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Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

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{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement, set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', a form of physical and mental training, was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Chinese state media reports==
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

==Falun Gong response==
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, the Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the self-immolators could have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong sources overseas questioned the official Chinese government account of the event; in particular, focussing on an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. Perceived inconsistencies in the footage led to a hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

==Dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T07:19:15Z

PCPP: Clarified Li's scripture based on Guardian article

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/>

===Disputes over Falun Gong teachings===
Several journalists explored the possibility of the self-immolators being misguided Falun Gong practitioners, noting the fractured leadership of Falun Gong in China following the government crackdown, the idea of self-immolation as a method of sacrifice in Buddhism, and Li Hongzhi's scripture ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', which had been suggested to have been misinterpreted by individual practitioners.

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

On January 1, 2001, [[Li Hongzhi]] released a new scrupture titled ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''<ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref>, which noted that the Falun Gong teaching of forbearance "does not mean tolerating evil beings", and that if such evil went too far, "various measures at different levels can be used to stop it and eradicate it".<ref name="gittings"/> ''The Guardian'' commented that Li Hongzhi's new scripture had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Falun Gong sources and skeptical journalists noted inconsistancies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. As a result, some sources have suggested that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the ban against Falun Gong, that the self-immolators were paid actors, and that both the the police and the state media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:44:27Z

PCPP: Link to Li's scripture

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/>

===Disputes over Falun Gong teachings===
Several journalists explored the possibility of the self-immolators being misguided Falun Gong practitioners, noting the fractured leadership of Falun Gong in China following the government crackdown, the idea of self-immolation as a method of sacrifice in Buddhism, and Li Hongzhi's scripture ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', which had been suggested to have been misinterpreted by individual practitioners.

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''<ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref>, had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Falun Gong sources and skeptical journalists noted inconsistancies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. As a result, some sources have suggested that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the ban against Falun Gong, that the self-immolators were paid actors, and that both the the police and the state media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:29:51Z

PCPP: Added intro to FLG section

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/>

===Disputes over Falun Gong teachings===
Several journalists explored the possibility of the self-immolators being misguided Falun Gong practitioners, noting the fractured leadership of Falun Gong in China following the government crackdown, the idea of self-immolation as a method of sacrifice in Buddhism, and Li Hongzhi's scripture ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', which had been suggested to have been misinterpreted by individual practitioners.

''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Falun Gong sources and skeptical journalists noted inconsistancies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. As a result, some sources have suggested that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the ban against Falun Gong, that the self-immolators were paid actors, and that both the the police and the state media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:15:41Z

PCPP: Noting inconsistancies doesn't not mean that they support the hoax suggestion

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

===Disputes over Falun Gong teachings===
CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Falun Gong sources and skeptical journalists noted inconsistancies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. As a result, some sources have suggested that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the ban against Falun Gong, that the self-immolators were paid actors, and that both the the police and the state media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:09:32Z

PCPP: /* Disputes over Falun Gong teachings */

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

===Disputes over Falun Gong teachings===
CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:08:59Z

PCPP: Disputes over FLG teachings

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

==Disputes over Falun Gong teachings==
CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T06:04:53Z

PCPP: Noted disputed statements

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise.<ref name=oneway/>The identity of the self-immolators, and whether they are misguided practitioners or paid actors, has been subject to dispute.<ref name="gittings"/><ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up by the government, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T05:56:40Z

PCPP: Moved Schechter comment down

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T05:52:56Z

PCPP: Fate of survivors in lede

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T05:51:08Z

PCPP: Moved speculation to proper section

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

The [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T05:44:00Z

PCPP: Restored unexplained removal

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-28T05:39:41Z

PCPP: Moved government narrative section

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media hours after the self-immolation occurred.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

==Disputation and speculation==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref>

According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Disputes over the government narrative===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]

Immediately following the self-immolation, Falun Dafa Information Center spokespersons denied that the self-immolators could not have been Falun Gong practitioners, emphatically pointing out that Falun Gong’s teachings do not sanction any form of violence, and that suicide is considered a sin.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref>

Soon, Falun Gong sources overseas, along with some skeptical journalists, began publicizing anomalies in the official Chinese government account of the event, many of which centered around an analysis of the footage of the event aired on CCTV. These inconsistencies led the to the hypothesis that the self-immolation was staged by the government to justify the persecution against Falun Gong, that the participants were paid actors, and that both the the police on Tiananmen Square and the state-run media had advanced knowledge of the event.

Danny Schechter drew attention to the fact that Xinhua had released a statement on the self-immolation to foreign media only hours after the event occurred. He noted that this was unusual because sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/>

As possible evidence that the police on Tiananmen Square had advanced knowledge that the self-immolation would occur, Falun Gong-affiliated sources observed that officers arrived almost immediately on the scene equipped with numerous fire extinguishers. Fire extinguishers are not standard equipment for police on Tiananmen Square, the the nearest building that would house them was several minutes away from the scene.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> Falun Gong sources also noted that the self-immolators’ behaviour, the slogans they shouted, and their meditation postures were not consistent with the teachings or practices of Falun Gong. <ref name=WOIPFG2/>

The identities of some of the self-immolators, and their relationship to Falun Gong, was called into question by Washington Post reporter Philip Pan. Two weeks after the event took place, Pan travelled to Kaifeng, the hometown of the two participants who died in connection with the event. Having interviewed neighbors and those close to the participants, Pan wrote that no one had any knowledge that they practiced Falun Gong.<ref>Philip Pan, "Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery," Washington Post, Feb 4 2001.</ref>

Several foreign observers have noted that foreign journalists were not allowed to interview the self-immolation victims recovering in hospitals. Even the victims’ relatives were not permitted to speak with them, according to David Ownby,<ref>David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China. (Oxford University Press, 2008), p 217</ref> though the survivors were interviews by the state-run press.

In one such interview, CCTV interviewed the 12-year-old Liu Siying. Government sources reported Liu Siying had undergone a [[tracheotomy]] shortly before the interview. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after a tracheotomy, yet Liu Siying appeared to be speaking clearly and singing in the interview,<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref>

Falun Gong-affiliated New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of additional inconsistencies in the accounts of the official Chinese media.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref>

The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts on CCTV, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared in subsequent interviews<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
In response to questions raised over why the government seemed to have a camera crew in place to film the self-immolation, Chinese government media reported that the close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes.<ref name=mulls /> CNN representatives argued that this was impossible, however, as their reporters were detained shortly after the event began. Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was also suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T20:13:52Z

PCPP: Two subparagraphs in "The Dispute"

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

===Falun Gong teachings===
''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

===Government narrative===
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref>

Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T20:10:33Z

PCPP: This particular paragraph is currently disputed per talk

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], claimed that five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center claimed the incident was a hoax staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners; they further stated that Falun Gong teachings explicitly forbid killing and violence, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen under disputed circumstances and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

The campaign of state propaganda that followed the event eroded public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice, and regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled in schools to expose the "dangers" of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref>

Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T19:32:33Z

PCPP: Stop your blalant reverts, especially with the RFC

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}

The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001, which resulted in the deaths of three [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]]. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement, set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the self-immolators were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> They instead claimed that the incident was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the practice and to justify the persecution of its practitioners.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of self-immolator Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire'', which argued that the event was staged by the Chinese government.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T11:51:48Z

