Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident 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; Chinese government sources say that five members of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that is persecuted in mainland China, set themselves on fire in the square. Falun Gong sources disputed the accuracy of these portrayals, and claimed that their teachings explicitly forbid violence or suicide. Several journalists have suggested the self-immolations were staged. According to Chinese state media, a group of seven people had travelled to Beijing from
Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters Notably, a Hong Kong concert raised one million US dollars for the students. However, since the various student organizations within the square maintained their own donation funds, accountability waned. For example, the Beijing Students’ Autonomous Federation withheld one million RMB in donations when the Hunger Strike Committee took back control of the Square on May 13. Upon learning of these funds, the CCP’s official stance was that donations came from reactionary forces and were used by the students in general to procure communication equipment and illegal arms. Intent on increasing support for the movement, Defend Tiananmen Square Headquarters established communication