Date in year · 2001 · The 2000s

January 23, 2001

On January 23, 2001, five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution. The year's #1 song was "Hanging by a Moment" by Lifehouse. Manuel Ugarte, Neco Williams, Jalen Williams would arrive in the same year.

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Year

2001

2000s

Around 2001

The year in brief

2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2001st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 1st year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 2nd year of the 2000s decade.

Read the full year of 2001 →

What happened

On January 23, 2001

  1. 2001 Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Chinese Communist Party to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.

    Incident in Beijing, China

    Five people set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square in central Beijing, on the eve of Chinese New Year on 23 January 2001. There is controversy over the incident; Chinese government sources say that five members of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned in mainland China, set themselves on fire in the square. Falun Gong sources disputed the accuracy of these portrayals, and claimed that their teachings explicitly forbid violence or suicide.

Arrivals

Born on January 23, 2001

Olga Danilović 2001– Serbian former tennis player (born 2001)

Elsewhere that year

Other moments from 2001

The class of 2001

Others born in 2001

Manuel Ugarte 2001– Uruguayan footballer
Neco Williams 2001– Welsh footballer
Jalen Williams 2001– American basketball player
Shanti Dope 2001– Filipino rapper
Shin Ryujin 2001– South Korean rapper, singer and dancer
Violette Dorange 2001– French Professional Round the World Sailor

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