PCPP: /* The dispute */

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}

The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001, which resulted in the deaths of three [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]]. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement, set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the self-immolators were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> They instead claimed that the incident was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the practice and to justify the persecution of its practitioners.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of self-immolator Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire'', which argued that the event was staged by the Chinese government.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T11:51:26Z

PCPP: Readded mistakenly removed paragraph

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}

The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001, which resulted in the deaths of three [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]]. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement, set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the self-immolators were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> They instead claimed that the incident was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the practice and to justify the persecution of its practitioners.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of self-immolator Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire'', which argued that the event was staged by the Chinese government.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T11:44:24Z

PCPP: Shortened lede, added HRW and Schechter

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}

The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001, which resulted in the deaths of three [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]]. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement, set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the self-immolators were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> They instead claimed that the incident was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the practice and to justify the persecution of its practitioners.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref><ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of self-immolator Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire'', which argued that the event was staged by the Chinese government.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views. Journalist Danny Schechter notes that the Chinese government's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide, in which four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life.<ref name="gittings2"/><ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref> The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, in which anti-Falun Gong material were produced detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref><ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-27T11:00:01Z

PCPP: rv edit warring/pov pushing by asdfg

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T06:21:45Z

PCPP: Moved Li scripture to dispute

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]], set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:57:39Z

PCPP: Corrected ref

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:55:17Z

PCPP: Rm duplicate Porter comment

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:53:01Z

PCPP: Readded sourced Li Hongzhi comments

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:50:12Z

PCPP: Rm False Fire box per WP:UNDUE - already covered in CCTV footage section

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:48:34Z

PCPP: Shortened intro per lede

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

The state propaganda campaign that followed the event helped erode public sympathy for Falun Gong, and the government began sanctioning "systematic use of violence" against the group.<ref>Philip Pan and John Pomfret, “Torture is Breaking Falun Gong,” Washington Post, Aug 5 2001</ref> Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong; the authorities ordered regular anti-Falun Gong classes to be scheduled in schools to highlight the dangers of the practice.<ref name=oneway/><ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref> According to Falun Gong websites, the number of Falun Gong adherents tortured to death rose from 245 in 2000 to 419 in 2001.<ref>http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/death_cases/death_distribution.html “Statistical Distribution of Falun Gong Practitioners Killed in the Persecution,” Falun Dafa Clearwisdom</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners took to peacefully picketing editorial offices to challenge what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

The suppression campaign that followed was characterized by a "massive propaganda campaign"<ref>Amnesty International [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA17/011/2000/en/7a361a8e-df70-11dd-acaa-7d9091d4638f/asa170112000en.html 'China: The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called "heretical organization"'] March 23 2000</ref> intended to justify the suppression by portraying Falun Gong as superstitious, dangerous, and incompatible with the official ideology. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong adherents were imprisoned, and by the end of 1999, reports began to emerge of torture in custody. According to Ian Johnson, authorities were given broad mandates to eliminate Falun Gong and pursue the coercive conversion of practitioners, but were not scrutinized for the methods they used. This resulted in the widespread use of torture, sometimes resulting in death.<ref>Ian Johnson, "Death Trap - How One Chinese City Resorted to Atrocities To Control Falun Dafa," Wall Street Journal, Dec 26 2000</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
<div class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 85%; background:#fffffa; color:black; width:25em; max-width: 35%; padding: 1em 1.5em 1.5em">
'''''False Fire'''''

 
''False Fire'', a [[NTDTV]] documentary that deconstructs the event<ref>Susan V. Lawrence, "Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers", Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition), April 14, 2004. pg. B.2I </ref> points out several inconsistencies in the Chinese Government's version of the story, including:<ref name="upholdjustice.org">[http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm "Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident.'"], World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFalun Gong), August 2003. Accessed: 2007-02-06</ref><ref name="irb-cisr.gc.ca">[http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/research/rir/?action=record.viewrec&gotorec=416268 RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS "CHN43081.E"] Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Accessed: 2007-02-06</ref> 
*Liu Chunling, the only self-immolator who died on the spot appears to fall from being bludgeoned on the head by a man in military suit. The programme argues that Liu could have died from a severe blow to the head.
*The self immolators appear to be wearing several layers of, possibly fire-protective, clothing and masks. The hair and bottle of gasoline at the feet of an alleged self-immolator is intact, although this should have caught fire first.
*Police, who normally are not known to carry fire extinguishers on duty, appeared to have used almost 25 pieces of fire-fighting equipment on hand on the day of the self-immolations. The nearest building is 10 minutes away and footage shows that only two police vehicles were at the scene. The flames were put out in less than a minute's time.
*The camera of the CCTV footage zooms in on the scene as it unfolds; surveillance cameras in Tiananmen Square are usually fixed.
*Wang Jindong shouts comments that do not form part of Falun Dafa teachings; his posture, including hand position and sitting position, does not reflect the full or half lotus position required in Falun Dafa exercises.
*The hospital treatment of the victims, as recorded by Chinese state media, is inconsistent with proper care of severe burn victims: for instance, patients were not kept in sterile rooms.
*The girl who allegedly underwent a tracheotomy appeared to be able to speak and sing clearly mere days after the surgery.
</div>Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. No one had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:25:24Z

PCPP: Added Homunculus's changes

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> Professor David Ownby of the [[University of Montreal]],<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref> noting inconsistencies in the official account, allowed for the possibility that the entire event might have been set up by the Chinese authorities, but thought it equally possible that the self-immolators had been "new or unschooled Falun Gong practitioners".<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' thought it was a mistake by Falun Gong leaders to deny any association with the protesters, and dismissed as "implausibl[e]" the Falun Gong account of the "episode [having been] set up by government provocateurs".<ref name=breakingpoint/> Barend ter Haar, sinologist at [[Leiden University]]<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> and Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', believe the event was an authentic protest by practitioners, but that the Chinese government's botched handling of it made it look like state propaganda.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=sisci/> Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and interviewed neighbors that denied the imolators being Falun Gong practitoners.<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July.<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-26T05:21:29Z

PCPP: Rv wholesale revert by Asdfg

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> Professor David Ownby of the [[University of Montreal]],<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref> noting inconsistencies in the official account, allowed for the possibility that the entire event might have been set up by the Chinese authorities, but thought it equally possible that the self-immolators had been "new or unschooled Falun Gong practitioners".<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' thought it was a mistake by Falun Gong leaders to deny any association with the protesters, and dismissed as "implausibl[e]" the Falun Gong account of the "episode [having been] set up by government provocateurs".<ref name=breakingpoint/> Barend ter Haar, sinologist at [[Leiden University]]<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> and Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', believe the event was an authentic protest by practitioners, but that the Chinese government's botched handling of it made it look like state propaganda.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=sisci/> Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and interviewed neighbors that denied the imolators being Falun Gong practitoners.<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:45:06Z

PCPP: Expanded intro

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> Professor David Ownby of the [[University of Montreal]],<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref> noting inconsistencies in the official account, allowed for the possibility that the entire event might have been set up by the Chinese authorities, but thought it equally possible that the self-immolators had been "new or unschooled Falun Gong practitioners".<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' thought it was a mistake by Falun Gong leaders to deny any association with the protesters, and dismissed as "implausibl[e]" the Falun Gong account of the "episode [having been] set up by government provocateurs".<ref name=breakingpoint/> Barend ter Haar, sinologist at [[Leiden University]]<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> and Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', believe the event was an authentic protest by practitioners, but that the Chinese government's botched handling of it made it look like state propaganda.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=sisci/> Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and interviewed neighbors that denied the imolators being Falun Gong practitoners.<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:38:28Z

