Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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''The New York Times''' Erick Eckholm opined that the Chinese government's propaganda was "as wooden an anacrhonistic as ever. First, suppress the news. Then, days later, orchestrate a crescendo of extreme television, radio and newspaper reports and editorials. Finally, marshall relatives of the duped victims to utter condemnations of the evil Master Li, then ask major groups -- from leaders of Catholic, Buddhist and Muslim churches to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce -- to issue shrill denunciations." <ref>Erick Eckholm, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE6DD133EF937A35751C0A9679C8B63 "A Crackdown Burns Itself"], New York Times, Feb 4 2001, pg 4.5</ref>

InAccording February,to official[[Reporters BeijingWithout newspapersBorders]], andin pro-Chinese HongFebruary, Kongstate newspapersmedia accused the American television channel CNN and, the Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse news agencies of having "encouraged" the immolation of alleged followers of the Falungong movement at Tiananmen Square on 23 January. The authorities also threatened journalists with legal action for "homicide." A CNN official confirms that one of his teams was arrested that day near Tiananmen Square and that police confiscated their videotapes. <ref name=RSF>[http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=1468 The China annual report, 2002 from Reporters sans frontières]</ref>

Reporters sans frontières' foreign correspondents in Beijing state this was an attempt by the regime to discredit foreign coverage of the country's repression against the Falungong movement. They also point out that a few days before the immolation, the authorities and Chinese media had launched a new campaign against this movement.<ref name=RSF/>