‘The Spectacular 2009’ DISASTER!

Editor’s notes: 26-year-old Yasmina Protzuk living in the DC Metropolitan Area spent the Valentine’s Day with her family seeing a show at the Kennedy Center. After the show, she felt  the organization to the show however, was horrendous.

Divine Performing Arts, The Spectacular 2009 in Washington, DC (Feb 11-15, 2009) .

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent my Valentine’s Day with my family seeing a show at the Kennedy Center. Normally, I wouldn’t feel the need to post anything concerning performances I have seen, but in this case I will be making an exception. It was horrid. It was a thinly veiled promotion of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline. I’ve been researching this method of “self cultivation” and I’m still a little confused about what exactly it is all about. I will not be going into an explanation however because my blog is not part of their propaganda campaign.

Well back to details about this show. The performers themselves: dancers, singers and musicians, were extremely talented. The organization to the show however, was horrendous. I was expecting to watch some dancing and listen to pretty music, not watch a screen that reminded me of playing echo the dolphin, and listen to songs that were written about their religious beliefs. Falun Gong was founded in 1992 by the way… just saying. Well, in front of this gaudy screen is where the dancers and singers performed on a dirty barren stage. It was almost sad; the performers were all extremely talented, but the show was a waste of what could have truly been beautiful. There were even two Emcees, who came out to introduce each new act and make sad attempts at jokes with the audience. All in all this seemed as if it were a production made for a community center or high school, not for the Opera House at the Kennedy Center.

Yad L’Achim advises Chinese on Cult-Fighting

(IsraelNN.com) At the express invitation of the Chinese Government, Rabbi Binyamin Kluger of the Yad L’Achim anti-missionary organization and Raphael Aron, Director of Cult Counseling Australia, spoke at a four-day conference in southern China on cult-fighting strategies.

The two bearded Orthodox Jews stood out blatantly at the late-January conference, the International Forum on Cultic Studies, which featured some 30 anti-cult experts from China, Russia, Ukraine, England, France, and the United States. The conference’s overall objective was to discuss ways to combat the influence of the Falun Gong cult in China, with the Chinese eager to learn from the experience of experts from around the world.

Rabbi Kluger of Jerusalem spoke primarily about how cults and missionary groups take full advantage of the media in their struggle to win over souls. “Even in Israel,” he told IsraelNationalNews.com, “articles appear in the media condemning the Chinese Government for its treatment of the Falun Gong – when in fact proof of the alleged ‘harvesting of organs’ from live Falun Gong members has been hard to come by. Investigators from the US Consulate and the British Embassy who arrived at the place that had been pointed out as the central extermination camp found that it was nothing more than a normal hospital.”

“I’m not saying there is no Chinese persecution at all of Falun Gong,” Rabbi Kluger said, “but it is far from the extent that is often reported – and in the meantime, this harmful cult receives public sympathy and recognition via the media. ”

Using the Media Both Ways
“Cults use the media for their own purposes, so we have to do the same,” he told IsraelNationalNews, preferring not to elaborate on Yad La’Achim’s specific measures so as not to “tip off” the groups it is fighting.

“It is also important to have effective media advisors,” Rabbi Kluger said. “When the media starts paying attention to a certain issue, we have to be alerted and get our own opinion in there as well.”

Rabbi Kluger said he told the Chinese “that they can’t only quote government-backed studies against Falun Gong. They have to be willing to also quote people who may be critical of the government but who, at the same time, show that the cults, and particularly Falun Gong, are harmful.”

In Israel

Rabbi Kluger said that Falun Gong is active in Israel, though not to the extent that the cult boasts. “It’s a destructive cult in all senses: encouraging the detaching of relations with friends, colleagues and sometimes also family members; saying that doctors cannot cure illnesses because they are ‘spiritual’ in nature; teaching that the leader is all-knowing and can never be challenged, etc. … They say they have 1,000 members in Israel, when in fact there are maybe 500 people who have practiced some of its exercises, but who don’t really know anything about what the cult teaches and promotes. The hard-core in Israel is not more than 60 people… But that’s how all cults work: they brag about their vast numbers, which are simply not true.”

