he and the deceased had "conspired" to commit the act, a local government spokesperson told Xinhua.

Worsening repression, more tragedy

Increasing incidents of self-immolation by Tibetans is a sign of "aggravating repression by the government on Tibetans, in terms of their religious beliefs, speech and actions," said Woeser, adding that the frequency of such acts contradicts government statements that "Tibetans are leading happy lives."

On a visit to Germany last November, the prime minister of the Tibetan government in exile, Lobsang Sangay, expressed concern over self-immolation by Tibetans. "We don't encourage Tibetans to protest or self-immolate, because we know there are consequences for these acts," he told Deutsche Welle. "If you protest, you'll be arrested, tortured and sometimes even made to disappear. The Chinese government should be responsible for the tragedies that have happened so far. They should change their policies, so Tibetans can have a better life."

According to Xinhua, senior Chinese officials in Tibet "have pledged stepped-up efforts to strengthen the management of monasteries in the fight against the Dalai Lama group." A senior political adviser in Tibet, Basang Toinzhub, says that while the focus this year will be on patriotic and legal education amongst monks and nuns, sustaining stability and promoting harmony will remain a top priority.

But many Tibetans accuse the government of unrelenting religious oppression and of diluting their indigenous culture through increasing immigration to Tibet by China's majority ethnic Han group

Woeser said she was losing confidence in the international community's will to push for democratic reform in China. "The government is immune to the criticism uttered by the international community. Nowadays, as the economy in China is booming, the Western countries prioritize their own interests and care less and less about the human rights situation in China," she said.

Author: Miriam Wong

Editor: Darren Mara