A FARMER from East China's Anhui Province set himself on fire in Tian'anmen Square last Monday.

Policemen on duty in the square put out the fire after seeing Zhu Zhengliang pour petrol over himself and ignite it.

Zhu was taken to hospital with burns to his back and arms and is now under treatment.

Zhu and his wife arrived in Beijing on Sunday from their hometown in Anhui's Qingyang County.

An official from the county said Zhu had gone to the capital to express his dissatisfaction with the decision of local authorities to tear down his house.

The official, surnamed He, said Zhu's new house was one of several that had to be dismantled due to the county planning.

The county had financially compensated Zhu and other households similarly affected, but Zhu thought the money was insufficient.

The county government had then made an additional payment towards the cost of a new house.

But Zhu made repeated trips to Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, to appeal for a better deal.

County officials said Zhu had kept his intention to go to Beijing last weekend a secret and they had known nothing about it.

This was the second case of self-immolation in China in the past three weeks.

In late August, a resident of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, burnt himself to death for the same reason as Zhu.

After the house of the 39-year-old man was torn down without his permission on August 22 he rushed into the office of the dismantlement commission and set fire to himself.

Officials said recent years have seen an increasing number of complaints on the same theme.

Law experts said negotiations are necessary on this issue and people should not be forced to leave their houses without obtaining a just solution.

(Star News)