The Staged "Self Immolation" on Tiananmen Square - A Massive Propaganda Stunt Contrived to Demonize Falun Gong in the Minds of China's People
Background: By the end of 2000 -- a year and a half after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the suppression of Falun Gong -- the campaign had failed to garner support among many of the CCP's rank and file. Then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin had toured southern provinces earlier in 2000 hoping to shore up more support for the campaign among local leaders. Meanwhile, public support for the campaign more broadly had waned.
On January 23, 2001, five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The entire scene was caught on camera from multiple angles. Beginning just hours after the event, state-controlled media was flooded with reports that the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. These reports included grisly footage of the victims, portraying Falun Gong teachings as directly responsible for the tragedy.
The Problem: In the weeks following the event, a wealth of evidence uncovered (including a Washington Post article finding that two of the self-immolators never practiced Falun Gong) indicates the entire incident was staged. Yet, while people inside China had no access to this information, the Chinese state-run media continued a blitz campaign to portray the "self-immolators" as Falun Gong practitioners. People across China changed from respecting and sympathizing with Falun Gong to becoming infuriated with and attacking the practice. Hate crimes targeting Falun Gong practitioners increased and the CCP escalated its persecution with increased arrests, torture, killing, and forced organ harvesting.
Why It Matters: With 70-100 million practicing Falun Gong in China, by 1999 the traditional discipline was largely a household name and a respected one at that. The staged "self-immolation," however, changed all that, and to this day remains the single most influential factor in garnering disgust or hatred toward Falun Gong among the Chinese people. The resulting apathy or hostility toward Falun Gong in China has greatly facilitated the regime's attempt to eradicate the practice, and is a primary cause for the tens of thousands of reports of abuse and torture.
KEY ANALYSIS
False Fire (Video)
This is the authoritative documentary on the suspicious points of the staged "self-immolation" incident. It won an honorary award at the 51st Columbia International Film Festival for its analytical approach and exposure of the tragic event.
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ARTICLES ABOUT THE STAGED "SELF-IMMOLATION"
Analysis: 54 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes
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Part 6
CCTV's Li Yuqiang Acknowledges That Part of the "Self-Immolation" Scene Was Staged
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Feb. 10, 2024A Chinese New Year’s Eve 23 Years Ago
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Jan. 29, 2024Agence France-Presse: CCP Denies Visits to and Media Interviews of Family Members of Alleged Self-Immolators
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Jan. 29, 2024Tiananmen Self-Immolation: Suicide or Murder?
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Jan. 25, 2024Cinematographer: How I Know That the So-called Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Was a Hoax
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Jan. 23, 2024Video: The False Fire on Tiananmen Square 23 Years Ago
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April 4, 2021Television Producer: Staged Self-Immolation Video Came from PLAC
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Feb. 10, 2021Eyewitness Exposes “Killing with No Mercy” Policy Following TV Interception to Expose Self-immolation Hoax
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Feb. 4, 2021“Everyone Knows the Self-Immolation Was Faked!”
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Jan. 31, 202120th Anniversary of the Self-Immolation Hoax: Heroes Expose the Truth via TV Interception
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Jan. 31, 2021Senior Engineer Subjected to Psychological Torture, Forced to Watch Staged Tiananmen Self-Immolation Video for Over Ten Hours
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Jan. 31, 2021A Prosecutor’s Story: Connecting the Dots Between a Self-Immolation Rumor and Incident Aimed at Defaming Falun Gong
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Jan. 30, 2021Entrepreneur Recalls Being Forced To Watch Self-Immolation Video in Labor Camp
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Jan. 26, 2021Review | Self-Immolation Hoax on Tiananmen Square: Opinion From a Fire Expert
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Jan. 26, 2021Review | “Zooming in on the Staged "Self-immolation" Case Reported by Xinhua News Agency: Who Directed These People to Set Themselves on Fire?”