Asked to name the most dangerous cults in Israel, Rabbi Kluger said, “Messianic Jews, Scientology, and Je-hova’s Witnesses. They target religious and non-religious Jews all over the country, and we must be vigilant.”

Praise for Yad L’Achim

Prominent U.S. anti-cult expert Rick Ross, who also attended the conference, had lavish words of praise for Kluger and Yad L’Achim: “The strategies and tactics of Yad L’Achim in Israel deserve a scientific study in and of themselves.”

Similarly, the Head of the Social Sciences Department in Beijing University, who MC’d the conference, told Rabbi Kluger at the closing session, “Honored rabbi, you have enriched us greatly and we are full of appreciation for the words of wisdom and courageous activities that you, the people at Yad L’Achim, oversee.”

‘The Spectacular 2009’ DISASTER!

Four Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun, Jilin Province, helped one of their fellow practitioners to drive out “fox spirit” from her body by means of violent actions, and killed her. On May 9, 2008, local procurators authorized the arrest of the four suspects on the charge of mayhem.

At about 5 p.m.，April 7, 2008, the Gaoxin Police Precinct Headquarter of Changchun Police Department received a report: 120 Emergency Medical Centre found a dead woman with trauma. When the policemen reached the spot, they found three men and a woman who all claimed to be friends of the dead. During the inquest, these people appeared suspicious and spoke evasively. So the policemen took them back to the police station for further investigation.

According to the local police resources, the four in custody confessed they were all Falun Gong practitioners and they beat the victim to death. Reporters visited the suspects in the detention jail on April 9. Jin Mingdong, one of the suspects, said Xiao Rong, the victim, divorced her husband on April 7 because of her practicing Falun Gong. Then Xiao Rong went to the home of Yu Xuewei, Jin Mingdong’s sister-in-law. At that time, another fellow practitioner Gao Hongqing was there, too. When she entered the room, Xiao said the fox spirit had got into her body and then she began to scream.

“Her behavior seemed normal one moment, but abnormal the next; her eye balls were moving continually and her face twitching.” Jin recalled the scene.

Yu, Jin and Gao believed the fox spirit in Xiao’s body would mess up her cultivation. “So, we tried to drive it out by the methods of Falun Gong, but to no avail.” Gao Hongqing said, they decided to take violent actions after discussion, “measure for measure and evil for evil.” They hit Xiao’s head with slippers in turn, even took the extreme measures such as pricking her with needles, burning her with boiling water and freezing her with ice cubes. All they did, in their own words, was following the Master’s instruction since Li Hongzhi once said: “If the evil has reached the point where it is unsavable and unkeepable then various measures at different levels can be used to stop it and eradicate it.”

At 3 p.m., they thought their approach didn’t work since Xiao Rong still acted abnormally, so they called for another fellow practitioner, Wang Haipeng. Wang kicked Xiao’s head, chest and abdomen with force. After beating her for a long time, they found Xiao stopped breathing, so they called 120 for help.

Jin Mingdong, only 30 years old, suddenly realized he had made a big mistake. During the interview, he cried the word “home” again and again in tears, worrying about his old parents apparently.

“We did not intent to kill her.” A month passed, but Wang Haipeng still insisted that what they beat was “the fox spirit,” not Xiao Rong. Wang Haipeng said: “In that situation, Xiao would be definitely in trouble if she continued her practice; so we just gave her a hand.”

According to the result of the anatomy, Xiao Rong’s six ribs were broken and her liver, kidney and lung were broken, too. She died from the exsanguine shock.

Chinese Falun Gong practitioners back to normal life

On an early spring day eight years ago, Liu Shujuan reluctantly sat herself on a sofa in a community lounge, still putting Falun Gong scriptures on the desk in front of her.

Liu was attending a “rehabilitation workshop” that aimed to help Falun Gong practitioners get over their obsession with the cult which was established in China by Li Hongzhi in 1992.

