Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident - The Incident

The Incident

On 23 January 2001, the eve of Chinese New Year, five people on Tiananmen Square poured gasoline over their clothes and set themselves on fire; another two people were prevented from igniting the gasoline.

A CNN film crew, who were there on a routine check for a possible Falun Gong protest, observed a man sitting down on the pavement north-east of the Monument to the People's Heroes at the centre of the square. He proceeded to pour gasoline over himself and set himself ablaze. Police officers on the square noticed what was happening, quickly approached the man and extinguished the flames. Shortly afterwards, another four people on the square set themselves alight. One of the four, a man, was detained and driven away in a police van. According to the CNN report, there were at least two males among the five people, and there was no children on the site. But CCP medias claimed the five people were four females and one male, including a 12-year-old girl. The CNN crew was filming these events when military police stepped in and detained the crew. The authorities then put out the flames consuming the other four people's clothing. A police van came to collect the badly burnt man, and two ambulances arrived almost 25 minutes later to collect the other four. The square was completely closed, and security was tight the next day, the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays; police monitored public access to the square for the New Year celebrations, had fire extinguishers ready, and prevented Falun Gong members from opening banners.

Of the five people who set themselves alight, one, Liu Chunling, died at the scene; another, her 12-year-old daughter, Liu Siying, died in Beijing hospital two months later, in March; the other three were left severely disfigured.