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
Instances of Insubordination in the PLA during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. began shooting at protesters out of frustration. After firing shots into the air, in response to brick and bottle throwing by the crowd, the troops became enraged and fired into the crowd. According to him: "No one said to shoot, but it was, like, We're going to teach them a lesson, and then those soldiers unleashed their fury, You pulled the trigger and bang, bang, bang, it was like rain, the noise shaking the heavens." The high-rise apartment blocks along Changan Boulevard, leading to Tiananmen Square, were subjected to indiscriminate gunfire from the troops below. Documentary evidence of the Tiananmen