The Chinese government banned the Falun Gong cult on July 22, 1999, accusing the group of exploiting religion of brainwashing practitioners, cajoling money from them, and even encouraging practitioners to burn themselves in order to fulfill spiritually.

Three years after the ban, Liu learned that many peers had been waken from Li’s cheating scheme through such rehabilitation workshops. Liu didn’t think she would be one of them, for the former devotee had fancied herself as sloughing off “all the worldly trappings of wealth, prestige, love and family” under Master Li’s order.

The middle school teacher, 31 years old at that time, once ran away from home for the sake of practice, leaving her four-year-old child behind.

Through several weeks’ critical scrutiny over Li Hongzhi’s cult books at the rehabilitation workshop, Liu’s infatuation disappeared. “Li Hongzhi taught us that truthfulness, compassion and forbearance are the ultimate criteria in judging a good man. But those virtues don’t fit for him in every bit,” Liu told Xinhua.

Liu managed to break away with Falun Gong in March 2001.

Deng Wen, another Falun Gong follower who attended the workshop in 2005, said, “I used to think all practitioners are kind, but gradually I found many evil things in it.”

Deng, now 37, joined Falun Gong in 1996 and sat in protest together with her peers around Zhongnanhai, China’s central leadership compound in downtown Beijing, on April 25, 1999.

Official statistics show the Falun Gong groups had organized more than 300 unauthorized protests to exert pressure on the media and the government.

Deng said she took part in the protest because Master Li said such a gathering would be beneficial to her spiritual progress.

“When I began to think in exchanged positions and reconsidered my stonehearted attitude toward my family, I realized that Li Hongzhi is a liar,” she said.

With a 40-day “excruciating” reflection, Deng was deprogramed and became a community worker.

DESTRUCTIVE CULT

Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi jumped on the bandwagon of doing breathing exercises in the 1980s which was popular at that time both at home and abroad.

After learning that some people got rich by teaching the exercise, Li patched up the Falun Gong works and began to spread it in May 1992.

Under the pretence of building physiques, the Falun Gong cult had set up more than 28,000 training and exercise centers across the country.

To tighten his spiritual control over practitioners, Li misappropriated the Buddhist concept “Falun”, a cycling weapon symbolic of the arrival of Holy King, and churned out his work “Cycling Falun” in December 1994 to advocate the so-called “life consummation”, according to Xi Wuyi, a research fellow of the Institute of World Religions of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Li Anping, deputy secretary-general of the China Anti-Cult Association (CACA), said the book “Cycling Falun” was a good testimony to Li Hongzhi’s evilness.

“The book is completely against science and humanity,” he said,adding it used bodybuilding and principals compassion as disguise in order to control people’s mind.

An investigation in July 1999 showed that about 1,600 Falun Gong practitioners died in abnormal ways.

On the eve of China’s Spring Festival on Jan. 23, 2001, Wang Jindong and six other Falun followers set themselves on fire at the Tiananmen Square. Two people died and three were badly injured.

A former practitioner Li Chang told Xinhua in jail, “People with a bare bit of reason would not agree that they could become a Buddha by simply burning the body with gasoline.”

Li Chang, 70, once a backbone member of Falun Gong, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in December 1999 on charges of using the cult to obstruct law enforcement, causing the deaths of people and obtaining state secrets in an illegal way.

Li Chang said he learned the Tiananmen self-immolation incident via TV news in jail in 2001.

The graduate of the Tianjin-based Nankai University’s Physics Department in 1964 was very angry when he realized that Li Hongzhi had lied about his birthday.

“Li Hongzhi declared that he was born on the same day with the holiest Shakyamuni Buddha. That’s cheat!” He said. Li Hongzhi went to the government’s household registration department to change his birthday in early 1990s.

Researcher Xi said normal religious practice emphasized humanity and opposed frantic wildness, but Falun Gong was just the opposite — it encouraged practitioners to pursue the extreme, which harms the society.

Professor Ren Dingcheng of the Beijing University’s Science and Society Research Center said the ban on Falun Gong was to protect human rights, rather than trespass them.