PCPP: Intro reorganization

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. The footage was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref>

Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and interviewed neighbors that denied the imolators being Falun Gong practitoners.<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:34:04Z

PCPP: Clarified Washington Post statement

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise<ref name=oneway/>. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and interviewed neighbors that denied the imolators being Falun Gong practitoners.<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:31:52Z

PCPP: Fate of the survivors in lede

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

Three of the survivors plus two other people accused of being involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001 for intentional homicide; four of the five were found guilty and given sentences ranging from seven years to life. One of the accused, Liu Baorong, was exempted from sentence as the court said she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name="gittings2"/> Two of the survivors, Hao Huijun and her daughter Chen Guo, were totally disfigured and did not appear in court.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:24:31Z

PCPP: Questioned by NTDTV

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was questioned and deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in their documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:23:11Z

PCPP: Added sources

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in the documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"'', while Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous>{{cite book |first=Mickey |last=Spiegel |url=http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ |title=Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong |publisher=Human Rights Watch |year=2002 |isbn=1-56432-270-X|accessdate=28 September 2007}}</ref><ref name=chrandra>{{cite journal |first=Chrandra D. |last=Smith |url=http://org.law.rutgers.edu/publications/law-religion/new_devs/RJLR_ND_66.pdf |title=Chinese Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=Rutgers School of Law |journal=Rutgers Journal of Law and Religion |date=October 2004 |accessdate= 28 September 2009}}</ref>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:18:17Z

PCPP: Porter's rhetorics is irrelevant

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in the documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:16:06Z

PCPP: More comments from Li Hongzhi

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in the documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>

On 1 January 2001, Li published "''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance''", in which he wrote that persecution of the ''Fa'' – an expression used by Falun Gong to describe itself – by "evil" – meaning the [[Chinese Communist Party]] – could no longer be tolerated: "Forbearance [as taught by [[Buddha]]] does not mean tolerating evil beings. [...] Completely eliminating the evil is for ''Fa''-rectification, and not a matter of personal cultivation. In personal cultivation, there is usually no going beyond the limits of Forbearance."<ref name="gittings" /><ref name=beyondthelimits>{{cite web |last=Li |last=Hongzhi |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/1/2/6668.html |title=Beyond the Limits of Forbearance |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=14 September 2007}}</ref> Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:14:11Z

PCPP: Rm original research from NTDTV

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in the documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>
Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]

Selbstverbrennungsvorfall auf dem Tian’anmen-Platz

2011-01-25T16:12:39Z

PCPP: Readded relevant comments from Li Hongzhi

{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident
| places =
| image =Selfimmowflag.jpg |Frame of the China Central Television footage on the special edition of ''Forum''
| alt = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| caption = Charred person seated on the ground with legs crossed and hands in his lap
| location = [[Tiananmen Square]], Beijing, {{CHN}}
| coordinates =
| date = 23 January 2001
| time = 14:30
| timezone = [[UTC+8]]
| type = [[self-immolation]]
| fatalities = 2
| injuries = 3}}

{{Chinese
|s=天安门自焚事件
|t=天安門自焚事件
|p=Tiān'ānmén Zìfén Shìjiàn
|order=st }}
The '''Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident''' took place in [[Tiananmen Square]] in central Beijing, on the eve of [[Chinese New Year]] on 23 January 2001. The incident is disputed: according to the official Chinese press agency, [[Xinhua News Agency]], five members of [[Falun Gong]], a banned spiritual movement based on [[qigong]] which is also known as "Falun Dafa", set themselves on fire to protest the perceived unfair treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government. The Falun Dafa Information Center denied that the [[Self-immolation|self-immolators]] were practitioners, partly on the grounds that the movement's teachings explicitly forbid killing, including suicide.<ref name="FDI_PressRelease"/> Falun Gong sources instead claim the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government to turn public opinion against the group and to justify the torture and imprisonment of its practitioners.<ref>[http://faluninfo.net/article/1114/?cid=84 “On Ten Year Anniversary, Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Continues to Be Deadly Frame-up,”] Falun Dafa Information Center, Jan 19 2011</ref>

According to Chinese state media, the five people were part of a group of seven who had travelled to the square together.<ref name=xinhua1/> One of them, Liu Chunling, died at Tiananmen and another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in hospital several weeks later; three survived. A CNN crew present at the scene witnessed the five setting themselves ablaze and had just started filming when police intervened and detained the crew.<ref name=tense/> The incident received international news coverage, and video footage was broadcast later in the People's Republic of China by [[China Central Television]] (CCTV).<ref name=oneway/> The coverage in the CCTV showed images of Liu Siying burning and interviews with the others in which they stated their belief that self-immolation would lead them to paradise,<ref name=oneway/> a belief that is not supported by Falun Gong’s teachings. Danny Schechter notes that the CCP's claims about the incident remain unsubstantiated by outside parties, because no independent investigation has been allowed.<ref name=schechter1>Falun Gong's Challenge to China - A report by Danny Schechter</ref> Two weeks after the event, the Washington Post published an investigation into the identity of the two self-immolation victims who were killed, and found that “no one ever saw [them] practice Falun Gong.”<ref>Philip P. Pan, “Human Fire Ignites Chinese Mystery,” Washington Post, Feb 4 2001</ref>

Video footage of the event was deconstructed in slow motion by [[New Tang Dynasty Television]], a Falun Gong-affiliated TV company, in the documentary ''False Fire''.<ref name="FalseFire_video"/> The Falun Dafa Information Center, along with journalist [[Danny Schechter]], has claimed that the incident was staged to turn public opinion against the practice.<ref name="FalseFire_ClearWisdom">{{cite web | url=http://clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html | title=The Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square|publisher=ClearWisdom | accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref><ref name=mediachannel>{{cite web |first=Danny |last=Schechter |url=http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20021202162929/http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/falungong2.shtml |archivedate=2 December 2002 |title=The Fires This Time: Immolation or Deception In Beijing? |publisher=Mediachannel |date=22 February 2001}}</ref> A statement issued by International Education Development before the United Nations similarly reflected the opinion that the self-immolation was staged by the Chinese government.<ref>International Education Development, Statement in the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Fifty-third session, August, 2001</ref>

