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Thoughts on Chinese Effort to Blame Falun Gong for the Two Self-Immolation Incidents

February 26, 2001 |  

[Background Information:

Falun Dafa Will Face Further Attacks In Wake of Alleged Member's Suicide Beijing Rushes to Air Report On Another Self-Immolation (excerpt)

Reported by IAN JOHNSON THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

BEIJING -- The battle between China and banned spiritual group Falun Dafa intensified -- but also grew more puzzling -- over the weekend after another purported member of the group committed suicide by self-immolation.

State media reported that Tan Yihui, 25 years old, died soon after setting himself on fire at noon Friday in a residential district of the capital. Residents confirmed that a person burned himself to death in the location described by the government and state television showed officers covering a charred corpse.

....

Beijing's selective release of information has also done little to explain why the suicides are taking place. The government has forbidden foreign media, diplomats and human-rights observers from investigating the case. The government says Mr. Tan left a six-page suicide note but it released only three fragments saying Mr. Tan wanted "to renounce his citizenship of the People's Republic of China" in order to be "a brave warrior" in defense of group founder Mr. Li and go to "heaven," according to the Xinhua newsagency.

The language was puzzling because Mr. Li, who moved to New York City several years ago, rarely writes of "heaven" or that his disciples be "warriors."...]

[Minghui]

1. Stop making an issue of "consummation." This tactic profanes the Buddha Law and deceives the masses.

"Consummation" is a term used by the cultivation community. Buddha School, Tao School, Tibetan Lama School and other cultivation methods all talk about "consummation." Even though each school has its own cultivation method, "its goal in cultivation practice is the same. Both try to achieve the state of Unlocking Gong, enlightenment, and completion in cultivation." (Zhuan Falun) Only by abandoning the attachment to life can one reach consummation. However, abandoning the attachment to life doesn't mean letting go of one's life, let alone committing suicide. Moreover, our school cultivates both mind and body. When we reach consummation, we will take our physical body with us instead of discarding it. How could a practitioner set himself on fire instead of cherishing what makes cultivation possible the physical body? Besides, cultivators are strictly prohibited to kill lives. Suicide is also a form of killing. Not only will the person who commits suicide not reach consummation, he will also create a great deal of karma. With so much karma, how can he reach consummation?

In order to defame Falun Gong by blaming it with the self-immolation incident, Jiang and his gang have repeatedly equated death with consummation, which completely revealed their ignorance and tarnished their own image. Besides the fact that they have profaned the Buddha Law, they have also manipulated and deceived the masses that do not know the truth about cultivation practice. They tried to provoke people's hatred towards Falun Gong thus, destroying the remaining kindness left in the people. They have committed a serious crime. We ask that the gang of Jiang to stop making an issue of "consummation." Why do you spend so much effort to crack down Falun Gong just to make enemies all over, to embarrass yourselves and expose your own bad deeds?

2. Did Tan Yihui go to Beijing to validate the Fa or to prove his identity?

Regarding Tan's self-immolation, the reports specifically mentioned that it was the regular fire extinguisher carried in the car that was used to put out the fire. Since they received the fire report, they set out knowing there was a fire. Why didn't they bring a few more with them? The first self-immolation incident took place unexpectedly. Yet "within a minute," they used 4 fire extinguishers to put out the fire on Wang Jindong. In contrast, Dafa practitioners went to Beijing to validate Dafa, and prove that Falun Dafa is good. They don't leave their names or addresses. We wonder whether Tan went to Beijing to validate the Dafa or to prove his own identity? If he wanted to prove his identity, he could very well state that in his will. Why did he have to bring and keep in a safe place the complete set of documents that could prove his identity, including his Permanent Resident Booklet and train ticket?

The gang of Jiang put the blamed on Falun Gong for the first self-immolation incident. After analyzing the video footage aired by the Chinese media as well as the description of the whole event, outsiders felt it was more like a drama with many holes directed and played by the Chinese authorities. Comments from them include: "self-damaging," "inferior performance"... It is difficult for them to deceive the people in the world. Now, Falun Gong again was blamed for another self-immolation incident...

We strongly call on the international human rights groups and the international media to conduct an independent third-party investigation of the self-immolation incidents because people deserve to know the truth and Falun Dafa's reputation should be restored. It doesn't matter who the self-immolators were, the vicious group of Jiang's will never escape the historical responsibility and condemnation from the righteous.

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