I came to my own conclusion as someone who doesn't practise Falun Dafa about the credibility of the "self-immolation incident," without having to rely on the evidence from those who practise Falun Dafa or a professional analysis. The following is my reasoning:
1. Self-immolation is not something easy to do. In order for someone to self-immolate, you have to brainwash them and establish a very firm belief in him or her. In order for that to occur, one needs an isolated environment and extended period of time (usually starting from childhood) to brainwash them. There were no indications from the official report that the victims of the incident had such a background.
Suppose the participants did have such a firm belief. Then when they had failed to kill themselves, it was impossible for all of them to realise the "truth" in such a short period of time.2. Among the participants (actors) in the so-called "self-immolation," there were children. While children are easy to be misled, they are also easy to become traumatised. It was surprising that these children did not become mentally unstable after the incident, and instead they apparently did not seem affected and were even able to sing. It looked more like a staged performance than a real event.
3. Lastly, but also most obviously, if the purpose of self-immolation was to consummate and go to heaven, and suppose that they really wanted to die, they would find a place indoors or where no one could bother them instead of choosing Tiananmen Square, because it would be difficult to succeed with the self-immolation in such a public place.
In fact, when the government decided to crack down on you, I thought you must have some anti-government propaganda or activities. Now that I think about it, if the government has to resort to peaceful means such as sit-in for anti-Party evidence, in addition to fabricating other evidence. They really have nothing else to show. The reason I sympathise with you is because the government fabricated evidence, which is very low and dirty.
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