[[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW) believed the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of independent information available.<ref name=hrw-chn43081/> A wide variety of opinions and interpretations of what may have happened emerged: the event may have been set up, it may have been an authentic protest,<ref>[http://www.hum.leidenuniv.nl/chinees/organisatie/medewerkers-alfabetisch/haarbjter.html Barend ter Haar], Chair of Chinese History at Leiden University (Sinological Institute) Retrieved 29 September 2009</ref> the self-immolators "new or unschooled" practitioners,<ref name=ownbyfalungong218/> and other views.<ref>Professor David Ownby is the Director of the Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Montreal.</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|History of Falun Gong}}
[[Falun Gong]], a [[new religious movement]] based on the meditative practice of ''[[qigong]]'', was founded in the People's Republic of China by [[Li Hongzhi]] in 1992 and by the late-1990s had attracted tens of millions of followers.<ref>Seth Faison, "In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protestors," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref>Joseph Kahn, "Notoriety Now for Movement’s Leader," New York Times, April 27, 1999</ref><ref name="Chang4">{{cite book|last=Chang|first=Maria Hsia|title=Falun Gong – The End of Days|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2004|page=4|isbn=9780300102277}}</ref> When its teachings, influenced by [[Taoism]] and [[Buddhism]],<ref name="pennyharrold">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/grants/haroldwhite/papers/bpenny.html|title=The Past, Present, and Future of Falun Gong|last=Penny|first=Benjamin|year=2001|accessdate=6 October 2009|quote=The best way to describe Falun Gong is as a cultivation system. Cultivation systems have been a feature of Chinese life for at least 2 500 years.}}</ref> were denounced as unscientific by skeptic figures such as [[Sima Nan]] and [[He Zuoxiu]], practitioners protested at editorial offices at what they believed was unfair coverage. Following one such demonstration in Tianjin where a number of practitioners were arrested, more than ten thousand practitioners congregated outside [[Communist Party of China]] headquarters in [[Zhongnanhai]] on 25 April 1999.<ref>Controversial New Religions, The Falun Gong: A New Religious Movement in Post-Mao China, David Ownby P.195 ISBN 0195156838</ref><ref name="ReidG">Reid, Graham (29 Apr-5 May 2006) [http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3442/features/5972/nothing_left_to_lose.html "Nothing left to lose"], ''New Zealand Listener''. Retrieved 6 July 2006.</ref> That evening, then-Communist Party leader [[Jiang Zemin]] issued a decision to eradicate Falun Gong. On 22 July 1999, the ban on Falun Gong was officially announced by the Public Security Bureau.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/english/199908/02/enc_19990802001003_TopNews.html |title=Xinhua Commentary on Political Nature of Falun Gong |work=People's Daily |date=2 August 1999}}</ref>

Following the ban, [[Tiananmen Square]], which has been the central point for [[Tiananmen Square protests|several major historical protests]], was one of the prime locations where Falun Gong practitioners protested the ban. The Falun Gong protests were characterized as peaceful "appeals," and typically involved raising banners in defense of the group, or staging meditation sit-ins.<ref>Elisabeth Rosenthal, "Falun Gong Holds Protests On Anniversary of Big Sit-In." New York Times. Apr 26, 2001.</ref> According to ''Time'', a Falun Gong website editorial instructed followers to step up demonstrations, "especially in Tiananmen Square"; founder [[Li Hongzhi]] urged followers to immobilise the police and other "evil scoundrels" through use of supernatural powers.<ref name=breakingpoint>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Forney |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,165163,00.html |title=The Breaking Point |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=25 June 2001}}</ref> By 25 April 2000, one year later, more than 30,000 practitioners had been arrested.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/6464 |title=Defiant Falun Dafa Members Converge on Tiananmen |first=Ian |last=Johnson |date=25 April 2000 |work=The Wall Street Journal |publisher=Pulitzer.org |page= A21}}</ref> Seven hundred Falun Gong followers were arrested during a demonstration in the Square on 1 January 2001.<ref name="Perry">{{cite book |first=Elizabeth J. |last=Selden |coauthor=Perry, Mark |title=Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance |publisher=Routledge |year=2003 |isbn=041530170X}}</ref>
Jensen and Weston (2006) noticed a marked change in the tone of Li Hongzhi's messages following the ban: practitioners who remained steadfast against the oppression would survive the apocalypse while those who succumbed to pressure would not. Those who died or had suffered were promised "consummation", or enlightenment.<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines |first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> Specifically, Li wrote that "any fear is itself a barrier that prevents you from reaching consummation",<ref>{{cite news |title=Falun Gong Deaths Set Off Dispute on Suicide Report |first=Craig S. |last=Smith |work=The New York Times |date=4 July 2001}}</ref> that "the process of enduring is but a brief moment", and that those who "have hidden themselves ... have sided in their understanding with evil beings."<ref>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=213|quote= |isbn=0195329058}}</ref>

==The incident==
On 23 January 2001, the eve of [[Chinese New Year]], five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.<ref name=dangerous/><ref name=missions/>

[[File:Liu chunling burned.jpg|thumb|Charred remains of Liu Chunling after the incident |alt= Charred remains of a person lying on the ground]]
A [[CNN]] film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest,<ref name=mulls/> observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the [[Monument to the People's Heroes]] at the centre of the square.<ref name=tense>{{cite news |author=Staff and wire reports |url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070222110517/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/east/01/24/asia.falun.03/ |archivedate=22 February 2007 |title=Tiananmen tense after fiery protests |publisher=CNN |date=24 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}{{Dead link|date=February 2010}}</ref> He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze.<ref name=tense /> Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames.<ref name=tense /> Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight.<ref name=tense /> The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew.<ref name=tense /> The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing.<ref name=tense /> A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four.<ref name=tense /> The square was completely closed,<ref>Mickey Spiegel, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=klyC1eH97pQC&pg=PA33&dq=%22China+responded+to+the+even+unusually+quickly,+completely+shutting+down+Tiananment+Square%22&q= |title=DANGEROUS MEDITATION China's Campaign Against Falungong, page 33 |publisher=Human Rights Watch, 2002, ISBN 1-56432-270-X |accessdate=14 October 2009 |isbn=9781564322692 |date=2002-01 }}</ref> and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.<ref name=tense/>

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March;<ref name=Siying>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/1228576.stm |title= Tiananmen 'suicide' girl dies |accessdate=10 October 2009 | date=18 March 2001 | work=BBC News}}</ref> the other three were left severely disfigured.

==People involved==
The official news agency, Xinhua, gave the participants' details as follows:<ref name=xinhua1/>

{|class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:10%;"| Romanised name
! style="width:5%;"| Chinese name
! style="width:5%;"| Image
! style="width:20%;"| Description
! style="width:20%;"| Outcome
|-
| Wang Jindong || 王進東 || [[File:Wangjindong.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a man]] || Male, former driver || Hospitalised
|-
| Liu Chunling || 劉春玲 || [[File:Liu Chunling.port.jpg|40px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Siying ||Died on scene ([[Tiananmen_Square_self-immolation_incident#China_Central_Television_video_footage|circumstances disputed]])
|-
| Liu Siying || 劉思影 || [[File:Liusiyingport.png|40px|alt=portrait of child]] || 12-year-old girl, daughter of Chunling || Died two months after the event<ref name=Siying/>
|-
| Chen Guo || 陳果 || [[File:Chenguoport.png|40px|alt=portrait of girl]]|| 19-year-old female, college student, daughter of Hao Huijun || Treated at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital; severely disfigured
|-
| Hao Huijun || 郝惠君 || [[File:Haohuijun.port.jpg|35px|alt=Passport photo of a woman]] || Female, mother of Chen Guo, music teacher|| Hospitalised; severely disfigured
|-
| Liu Baorong || 劉葆榮 || [[File:Liubaorong.jpg|40px|alt=close-up portrait of woman in dark tunic]] || Female, former textile factory worker|| Did not set herself alight
|-
| Liu Yunfang || 劉雲芳 || [[File:Liuyunfang-port.png|40px|alt=man in dark sweater]] || 57-year-old male, part-time paint shop worker || Did not set himself alight
|-
|}

Xinhua further alleged that Wang Jindong had practised Falun Gong since 1996, Hao Huijin since 1997, and Liu Baorong since 1994.

