An Eyewitness Recalls the Staged "Self-Immolation" Incident on Tiananmen Square

It was the third day of the Indiana State Cultural Festival. I was preparing to leave around 9:00 p.m., as all the stands were about to pack up, when I suddenly saw five young volunteers in T-shirts with the words "Chinese Culture in Indianapolis" coming towards me. These young people held different expressions from the other young Chinese people that I had met before, and they openly pointed out that the principles of "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance" promoted by Falun Gong were good. I started to talk with them. When I mentioned the staged self-immolation event at Tiananmen Square, one of the young men interjected, "I have to say something about this event, because I was there at that time." The following is his eyewitness description.

"It was about 2:00 p.m. The weather was bad, and very few tourists were on the square. The police forced seven college students and I over to one side of the Monument of Heroes, but we didn't know why. Shortly thereafter we heard an unusual sound less than ten meters away, and then we saw a ball of fire. The fireball was running. Within a minute a lot of policemen suddenly appeared and put out the fire with fire extinguishers and blankets. Someone was shouting slogans, and for a while the policemen were in a tangle with the burning body. We had no idea what was happening and just craned our necks to try to see, but we were driven off to a great distance by the police."

"One of my classmates said, 'Where is that strong gasoline smell coming from--' Another answered, 'It has to be gasoline that was burning.' As we turned back, we saw four people pass by, all drenched with gasoline. No sooner had we grasped what was happening than we heard the sound of the gasoline igniting, and all four people were on fire. Meanwhile, a large group of police rushed out suddenly from behind the monument, carrying extinguishers, fire-blankets, or boards. They quickly began to extinguish the fire and, at the same time, blocked our view with the boards. We were all surprised and exclaimed, 'They've got everything prepared; they were ready for the fire!' 'Maybe there will be some coverage on TV tonight,' commented a classmate. The police put out the fires quickly, but we saw no ambulances arriving. Some tourists, including foreigners, took pictures. The police rushed to take their cameras no matter who they were. We could not figure out what was going on and never thought to relate those burning people to Falun Gong."

"Another time an honest-looking fellow in my class was stopped by police in the underground passage near Tiananmen Square. They ordered him to read a sentence slandering Falun Gong on a piece of paper they handed him. He asked, 'Why--' 'If you don't, we will arrest you as a Falun Gong member.' He was very scared, so he read it and then ran away. When we went touring on the Great Wall, the police put the photo of Falun Gong's founder on the ground and ordered the tourists to step on it. Anyone who refused would be arrested. They clearly knew that those who practise Falun Gong followe 'Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance' and would not step on it against their conscience. They used such an insidious method to catch those who practise Falun Gong. One of my classmates from Daqing City of Heilongjiang Province in China was sentenced to ten years for practicing Falun Gong, and he is still in jail now."

After he finished the story, he reminded me, "Hey, be careful. Don't go back to the Mainland now because they will arrest you. That is the trth. The police there are up to no good. I know your practice and have read Zhuan Falun before." (Zhuan Falun, contains the teachings of Falun Gong)

Another one cautiously asked me, "Some people have negative opinions of your teacher, and I have no idea if it is true or not. I want to hear your opinion of your teacher." I told him, "As a matter of fact, it is not like what is said in China" I then went on to say, "Our teacher told us,

'In fact, I keep teaching people to conduct themselves with Truthfulness, Benevolence, and Forbearance as their guiding principles. So naturally, I have also been setting an example.' ("Some Thoughts of Mine," Essentials for Further Advancement II)"

Before leaving, they told me, "We believe in you and support you. You Falun Gong people are great, your just like Gandhi." They then bid us goodbye and we parted ways.