(Minghui.org) My cousin is an insightful and clear-headed person. While talking with her about the various disasters in China that have claimed countless lives in recent years, in particular during the COVID-19 outbreak, she said, “On the surface, it seems that these people died from the pandemic, but in fact, many of them were victims of the ‘self-immolation incident’ staged by the communist regime to incite hatred against Falun Dafa practitioners.”

The “self-immolation incident” refers to the event when five people allegedly set themselves on fire on Tiananmen Square on January 23, 2001. Chinese Central TV (CCTV) claimed that these self-immolators were Falun Dafa practitioners and continuously featured the incident in all its prime-time programs, claiming that Falun Dafa’s teachings were directly responsible for the tragedy.

When my cousin saw the report back then, she said right away, “That is fake! There was no one else on Tiananmen Square besides those who set themselves on fire, but the square is usually crowded with visitors, and I’ve never seen the police patrolling there with fire extinguishers [like they were on January 23].” To her, it was obvious that the police and the so-called self-immolators were shooting a film on Tiananmen Square.

Indeed, more questions and inconsistencies were later found in the news reports of the incident, which turned out to be a propaganda campaign staged by the communist regime to justify its persecution of Falun Gong.

Just months after the “self-immolation incident,” on November 20, 2001, another event took place on Tiananmen Square: 36 Falun Dafa practitioners from several Western countries displayed a banner with the words, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” in a peaceful protest against the persecution. 

When my cousin saw the report on the Minghui website, she said, “Look! This time, Xinhua News (a state-run media) did not take any video recordings, and the police were not standing there with fire extinguishers, waiting for them [the Western Falun Dafa practitioners] to set themselves on fire. Instead, they beat and kicked those who shouted ‘Falun Dafa is great’ because these are real Falun Dafa practitioners.”

Unfortunately, many people in China continue to believe the “self-immolation incident” propaganda and turn a blind eye to the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa. They fall for the material gains promoted by the communist regime and have lost their moral compass. To them, as long as the communist regime doesn’t target them or get in the way of their “good life,” they don’t care about how the regime persecutes other groups. 

But will their good life last forever? Probably not.

Looking back at the past two decades, as the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance that Falun Dafa teaches have been suppressed, the entire society has experienced a rapid decline in morality and all kinds of social issues have cropped up. From toxic foods and fake vaccines to “Tofu buildings” (poorly constructed buildings due to rampant corruption and graft) and a high crime rate, not to mention the frequent and severe natural disasters, everyone is a victim. 

Putting it all into the context of traditional Chinese culture, when the sins of the entire country accumulate, disasters and misfortune will follow. Maybe the COVID-19 pandemic is meant to be a big wake-up call for the Chinese.

As a Falun Dafa practitioner myself, I know that only by upholding kindness will one be blessed and protected by divine beings during disasters. None of my family who support Falun Dafa were infected during the SARS outbreak or the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope more people can see through the Chinese Communist Party’s lies and propaganda and stand with truth and justice.