Li Anping of the CACA said about 80 percent of the two million Falun Gong practitioners in China had separated themselves from the cult in 1999 when the government issued the ban on it. Ten years after the ban, about 98 percent have been converted and comeback to normal life.

“Many people feel strongly disgust about Falun Gong’s propaganda via telephone or leaflets in the public,” Li Anping said.

“Li Hongzhi’s overseas instigation can go nowhere,” he said, adding the CACA had helped practitioners get rid of the control of the destructive cult.

“It is hard to change one’s mind. Our work is creative,” he said.

Korea deports two Falun Gong members

Seoul has repatriated two Chinese members of the Falun Gong spiritual group following a court decision not to grant them refugee status, officials said yesterday.

A justice ministry spokesman said they were deported last month following the earlier court decision. He declined to say whether more would be sent back.

But the court rejected similar petitions from 30 other people, saying they could not prove they had been persecuted in China.

In March this year the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision.

Lee Yanglan, a Korean-American Falun Gong practitioner, said Seoul sent three Falun Gong members back to China last month while two others await deportation in a detention center.

The ministry spokesman denied accusations that Seoul was deporting Falun Gong members under pressure from the Chinese government: “The government cannot allow foreigners to stay illegally without clear evidence that they have been persecuted because of their faith.”

What about Falun Gong?

In 1992, Li Hongzhi founded the group Falun Gong in China. In 1995, the forty-seven-year-old Li moved to the United States, where he now has a “green card” and lives with his wife and daughter in New York. The Falun Gong group has utilized the Internet extensively: communicating with its practitioners, providing information on meetings and events, and selling books and tapes. Practitioners have grown beyond China to include countries such as the United States, Britain, Australia, and Germany. According to the Falun Gong group, there are at least 100 million practitioners, and even at the more modest Chinese government estimate of 2 million, it makes the Falun Gong into what could now be the fifth-largest organized religion in the world (M. Wallace — Salon.com — 9/8/99). The Falun Gong is a self-described “cultivation system” which utilizes a mixture of beliefs from Buddhism, Taoism, Chinese alchemy, qi gong breathing exercises and slow tai chi-like movements. Li Hongzhi, referred to as “Master Li,” says in the movement’s main book Zhuan Falun (considered by practitioners to be more important than the Bible, Torah, and Koran put together) that only he can save you. He states that he is everywhere, knows everything (even your thoughts before you think them) and can do anything. He insists that you read only his books and listen only to his teachings. He also promises that he can protect you from any harm, if you are a “sincere practitioner.” When the group unexpectedly appeared 10,000 strong before the Chinese government buildings in April of this year in Beijing, it shocked and galvanized the Chinese government into forming a task force to study the group. Their criticism has been sharp and hard-hitting, calling the group a dangerous cult that harms people and disturbs social stability. The Chinese government’s research claims that as of September 21, 1999 Falun Gong has caused 1,404 deaths. According to the Beijing University of Medical Science, since 1992 the Falun Gong group accounts for 10.2% of all “qi gong” originated mental disorders in China, and in the first six months of this year that percentage has gone up to 42.1%. Li Hongzhi counteracts these accusations by saying that any Falun Gong practitioner who commits suicide, death by refusal to take medicine, homicide, or mutilation, is not a “true practitioner.” Li also suggests that these practitioners’ deaths may not have been related to their Falun Gong practice, “so it is still an open question whether or not we should attribute those unpleasant incidents to Falun Gong in the first place.” (From the Falun Gong New York website under “Dissecting Several Cases of Chinese Media Misrepresentation of Falun Gong.”) Therefore, if anything goes wrong while you are practicing Falun Gong, Falun Gong disowns you. Western media coverage of the Falun Gong group has had a tendency to avoid speaking of the irrational side of the movement. However, this has recently begun to change. In Time magazine, Anthony Spaeth recently stated that “The group has evolved into something a lot less innocent than a breathing club… (Li…has a theory that extraterrestrials plan to take over the earth, and Falun Gong is the only defense)…Their claim to being unorganized, peaceful and apolitical are getting harder to swallow” (August 2, 1999, Vol. 154, No. 4). Barbara Crossette, in her New York Times article ” The Internet Changes Dictatorship’s Rules,” said, “And for the West, the extraordinary success that the Falun Gong has had with cyberspace challenges any optimism that the Internet will inevitably promote only rational, enlightened, open-minded patterns of thought” (August 1, 1999) There are several difficulties in evaluating the impact and effects of the Falun Gong group. The only sources of information tend at present to come from either the Falun Gong group itself, or the Chinese government, and information from both of these sources is difficult to verify independently. Also, the Falun Gong is fairly new in the United States and research has not yet been done. And lastly, but not least, there is a tendency in the United States to want to see the Chinese government as authoritarian and only giving out propaganda. It may be authoritarian, and it may utilize political spin, and its responses of burning books and prohibiting the practice of Falun Gong are not the values of civil libertarians, but there is a danger in totally dismissing the information they provide. Patsy Rahn, the author of this report, a recent summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, is now in Chinese language studies at that institution.