==Reporting==
The Chinese authorities stated that the seven people who had come to Tiananmen Square with the intention of committing suicide were all from the city of [[Kaifeng]] in [[Henan|Henan province]]. The state-run Xinhua News Agency asserted that the self-immolators were "avid practitioners" of Falun Gong who had taken up the practice between 1994 and 1997, and that they fantasised during the preceding week about "how wonderful it would be to enter heaven".<ref name=xinhua1/> Six of them reportedly took the train on 16 January, meeting Chen Guo, the daughter of one of them, upon their arrival in Beijing. The seven agreed to light themselves in different parts of the Square at 2:30 pm on the designated day with gasoline smuggled there in plastic soda bottles; each had been armed with two lighters in case one would fail.<ref name=xinhua1>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7474.htm |title=The Tragedy of Falun Gong Practitioners- Rescue: Doctors, Nurses Rush to Save Life |publisher=China.org.cn |date=31 January 2001 |accessdate= 1 August 2007}}</ref> According to the China Association For Cultic Studies website, Wang Jindong stated afterwards that the group arrived in Tiananmen Square by two taxis, and were dropped off at the south of the [[Great Hall of the People]], from where they walked to the spot where they would ignite themselves. Wang said he was approached by police as he was splitting open the soda bottles, and ignited himself hurriedly without assuming the [[lotus position]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Words/200907/t95505.htm |title=Wang Jindong: Blindness, death and rebirth (Excerpt) |date=November 2007 |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref> Liu Yunfang explained that the police were able to stop him burning himself because he had not attained the required spiritual level, a Chinese government press release said.<ref name=missions>{{cite web |url=http://missions.itu.int/~china/pressrelease/archives/pressrelease01.htm |title=Press Release: Suicidal Blaze, Another Crime of Falun Gong |publisher=Government of the People's Republic of China |date=31 January 2001}}</ref>

===Initial reports===
Xinhua released brief details of the incident to foreign media the same evening.<ref>David Ownby, {{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=Bwqkwx4SWS0C&pg=PT231&dq=%22Xinhua+offered+a+brief+report+of+the+events+that+very+evening%22&q=%22Xinhua%20offered%20a%20brief%20report%20of%20the%20events%20that%20very%20evening%22 |title=Falun Gong and the future of China, page 216 |publisher=Oxford University Press US, 2008, ISBN 0195329058 |accessdate=11 October 2009 |isbn=9780195329056 |year=2008 }}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]] (HRW), the lack of independent information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information made the incident one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing to report.<ref name=hrw-chn43081>{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/refworld/rwmain?page=search&docid=42df60bb11&skip=0&query=CHN43081.E |title=Responses To Information Requests "CHN43081.E" |author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |publisher=UNHCR |accessdate= 6 February 2007 |quote=In a 23 November 2004 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, the senior researcher on China for HRW asserted that it would not have been possible for independent organisations to conduct an independent investigation of the incident. According to the senior researcher, the incident was among one of the most difficult stories for reporters in Beijing at the time to report on because of a lack of information and difficulties in ascertaining the extent of control of the information}}</ref> Schechter notes that sensitive subjects in the Chinese press are almost never reported on a timely basis;<ref name=mediachannel/> the usual protocol is approval by several party officials before publication.<ref name=mulls/> Xinhua then distributed a fuller press release seven days later on Tuesday, 30 January,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zhihui.com.cn/storydb/truth/0130.htm |title=zhihui.com.cn |publisher=www.zhihui.com.cn |accessdate=11 October 2009 }}</ref> in response to other media reports on the incident.<ref name=missions/>

Filming by the CNN crew on Tiananmen Square was stopped by the police almost immediately after it began.<ref name=mulls/> Articles in the ''[[Yangcheng Evening News]]'' and the ''[[Southern Daily]]'' reported that police had evidence that a few foreign reporters had advance knowledge of the incident, and suggested that such reporters could be charged with "instigating and abetting a suicide."<ref name=mulls/><ref name=laogai>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/commentprint021301a.html
|title=Beijing is Burning — More lies from the PRC
|work=National Review |first= Ann |last=Noonan
|author=policy director for the Laogai Foundation
|date=13 February 2001}}</ref> State media claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took place; however, all three agencies denied advance knowledge of the incident{{mdash}}AP and AFP said they had no reporters in the square at the time, while CNN's chief news executive, [[Eason Jordan]], said the CNN crew were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest.<ref name=mulls/>

===China Central Television video footage===
[[File:Liu chunling frames.jpg|thumb |200px |Stills sequence which alleges Liu Chunling was beaten to death by a man in military uniform. Frames 1–5 follow the course of an alleged baton (circled) first connecting with and then rebounding from her head; frames 6–8 focus on the soldier|alt=Composite image of a sequence of eight screen shots differentially highlighted to show the movement of a baton in relation to a person in military uniform]]
On 31 January, a 30-minute special edition of the current affairs programme ''Forum'' told the state's version of the events to the Chinese public.<ref name=ownbyfalungong>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |pages= 215–216 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> [[China Central Television]] aired footage, said to be taken by nearby surveillance cameras, of five people in flames.<ref name=mediachannel/>

According to an initial Falun Gong press statement, "Much remains unclear and unknown about the circumstances surrounding the incident", including what took place in the week between the incident and when the "fully engineered news articles and television programs" were released.<ref name="mhpressstate2001">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/feb/01/vsf020101_7.html |title=Who's Behind Tiananmen Self-immolation – Serious Doubts on China's Recent "News" Report |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=1 February 2001 |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, Falun Gong-affiliated<ref name=svlawrence>{{cite web |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title=Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition) |date=14 April 2004 |page= B.2I }}</ref> New Tang Dynasty Television produced a programme called ''False Fire'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.falsefire.com |publisher= falsefire.com |author=NTDTV |year=2001 |title=False Fire: China's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=Digital Video Disc}}</ref> claiming a number of inconsistencies in the accounts from various state sources compared with the video broadcast nationally.<ref name=WOIPFG2>{{cite web |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm |title=Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident |author=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |publisher=upholdjustice.org |date=August 2003 |accessdate= 6 February 2007}}</ref> Issues and discrepancies mentioned included why the participants' hair and the gasoline-filled bottles did not catch fire, the presence of fire extinguishers, whether Wang Jindong was sitting or standing when he shouted, and the medical treatment and ultimate death of the 12-year-old girl.<ref name="FalseFire_video">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/download/ff.wmv | title=False Fire — CCP's Tragic New Standard in State Deception |format=wmv |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |publisher=falsefire.com}}</ref><ref name="FalseFire">{{cite web | url=http://www.falsefire.com/ | title=Analysis and Insights about the "self-Immolation" |publisher=New Tang Dynasty Television |accessdate=26 September 2009}}</ref> In a frame-by-frame replay of parts of the state media footage, the film commentary argued that a man wearing military clothing struck Liu Chunling on the head with an object, thus causing her death.<ref name=clw39928>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/9/5/39928.html |title=Report from the "World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong" Reveals Chinese Government Lies – Official Government Media Seriously Violate Basic Reporting Principles and Professional Ethics |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=5 September 2003 |accessdate=4 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Yu|first=Haiqing|title=Media and Cultural Transformation in China|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|year=2009|pages=133–134|isbn=9780415447553|url=http://books.google.com/?id=xUWC188UoVcC&pg=PA133&dq=%22false+fire%22+falun+gong&q=%22false%20fire%22%20falun%20gong}}</ref> Falun Gong lobby group, the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, stated that the Speech Processing Laboratory at [[National Taiwan University]] analysed the broadcasts, and claimed that the first 'Wang Jindong' on CCTV was not the same person who appeared the second and third times.<ref name=woipfghighlights>{{cite web |publisher=World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Highlights of Investigation of the Alleged Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref>

