Death by whose hand? Falun Gong and suicide
Edited book (chapter)
Chapter Title | Death by whose hand? Falun Gong and suicide |
---|---|
Book Chapter Category | Edited book (chapter) |
ERA Publisher ID | 1202 |
Book Title | Sacred suicide |
Authors | |
Author | Farley, Helen |
Editors | Lewis, James R. and Cusack, Carole M. |
Page Range | 215-231 |
Series | Ashgate New Religions |
Chapter Number | 11 |
Number of Pages | 17 |
Year | 2014 |
Publisher | Ashgate Publishing Limited |
Place of Publication | Farnham, Surrey, United Kingdom |
ISBN | 9781409450863 |
Abstract | The teachings of Falun Gong explicitly forbid suicide, yet in 2001, five protesters set themselves ablaze in Tiananmen Square resulting in the death of two. Allegedly, their stated aim was to bring the world's focus onto the repression of the movement by the Chinese government. Falun Gong spokespeople were quick to speak out in defence of founder Li Hongzhi, saying that the movement strictly forbids suicide in line with the traditional Chinese belief that says that suicide is an affront to the ancestors. They further claimed that the Chinese government had staged the suicides in order to stir up public opinion against the movement and indeed the tide of public opinion did turn against Falun Gong and its founder (Bell and Boas 2003, 285). |
Keywords | Falun Gong; suicide; Chinese religion; religion and society |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 500406. Studies in eastern religious traditions |
500405. Religion, society and culture | |
520504. Psychology of religion | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | Australian Digital Futures Institute |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q2yyz/death-by-whose-hand-falun-gong-and-suicide
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