The Falun Gong heresy

By The Research Association Against Christian Heresy, Inc.

Preface

The Research Association Against Christian Heresy, Inc. was organized with some 60 members on Oct. 20, 1999 and held the first assembly on Jan 5, 2000. The Assocation is duly registered with the Korean government and totally committed to researching heresies and cults.

Presently our association is composed of some 50 regular members and about 30 associated members. These include 7 on the board of directors, 15 full research members and 2 auditors. We also have branch offices in the U.S.A., Japan, Brazil and China.

The association has researched the Falun Gong and its founder Li Hongzhi for the last five years. As a result, we have concluded Falun Gong is a cult and Li Hongzhi is a heretic. Our pupose is to protect many innocent people from being deceived by this cult. In keeping with this decision we have decided to publish this pamphlet.

Every morning and evening, in the parks and on the streets of China, you can see many people practicing Qigong (exercises). Falun Gong has become the most popular Qigong (exercise and meditation method) in China.

Fact Sheet about Li Hongzhi

Li Hongzhi: Founder of Falun Gong

· Li Hongzhi was born on May 13, 1951 in Kungchuling City, Jilin Province in China.

· From 1960-1969 he attended Changchun Pearl River Elementary School, Middle School #4 and then transferred to Middle School #48. (The Chinese education system only goes through 9 th grade).

· From 1970-1978 Li Hongzhi served in the army as an interpreter with the 201 st Defence Army, Jilin Province Forestry Garrison.

· 1978-1982 Worked in the Forestry Garrison military unit

· 1982-1991 Worked at Changchun China Cereals, Oils and Fats protection dept.

· 1991 He was introduced to the practice of Qigong

· 1992 Founded and established a training center for the Qigong method in Beijing and became the president. He began to actively spread and expand Qigong. During the ten years from 1992-2002 Li Hongzhi opened 39 training centers with 1900 branches and 28,000 cell groups. No numbers are available as to the number of adherents.

Moral Problems of Li Hongzhi

· Li Hongzhi changed his birthdate from May 13, 1951 to July 7, 1952. July 7 (lunar calendar) is the birthday of Sokamoni (founder of Buddhism and the first Buddha). He did that to lay claim to have been reincarnated from Buddha.

· He said that Jesus failed to accomplish the work of redemption. Instead he, Li Hongzhi, accomplished redemption and caused his followers to believe what he said.

· He put an idol statue of Buddha in his house and his followers likewise were expected to put the image of Buddha in their houses. Everytime they bowed down and worshiped before the statue, they were required to pay 100 hwan (equivalent to 13,000 won Korean money or US $12).

· He also makes money selling Falun Gong books, Buddhist images, tapes, gifts and Falun Gong badges, etc.

· Falun Gong is a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism.

Li Hongzhi’s Self-deification

* According to the Chinese government news agency, Li Hongzhi proclaimed himself to be a god and predicted the end of the world.

· Many people are being deceived and suffering, mentally, physically and Financially as a result of this false doctrine.