[[Image:Wjd3photos.jpg|thumb|left|250px|alt=composite image of three portraits and a table comparing them |Three pictures broadcast by state-media, presented by Falun Gong as evidence that Wang Jindong "was played by different people".]]
Chinese government media reported that close-up shots in its video footage came from confiscated CNN tapes, but Philip Pan of the ''[[Washington Post]]'' was suspicious of the positioning of the cameras, and the fact that the close-up shots shown on Chinese television were taken without police interference.<ref name=mulls /> In addition, overhead surveillance camera footage seemed to show a man filming the scene using a small hand-held camera, rather than a large camera of the type used for TV news reporting.<ref name=mulls>{{cite news |first=Philip |last=Pan |work=The Washington Post |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44880-2001Feb8?language=printer |title=China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists |date=8 February 2001 |publisher= }}</ref> ''[[The Age]]'' commented that the "ready availability of fire-extinguishers and official TV teams and the lack of verification about the victims" raised questions about whether the movement was involved.<ref name=hamish>{{cite web |first=Hamish |last=Mcdonald |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/10/15/1097784013251.html?oneclick=true |title=What's wrong with Falun Gong |work=The Age |date=16 October 2004}}</ref> However, John Gittings of ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted it was common practice in many countries for police camera operators to be on hand when a public disturbance is anticipated; the police used small-scale fire-extinguishers of the type carried in public vehicles, many of which are routinely on the square.<ref name="gittings2"/>
Schechter noted that state media uncharacteristically released the story at once, yet the footage was finally aired one week later.<ref name="Schechter2001"/> Barend ter Haar believes that the government may have fabricated a video of their own when they realised the mediatic potential of the suicides.<ref name="Haar">{{cite web |last=Haar |first=Barend ter |url=http://website.leidenuniv.nl/~haarbjter/faluntext2.html |title=Part One: Introductory remarks |publisher=Barend ter Haar, Leiden University |year=2001 |accessdate=29 September 2009}}</ref>

==The dispute==
<div class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 85%; background:#fffffa; color:black; width:25em; max-width: 35%; padding: 1em 1.5em 1.5em">
'''''False Fire'''''

 
''False Fire'', a [[NTDTV]] documentary that deconstructs the event<ref>Susan V. Lawrence, "Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers", Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition), April 14, 2004. pg. B.2I </ref> points out several inconsistencies in the Chinese Government's version of the story, including:<ref name="upholdjustice.org">[http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S_I_second_report.htm "Second Investigation Report on the 'Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident.'"], World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFalun Gong), August 2003. Accessed: 2007-02-06</ref><ref name="irb-cisr.gc.ca">[http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/research/rir/?action=record.viewrec&gotorec=416268 RESPONSES TO INFORMATION REQUESTS "CHN43081.E"] Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Accessed: 2007-02-06</ref> 
*Liu Chunling, the only self-immolator who died on the spot appears to fall from being bludgeoned on the head by a man in military suit. The programme argues that Liu could have died from a severe blow to the head.
*The self immolators appear to be wearing several layers of, possibly fire-protective, clothing and masks. The hair and bottle of gasoline at the feet of an alleged self-immolator is intact, although this should have caught fire first.
*Police, who normally are not known to carry fire extinguishers on duty, appeared to have used almost 25 pieces of fire-fighting equipment on hand on the day of the self-immolations. The nearest building is 10 minutes away and footage shows that only two police vehicles were at the scene. The flames were put out in less than a minute's time.
*The camera of the CCTV footage zooms in on the scene as it unfolds; surveillance cameras in Tiananmen Square are usually fixed.
*Wang Jindong shouts comments that do not form part of Falun Dafa teachings; his posture, including hand position and sitting position, does not reflect the full or half lotus position required in Falun Dafa exercises.
*The hospital treatment of the victims, as recorded by Chinese state media, is inconsistent with proper care of severe burn victims: for instance, patients were not kept in sterile rooms.
*The girl who allegedly underwent a tracheotomy appeared to be able to speak and sing clearly mere days after the surgery.
</div>Following the incident, the details of why the individuals were involved has been and remains the subject of dispute between representatives of Falun Gong, the Chinese government, and other observers. According to the Hong Kong NGO [[Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy]], all of the would-be self-immolators, except 12-year-old Liu Siying, had previously protested for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square.<ref name=oneway/> Xinhua News Agency reported that Huo Xiuzhen, Liu Chunling's adoptive mother, spoke of her daughter's "obsession with Falun Gong", her "worshipping of Li Hongzhi", and how Liu would teach her daughter Falun Gong.<ref>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.china.org.cn/english/7490.htm |title=Families of Falun Gong Victims After Tragedy |publisher=china.org.cn |date=1 February 2001}}</ref> Liu's neighbours interviewed by the ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'' (IHT) stated that she was not a native of Kaifeng, worked in a nightclub and took money to keep men company, and beat her mother and daughter. None of the interviewed had ever seen her practise Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway>{{cite news |first=Philip P. |last=Pan |url= |title=One-Way Trip to the End in Beijing |work=International Herald Tribune |date=5 February 2001|accessdate = 9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun Gong disputes that Liu was a practitioner because, by beating her stepmother and child, she engaged in conduct that was "not in accordance with a practitioner's [high moral] standard."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/weekly_category/immolation.html |title=Special Topic on the Self-Immolation |publisher=Clearwisdom |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>

Doubts about strident practitioners of Falun Gong revolved around the use of suicide as a form of protest – the Falun Dafa Information Center said, "Mr. Li Hongzhi ... has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin."<ref name="FDI_PressRelease">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/jan/23/vsf012301_3.html |title=Press Statement |publisher=Falun Dafa Information Center |publisher=Clearwisdom |date=23 January 2001 |accessdate=9 February 2007}}</ref> Falun-Gong-related commentators pointed out that the main participants' account of the incident and other aspects of the participants' behaviour were inconsistent with the teachings of Falun Dafa.<ref name=WOIPFG2/> In the ''[[National Review]]'', the [[Laogai Research Foundation]] suggested that it was "hardly a far-fetched hypothesis" that the government allowed or staged the incident to discredit Falun Gong, as the government vowed to crush the practice before the eightieth anniversary celebrations of the Communist Party in July. The article concluded that the "PRC's propaganda coup" against Falun Gong relies upon popular understandings of other immolations in recent Asian history such as the [[Thích Quảng Đức|73 year old Buddhist monk in Saigon]]. The foundation states that "...this situation is not clear", and for the Communists, this was just "another lie."<ref name=noonan>Ann Noonan in the ''[[National Review]]'', [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment021301a.shtml Beijing is Burning: More lies from the PRC], accessed 21/5/08</ref> Government sources reported Liu Siying had had a [[tracheotomy]]. Speaking through approved media outlets, she said that her own mother told her to set herself on fire to reach the "heavenly golden kingdom".<ref name=mediachannel/> Schechter noted that the CNN producer "standing just fifty feet away" did not see any children. He doubted that the child would have been able to speak to the Chinese media so soon after the operation.<ref name="Schechter2001">{{cite book |first=Danny |last=Schechter |title=Falun Gong's Challenge to China |publisher=Akashic Books, New York |year=2001 |pages= 20–23 |isbn=978-1888451276}}</ref> [[University of South Florida]] masters student Noah Porter commented that other religions have extremists too, and that even if the participants had been practitioners, they were not necessarily representative.<ref name="Porter">{{cite web |first=Noah |last=Porter |title= Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study (Masters thesis) |publisher=University of South Florida|url=http://etd.fcla.edu/SF/SFE0000113/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf |year=2003 |page= 105}}</ref>

