Human rights advocates yesterday called on Beijing to stop the repression of people in Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and blamed the recent cases of self-immolation by Tibetans and ethnic conflict in Xinjiang on the Chinese government.

“The situation in Tibet and East Turkestan [another name for Xinjiang] is becoming critical as 25 people have set themselves on fire in Tibet since March last year — of which 15 have died — and there have been violent clashes between Uighurs and Chinese in East Turkestan,” Taiwan Friends of Tibet chairperson Chow Mei-li (周美里) told a press conference.