Falun Gong members set themselves on fire as protest, witness reports

From Rebecca MacKinnon
CNN Beijing Bureau Chief

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Five members of the banned Falun Gong meditation group set themselves on fire Tuesday in China's Tiananmen Square, according to an eyewitness.

One of the five, a woman, died of injuries sustained in the fire.

One man was seen being carried into a police van with severe burns on his face. Other bodies lay on the ground, shielded from onlookers by a screen erected by police.

Members staged the protest at 2:40 p.m. local time on the square, site of past protests in Beijing, the capital.

Tuesday is the day before the Chinese New Year. Members of Falun Gong say 4,000 fellow members were taken from the square by police last year at Chinese New Year.

VIDEO Video of the scene, from CNN's Rebecca MacKinnon Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    GALLERY Falun Gong image gallery     ALSO What is Falun Gong?    MESSAGE BOARD Share your thoughts on today's events in China

On the eve of Chinese New Year last year, a CNN crew filmed elderly protesters as police beat and kicked them on the edge of Tiananmen Square. The protesters then were thrown into police vans.

In anticipation that followers might attempt similar protests this year, China's government has waged an intensive anti-Falun Gong media campaign.

On Monday, state-controlled media ran editorials calling the movement a "social cancer."

Members imprisoned in crackdown

Falun Gong members claim there is a growing split among the Chinese leadership as to whether the Chinese government's harsh crackdown against the group is justified.

China previously has acknowledged imprisoning 242 Falun Gong organizers during an 18-month-old ban on the sect. China also has said some members have been sent to labor camps.

The Chinese government claims Falun Gong is a cult that threatens public order and communist rule and has led more than 1,600 followers to their deaths, mostly by encouraging them to eschew modern medical treatment.

Practitioners say Falun Gong's slow-motion meditation exercises and philosophies are drawn from Buddhism, Taoism and the group's U.S.-based founder, Li Hongzhi. They say they promote good health and moral living.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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