''The Guardian'' commented that [[Li Hongzhi]]'s new scripture released on 1 January 2001, ''Beyond the Limits of Forbearance'', had confused his supporters.<ref name="gittings"/> Matthew Forney in ''Time'' magazine believed the message had spread into China via the internet and informal networks of followers, and reached more radical practitioners there.<ref name=breakingpoint/> According to ''The Guardian'', Falun Gong headquarters in New York admitted ten days after the release of the scripture that "certain disciples had some extreme interpretations [and thought] we are going to resort to violence", and asserted that Li's message merely meant time had come to let the truth be known about China's atrocities.<ref name="gittings" /> Jensen and Weston remarked it was clear from Li Hongzhi's messages that he advocated martyrdom over prudence, and that "if the Chinese authorities lit the fire, Li just as clearly fanned the flames."<ref name=jensenweston>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=OKNTJXvle9wC&pg=PA105&dq=remains+highly+disputed,+Falun+Gong+tiananmen+immolation+staged&q=remains%20highly%20disputed%2C%20Falun%20Gong%20tiananmen%20immolation%20staged |title=China's transformations: the stories beyond the headlines
|first=Lionel M. |last=Jensen |coauthor=Weston, Timothy B. |page=105 |isbn=074253863X |publisher=AltaMira Press, U.S. |date=28 December 2006}}</ref> David Ownby believes that the brief message was "difficult to interpret": it somewhat resembled a "call to arms" against what Li described as "evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts". Ownby said nobody he talked to had seen it as a "green light" for violent action;<ref name="ownbyfalungong"/> "[b]ut a practitioner at the end of his or her rope in China could certainly see [the statements] as an endorsement for martyrdom, and perhaps choose his or her own means to achieve that."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Foe Rattles Beijing From Abroad |first=John |last=Pomfret |work=Washington Post |date=9 March 2001}}</ref> ter Haar (2001) postulated that former Buddhists may have brought with them the "respectable Buddhist tradition of self-immolation as a sacrifice to the Buddha".<ref name="Haar"/>

CNN, whose crew was on the scene, reported that four of the self-immolators were seen in flames, with their hands held "in a classic Falun Gong meditation pose", drawing a complaint from the Falun Gong movement.<ref name="gittings"/> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' reported that a Beijing arm of Falun Gong strongly suggested the self-immolators were practitioners, yet the Falun Dafa Association in New York categorically denied the incident had anything to do with its practitioners.<ref name=time20010129>{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Beech |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,97124,00.html |title=Too Hot to Handle |work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=29 January 2001 |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> Francesco Sisci, Asia editor of ''[[La Stampa]]'', wrote in the ''[[Asia Times]]'': "the sect first tried to deny the episode and then argued that it was staged by the government. But no one believed that the government could have paid a mother to torch herself and her daughter, or that she was so loyal to the Communist Party that she pretended to be a Falungong member and kill herself and her only daughter, even if Falungong master Li Hongzhi forbade suicide ..."<ref name=sisci>{{cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/china/DD10Ad01.html |title=The burning issue of Falungong |work=Asia Times |first=Francesco |last=Sisci |year=2002}}</ref> ''Time'' concurred, adding that the movement had been caught off-guard, and its leadership's damage control proved to be inadequate.<ref name=breakingpoint/> It added that the "lack of solidarity" was contributing to the sense of desperation of Mainland Chinese practitioners who may feel out of touch with the exiled leadership.<ref name=time20010129/> Other observers, including Ownby and ter Haar, as well as Gittings were likewise open to the possibility that the act was committed by Falun Gong practitioners; Gittings reported that some observers believed it was possible that the self-immolators acted in desperation and confusion.<ref name="gittings">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/jan/29/china.johngittings |title=China prepares for new offensive against 'dangerous' sect |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=29 January 2001 | location=London}}</ref> Likewise, Ownby believed that they may have been practitioners who "discovered and practised Falun Gong on their own (and badly) in the post-suppression period, and ... decided to make the ultimate sacrifice."<ref name=ownbyfalungong218>{{cite book |first=David |last=Ownby |title=Falun Gong and the future of China |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2008 |page=218 |isbn=0195329058}}</ref> Other human rights activists said the five who set themselves on fire did so to protest the government's crackdown on Falun Gong.<ref name=oneway/> Anthropologist Noah Porter says that even if the participants considered themselves to be practitioners, they are no more representative of Falun Gong than Christianity is represented by people "who shoot and bomb abortion clinics."<ref name="Porter">Noah Porter (Masters thesis for the University of South Florida), ''[http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-06122003-113105/unrestricted/FalunGongInTheUS-NoahPorter-Thesis.pdf Falun Gong in the United States: An Ethnographic Study]''. 2003. p 105</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' stated that conflicting claims were still difficult to assess "[w]ith propaganda streaming in from seemingly opposite ends of the universe ... especially since the remaining Falun Gong practitioners have been driven underground." It noted however that one of the self-immolators was able to "fluidly perform" Falun Gong's signature slow-motion exercises in front of Western media.<ref>{{cite news |first=Elisabeth |last=Rosenthal |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/05/world/former-falun-gong-followers-enlisted-in-china-s-war-on-sect.html |title=Former Falun Gong Followers Enlisted in China's War on Sect |work=New York Times |date=5 April 2002}}</ref> Sisci commented that the police committed a mistake by seizing journalists at Tiananmen – "independently filmed news footage of the proceedings could have been the best proof of Falungong madness. Instead, when the government reported the episode, it looked like propaganda."<ref name=sisci/>

==Aftermath==
The incident continues to serve as a significant reason for disputing the methods of Falun Gong in China. Posters, leaflets and videos were produced, detailing the supposed detrimental effects of Falun Gong practice. In China's schools, regular anti-Falun Gong classes were scheduled on the orders of the authorities;<ref name=oneway/> The media incited 8 million students to join the ''"Anti-Cult Action by the Youth Civilized Communities Across the Nation"''.<ref name=dangerous/> Twelve million children submitted writings disapproving of the practice.<ref name=dangerous/>

