Queens man dies after setting himself on fire near UN in protest of China’s rule over Tibet
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Queens man Lobga Rangzen self-immolated outside the United Nations on Thursday in protest of Chinese occupation of Tibet. Screenshot via Twitter.
By Ryan Schwach
A Queens man set himself on fire last week in protest of the Chinese government’s control over his native Tibet. He later died of his injuries.
Lobga Rangzen, a 52-year-old Uber driver, self-immolated in Manhattan near the United Nations’ headquarters on Thursday, a day after China implemented a new law aimed at forcing minority groups, including Tibetans, to assimilate into Chinese culture.
Rangzen lived in Queens, which is home to the largest concentration of Tibetan refugees in the United States.
Rangzen posted his actions on Facebook in a video that was later deleted. On Thursday, he walked across the street from the United Nations building in Manhattan dressed in monastic clothing and holding a Tibetan flag. He then set himself on fire.
Before his final act, he recorded a video message arguing for Tibet’s independence.
“Today, if I engage in an alarming activism, it is not because I do not have food, or clothes or out of sadness. I do it for the Tibetan nation,” he said. “And since I am doing it for the cause of the Tibetan nation, whatever action is necessary to be done for the cause of Tibet, must all be continued.”
Lobga Rangzen, a 52-year-old Uber driver who lived in Queens, self-immolated in Manhattan near the United Nations’ headquarters on Thursday in protest of the Chinese government’s occupation of his native Tibet. Screenshot via Facebook
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was “heartbroken” by Rangzen’s death.
“No one should feel that such a desperate act is the only way to make the world listen,” he said. “New York stands for the dignity and human rights of all people. We mourn this tragic loss and extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones and the Tibetan community across our City.”
Queens City Councilmember Julie Won said Rangzen was a longtime member of the local Tibetan community in Queens.
“My heart is with his family and with the Tibetan communities of Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria, Elmhurst, and Jackson Heights who knew him and are grieving this loss together,” she said in a statement. “We must honor Lobga's decades of peaceful advocacy for the Tibetan people. May his memory continue to inspire those who carry that work forward and may his sacrifice empower the Tibetan community in their pursuit of humanity.”
Rangzen was protesting the annexation and occupation of Tibet by the Chinese government, which began in 1951, and a new law in China that human rights groups say will further the government’s persecution of minority groups like Tibetans and Uyghurs.
The International Campaign for Tibet said Rangzen’s death marks the first self-immolation by a Tibetan on American soil.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lobga Rangzen following his self-immolation outside the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday evening,” said ICT President Tencho Gyatso. “Lobga was a tireless advocate for Tibet who devoted himself to peacefully raising awareness of the human rights crisis and independence of Tibet and he will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to justice and the Tibetan cause.”