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Jan. 25, 2021Review | An Eyewitness Recalls the “Self-Immolation” Incident on Tiananmen Square
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Jan. 24, 2021Witness to the Tiananmen Self-Immolation Hoax: It Was Done by My Army Unit
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Jan. 24, 2021CCTV Reporters Must Have Known about the Staged Self-Immolation Beforehand
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Jan. 23, 2021Video: The False Fire on Tiananmen Square 20 Years Ago
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Jan. 23, 2021A False Fire Was Started by the CCP 20 Years Ago and Its Intoxicating Smoke Continues
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Jan. 23, 2021Staged Self-Immolation Incident: A Lie of the Century
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Jan. 23, 2019CCTV Reporters Must Have Known about the Staged Self-immolation Incident Beforehand
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April 16, 2016Provincial 610 Office Chief Witnessed Self-Immolation Being Planned and Staged at Tiananmen Square After Curfew
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Feb. 13, 2016Tiananmen Self-Immolation “False Fire” Incident Continues to Cause Harm Over a Decade Later
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Nov. 2, 2014Self-Immolation Hoax on Tiananmen Square: Professional Opinion from a Fire Expert
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March 29, 2014Two Eyewitness Accounts of the “Self-Immolation Incident”
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Jan. 22, 2014A Government Plotted Self-Immolation Hoax
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Jan. 11, 2014Playing with Fire: Chinese Tycoon's Hidden Agenda to Rekindle Decade-Old Propaganda in New York
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Jan. 9, 2014Futile Attempt to Resurrect Decade-Old Plot
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June 18, 2013Disproving the Self-immolation—Liu Baorong Couldn't Have Drunk Toxic Gasoline and Survived
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March 7, 2013Twelve Years after the Tiananmen Self-immolation Hoax, More and More People Understand the Truth
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Aug. 27, 2012The Chinese Communist Party Lies about Fires (Again and Again)
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June 1, 2012Self-Immolation or Deception?
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May 28, 2012Striking Similarities between the "Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident" and Predictions in the Novel Yellow Peril Written Ten Years Ago
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May 24, 2012A Look at the CCP's Efforts to Promote the Staged "Self Immolation" All Over Again
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May 8, 2012The Chinese Communist Party Pulls the Same Old Tricks in Rehashing the Staged Self-Immolation Incident
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May 4, 2012Press Statement of World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong Regarding the Tiananmen "Self-Immolation"
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May 3, 2012CCTV's Li Yuqiang Acknowledges That Part of the "Self-Immolation" Scene Was Staged
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May 2, 2012Epoch Times: Chinese Communist Party Harasses a Self-immolation Investigator in Canada
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April 29, 2012Self-Contradiction in Chinese Government's Media Reports about Tiananmen Self-immolations
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April 28, 2012Witnessing the Hypocrisy of Xinhua News Agency: Major News Ignored - Old Lies Re-emerge
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April 27, 2012Truth or Fiction? Judge the Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation for Yourself
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April 23, 2012Why Is Her Identity Still a Mystery?
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April 21, 2012How People from Different Walks of Life View the Staged "Self-Immolation"
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April 20, 2012“Emergency Notice” Given Before the Staged Self-Immolation Incident on Tiananmen Square
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April 17, 2012Analysis of the Deceptive Logic Used by the CCP with the "Self-immolation" Fabrication
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April 15, 2012“Zooming in on the Staged "Self-immolation" Case Reported by Xinhua News Agency: Who Directed These People to Set Themselves on Fire?”
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April 14, 2012The Chinese Communist Party Frames the Self-Immolation Case Using Absurd Logic
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April 13, 2012Looking Back Ten Years: Two Reports from the Minghui Website Predicted That There Would Be a Staged Self-Immolation Incident
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April 12, 2012A Beijing Doctor Talks about the Inconsistencies Surrounding the Staged Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident
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April 10, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 2
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April 10, 2012The Staged Self-Immolation: “They Were Not Just Acting—They Really Were Killing People”
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April 9, 2012The Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation Hoax Was Clearly a Set-up by the CCP
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April 8, 2012Further Information about the Staged Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident
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April 7, 2012Amidst the CCP Infighting, New Eyewitness to the Killing of Liu Chunling in the “Tiananmen Square Self-immolation” Hoax Comes Forward
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April 6, 2012FDI: Unlike in Tibet, Falun Gong "Self-immolations" a False Set-up
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April 5, 2012After a Ten-year Effort to Disseminate the Truth, the Public Sees through the Hoax of the Staged "Self-immolation Incident" (Photo)
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April 4, 2012Another Loophole in the Staged “Tiananmen Square Self-immolation”
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April 3, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 6
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April 2, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 5
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April 1, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 4
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March 30, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 3
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March 29, 201254 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 1
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March 26, 2012From the Staged "Self-immolation" to the CCP's Two-Faced Attitude Toward Western Media (Photos)
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Jan. 21, 2012Video: Self-Immolation or CCP Propaganda Stunt?