Within a month of the Tiananmen Square incident, authorities issued a glossy pamphlet entitled ''The whole story of the self-immolation incident created by Falun Gong addicts in Tiananmen Square'', featuring colour photographs of charred bodies.<ref name=dangerous/> The [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]]'s "Office for the Prevention and Handling of Evil Cults" declared after the event that it was now ready to form a united front with the global anti-cult struggle.<ref name=dangerous/> The ''IHT'' reported that Chinese media were attacking Falun Gong and Li Hongzhi every day. Meetings took place in factories, offices, universities and schools to educate people about Falun Gong. The Government announced that religious leaders from across the country had delivered denunciations of Falun Gong. In Kaifeng, the post office issued an anti-Falun Gong postmark, and 10,000 people signed a petition denouncing the group.<ref name=oneway/>

''Time'' reported that prior to the self-immolation incident, many Chinese had felt that Falun Gong posed no real threat, and that the state's crackdown had gone too far. After the event, however, China's media campaign against Falun Gong gained significant traction.<ref name=breakingpoint/> The World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong reported that hostility toward Falun Gong from the general public escalated, the government had stepped up its campaign, and alleged that "hate crimes" targeting Falun Gong increased.<ref name="WOIPFGpaper">{{cite web |author=WOIPFG |url=http://www.upholdjustice.org/English.2/S.I._highlights_report.htm |title=Investigation Reports on the Persecution of Falun Gong: Volume 1 |year=2003–2004 |publisher=upholdjustice.org |accessdate= 4 October 2007}}</ref> One western diplomat commented that the public changed from sympathising with Falun Gong to siding with the Government, popular consensus seemingly shifted by human-interest stories and accounts of rehabilitation efforts of former practitioners.<ref name=ansfield>{{cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Ansfield |publisher=Reuters |url= |title=After Olympic win, China takes new aim at Falun Gong |date=23 July 2001}}</ref> Østergaard believes that, in retrospect, the New Year scripture was most useful for the Party-state because they were able to link it to the self-immolations, which marked a turning point ending domestic support for the movement.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/?id=H80YZqSj7EEC&pg=PA208&dq=Ostergaard+falun&cd=3#v=onepage&q=New%20Year%27s%20Day%202001 |title=Governance in China |editor= Jude Howell |first=Clemens Stubbe |last=Østergaard |pages=220 (Governance and the Political Challenge of Falun Gong) |year=2003 |isbn=0742519880}}</ref>

Chinese state media has published allegations of other supposed Falun Gong practitioners committing self-immolation, apparently inspired by the January 25 incident.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/hand/Cases/200904/t90507.htm |title=Self-immolation |author= China Association For Cultic Studies |publisher=facts.org |accessdate=5 October 2009}}</ref>

===Trials===
Five people involved in the incident were put on trial in mid-2001. The authorities named Liu Yunfang as the mastermind, and gave him a life sentence; Wang Jindong was given 15 years. Two others said to have been involved in organising the incident, a 49-year-old man named Xue Hongjun, and a 34-year-old Beijing woman named Liu Xiuqin who apparently provided the group with lodging and helped in the preparation of the incident, were sentenced to ten and seven years in prison respectively.<ref name=embassy36594>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/ppflg/t36594.htm|title=Organizers of Tian'anmen Self-Burning Incident Sentenced|date=17 August 2001|publisher=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States|accessdate=4 October 2009}}</ref><ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who reportedly had suggested the group use Sprite bottles to transport the gasoline, escaped punishment, because her role in planning the event was said to have been minor and she had "acknowledged her crime".<ref name=xinhua1 /><ref name="gittings2">{{cite news |first=John |last=Gittings |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/aug/21/worlddispatch.china |title=Chinese whispers surround Falun Gong trial |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=21 August 2001 | location=London}}</ref> ''The Guardian'' reported that on the last day of the one-month trial, Xinhua had, by mid-morning, issued a full report of the verdicts; the ''[[People's Daily]]'' had produced its own editorial by the afternoon.<ref name="gittings2"/>

In a [[hacker (computer security)|hacking]] incident, the ''False Fire'' video was successfully broadcast on Chinese television in 2002 in the city of Changchun, and interrupted the station's scheduled programming for 50 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s499227.htm |date=8 March 2002 |title=Falun Gong hijack Chinese TV station |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref><ref name=Xinhua2>{{cite web |author=Xinhua |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/China/200907/t95205.htm |title=Review: Whole story of Falun Gong diehards sabotaging CATV network to broadcast illegal programs |publisher=Facts.org.cn |date= 20 September 2002 |accessdate= 28 February 2010}}</ref> Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner who hacked into the satellite feed, was arrested and sentenced to prison, where he died under disputed circumstances 21 months later.<ref name="clearwisdom.net">{{cite web |url=http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/1/20/44264p.html |title=Details on How Liu Chengjun, Who Tapped Into the Changchun Cable Television, Was Tortured to Death in Jilin Prison |publisher=ClearWisdom.net |date=20 January 2004}}</ref><ref name=USDOS2003-2005>{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27768.htm|title=2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} {{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51509.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2005: China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)|last=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor|publisher=U.S. Department of State|accessdate=3 October 2009}} The United States Department of State said Liu Chengjun had reportedly been "abused in custody" and "beaten to death by police in Jilin City Prison".</ref><ref name=EmbassyLC>{{cite web|url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Facts/200801/t75829.htm|title=Truth about death of Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner|last=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada|date=1 January 2004|publisher=facts.org.cn|accessdate=28 February 2010}} The [[Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Canada]] stated that "Liu Chengjun, an obsessed Falun Gong practitioner" had been "weak and sick when he was in prison", had refused food and medical treatment, and died in hospital "of respiratory circulating failure, hypovolemic shock and acute renal failure".</ref>

===The survivors' fate===
[[File:Chen guo.jpg|thumb|The skin-grafted Chen Guo, one year after the incident |alt=burns victim in blue suit lying on a hospital bed]]In April 2002, one year after the incident, the Government acceded to requests for foreign press to interview the survivors in the presence of state officials.<ref name=real>{{cite web |first=Jeremy |last=Page |author=Reuters |url=http://www.facts.org.cn/Reports/World/200708/t60322.htm |title=Survivors say China Falun Gong immolations real |date=4 April 2002 |publisher= Facts.org |accessdate= 9 February 2007}}</ref> When asked why they set themselves on fire, Hao Huijun replied that she had realised the futility of writing letters and demonstrating by waving banners, "so finally, we decided ... to make a big event to show our will to the world. ... We wanted to show the government that Falun Gong was good."<ref name=real/> At the time of the interview, Chen Guo and her mother were still in the hospital, both having lost their hands, ears and noses. Chen had one eye covered by a flap of skin.<ref name=real/> Both her mother's eyes were covered with skin grafts. The fire had left Wang Jindong with scarred, leathery cheeks and blackened fingers. Wang said he felt "humiliated because of my stupidity and fanatical ideas."<ref name=real/> Liu Baorong, who did not set fire to herself, spent months in "reform through labour and reeducation."

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.falsefire.com/ falsefire.com (Falun Gong site)]
*[http://www.facts.org.cn/Feature/tsi/ Facts.org.cn (Website of China Association For Cultic Studies)]
{{Falun Gong}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}
{{Featured article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Incident}}
[[Category:Falun Gong]]
[[Category:2001 in China]]
[[Category:History of Beijing]]
[[Category:Political repression in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Suicides in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Self-immolations]]

[[cs:Falešný oheň]]
[[eo:Membruligoj de la placo Tian An Men]]
[[ja:天安門焼身自殺事件]]
[[ru:Групповое самосожжение в Пекине (2001)]]
[[zh:天安门自焚事件]]