(Minghui.org) (This article was originally published in Chinese on February 13, 2001.)
Translator’s note: On January 23, 2001, five people set themselves on fire at Tiananmen Square. State media claimed that they were Falun Gong practitioners. But Falun Gong teachings clearly prohibit killing and suicide, and the self-immolators’ actions and words weren’t in line with Falun Gong teachings. Falun Gong practitioners don’t recognize them as real practitioners and are calling for an independent investigation into the incident.
While a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on February 9, 2001 cited narratives from the Chinese Communist Party and referred to the self-immolators as “members of Falun Gong,” it also spotlighted the communist regime’s tight control of relevant people in the event and obstruction of independent news reporting.
Below is the translation of part of the AFP report.
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China has barred the families of the five people who set themselves on fire at Tiananmen Square from visiting them in the hospital. Among the injured self-immolators was a 12-year-old girl. All of them are in critical condition.
Liu Siying’s grandmother told AFP on the phone from her home in central Henan Province on Friday that all of her family members were barred from going to Beijing to visit the girl. “The authorities told us that no one is allowed to see her,” she said in an uneasy voice. “They also demanded that I don’t take any interviews. That’s everything I can tell you. I have to hang up now. Bye.”
Reporters from state-owned media such as the Xinhua News Agency are allowed to enter the hospital to interview the injured self-immolators, but the government denied all interview requests from other foreign and domestic media.
One official of the Jishuitan Hospital in Beijing, who was responsible for treating the injured self-immolators, said, “It’s the 610 Office, the agency in charge of investigating Falun Gong activities, that denied the family visit and interviews.” He confirmed that no family members had come to visit, and that visits had to be approved by the 610 Office and it was impossible for them to approve it.
At the same time, the police raided Liu’s home three times and searched every corner of it. Another family member told AFP that the police took away many documents, but they weren’t exactly sure what they were. “Liu Siying’s grandmother is in her 80s. All of this put so much pressure on her. I’m worried she wouldn’t be able to bear it,” the relative said.
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