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 1
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 2
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 3
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 4
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 5
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Oct. 1, 201154 Facts That Reveal How the "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square Was Actually Staged for Propaganda Purposes - Part 6
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Sept. 20, 2011How People from Different Walks of Life View the Staged "Self-Immolation"
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May 24, 2011Another Loophole in the Staged “Tiananmen Square Self-immolation”
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Feb. 24, 2011Looking Back Ten Years: Two Reports from the Minghui Website Predicted That There Would Be a Staged Self-Immolation Incident
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Feb. 18, 2011Why Is Her Identity Still a Mystery?
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Feb. 11, 2011Further Information about the Staged Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident
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Jan. 29, 2011After a Ten-year Effort to Disseminate the Truth, the Public Sees through the Hoax of the Staged "Self-immolation Incident" (Photo)
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March 19, 2005The Misdeeds of Xue Hongjun, a Part of the Staged Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident
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Feb. 15, 2005Epoch Times: Chinese Communist Party Harasses a Self-immolation Investigator in Canada
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Feb. 2, 2005The Epoch Times: CCP Brings Up the Self-immolation Hoax Again To Divert Attention from Zhao Ziyang's Death
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Feb. 2, 2005Ottawa Citizen Letter to the Editor: Criticisms of Falun Gong just Chinese propaganda
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Jan. 31, 2005The Chinese Communist Party Frames the Self-Immolation Case Using Absurd Logic
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Jan. 29, 2005From the Staged "Self-immolation" to the CCP's Two-Faced Attitude Toward Western Media (Photos)
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Jan. 29, 2005Analysis of the Deceptive Logic Used by the CCP with the "Self-immolation" Fabrication
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Jan. 29, 2005Chinese Central Television (CCTV) Rehashing the Staged Self-Immolation Incident -- The Last Struggle of the Old Forces Before Their Destruction
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Jan. 28, 2005A letter to the Ottawa Citizen from Falun Dafa Association of Canada Regarding the Inaccurate AP Article
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Jan. 28, 2005
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Jan. 28, 2005Zooming in on the Staged "Self-immolation" Case Reported by Xinhua News Agency: Who Directed These People to Set Themselves on Fire?
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Jan. 25, 2005Witnessing the Hypocrisy of Xinhua News Agency: Major News Ignored - Old Lies Reemerge
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Jan. 24, 2005A Look at the CCP's Efforts to Promote the Staged "Self Immolation" All Over Again
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Jan. 24, 2005The Chinese Communist Party Pulls the Same Old Tricks in Rehashing the Staged Self-Immolation Incident
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Sept. 21, 2004Additional Facts About the Staged "Self-Immolation" on Tiananmen Square and the "Fu Yibin Murder Case"
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Sept. 3, 2004A Beijing Doctor Talks about the Inconsistencies Surrounding the Staged Tiananmen Self-Immolation Incident
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July 29, 2004Eyewitness Reports Seeing Tiananmen Self-Immolation Performers in Hospital
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Dec. 15, 2003Dafa Practitioners Resist Brainwashing from the Deceitful Actors of the Staged "Self-immolation"
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Dec. 2, 2003Truth or Fiction? Judge the Tiananmen Square Self-Immolation for Yourself
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May 26, 2003CCTV's Li Yuqiang Acknowledges That Part of the "Self-Immolation" Scene Was Staged
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May 24, 2003FDI: Investigation Uncovers More Lies in Chinese Regime's Story of Tragic Self-Immolation Incident -- "Sadly, the SARS cover-up is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what this regime is hiding."
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May 22, 2003Press Statement of World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong Regarding the Tiananmen "Self-Immolation"
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May 19, 2003RFI (Radio France Internationale) Reports on the WOIPFG's Findings on the Tiananmen "Self-Immolation"
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May 15, 2003U.S. Newswire: New Evidence on Falun Gong "Self-Immolation" Incident
