CHINESE MAN THREATENED SELF-IMMOLATION OVER CANCELED BIRTHDAY PARTY

A man in Chongqing, China, is facing criminal charges after he strapped firecrackers to his body and doused himself in gasoline after the government canceled his birthday party due to the coronavirus outbreak. The 59-year-old Chongqing resident had planned a birthday banquet with more than 10 tables’ worth of guests when local officials made him to cancel the Jan. 28 celebration. Despite his pleas, officials refused to allow it to take place, so he allegedly wrapped firecrackers around his waist, poured gasoline on his chest and held up a lighter — threatening them to lift the ban. The man was charged with disorderly behavior, although it wasn’t immediately clear what the penalties would be.
* They really take their birthdays seriously in China, don’t they?
* A move like this can really blow up in your face.
* It wasn’t so much the party, it was that they made him cancel the pony rides.
* I’m confused. Wouldn’t letting him go through with it be the best way to guarantee the party wouldn’t happen?
* Was he celebrating his 59th birthday, or his 60th? Because going through all that for your 59th birthday is just stupid.
* Sure. We’re facing a killer worldwide epidemic and this guy makes it about him.
* One thing you can say about the Chinese Communist Party – they enforce epic censorship, but they do let out the stories about knuckleheads.