· Li Hongzhi teaches that he is the highest Buddha reincarnated from any previous age. He is superior to Sokamoni (founder of Buddhism), Kong Ja (founder of Taoism), Jesus and Mohammad. He is the Lord, king and Buddha of the entire universe.

· He dresses in a Buddhist monk’s robe sits in the lotus flower position and practices Qigong.

Li Hongzhi’s End-time Eschatology

· Li Hongzhi predicted when the last day would occur.

· According to the Chinese government news agency, Li Hongzhi has widely spread the idea of an end-time eschatology throughout society. In his books he mentions the last day 81 times.

· He said that the last day would occur in 1999, but he changed the last day to 1997 (two years earlier). Songbintianthe, an early follower of Falun Gong, testified that Li Hongzhi told him he had the ability to change when the last day would occur according to his own whim.

· Li Hongzhi also predicted that this earth would soon be destroyed by a cataclysmic explosion.

Chinese Government Crackdown

According to the announcement of the Chinese government, Li Hongzhi deified himself as a god, disrupted society with the propagation of an end-time eschatology, and that sicknesses could be healed through the practice of Qigong. He forbade the taking of medicine or going to hospitals and caused many people great suffering. The Chinese government condemned Falun Gong as an unlawful cult because of practices that were harmful to society. It is also suspected that the Chinese government condemned Falun Gong because they felt the freedom of religious expression was a threat to the regime.

Introduction of Falun Gong to Korea

In 1994 one of the executive members of a Korean trading company was sent to oversee the Chinese branch. He was introduced to Falun Gong, came back to Korea and began demonstrating Qigong exercises along side the Han River in Seoul. Since 1996 Falun Gong spread throughout Korea by means of the internet and Qigong exercises in Olympic Park in Seoul., Lake Park in Ilsan and many other places. Presently there are about 200 training centers with many people in the morning and evening practicing Qigong. The representative of Falun Gong in Korea is 50 year old Mr. Kwon, Hong-Dae.

Reflections on Falun Gong and the Chinese Government

The Chinese government has been harshly criticized for its treatment of Falun Gong members.  The government and some western family members of Falun Gong practitioners say that Falun Gong has harmed thousands of citizens and poses a threat to public order.  Passion is so high on both sides of this controversy that an objective evaluation is difficult to make.  This paper approaches the controversy by asking questions directed at the Falun Gong organization and the Chinese government in the hope that the answers might contribute to a productive dialogue.

The articles by Rosedale (2003a), Rahn (2003), and Luo (2003) and the comment with reply by Robbins (2003) and Rosedale (2003b), respectively, underscore how difficult it is to arrive at a balanced and informed perspective on the conflict between the Chinese government and the Falun Gong movement.  This difficulty was further underlined by two sessions at AFF’s June 2003 conference, one in which a Falun Gong member and two critics presented and one in which a spirited discussion, involving panelists and audience members (including about half-dozen Falun Gong members) continued nearly two hours beyond the allotted 90 minutes.

Falun Gong members are passionate in their criticisms of the Chinese government and have compiled impressive documentation of abuses.  Yet many individuals in China, and some family members of Falun Gong members in the U.S., are equally passionate in their condemnation of Falun Gong, and they also point to documented abuses, medical neglect in particular.

The high level of passion in this area makes it difficult to assess the controversy objectively.  Doing so requires a deep appreciation of Chinese culture and accurate, reliable information about what is really going on in China.  Few of us possess the former and quite possibly none of us knows all the vital facts concerning the contemporary scene vis a vis Falun Gong.  It seems to me, then, that we should approach the subject in a spirit of dialogue, rather than ideology or cultural egocentrism.  We certainly can have and should share opinions.  However, let us not hang on to our views so firmly that they become incorrigible.  With this caveat in mind, I wish in this paper to share my reflections on the following questions:

1. What prejudices can interfere with our attempts to seek a balanced and informed perspective on the conflict?

2. To what extent has Falun Gong harmed Chinese individuals, families, and society?

3. How much of a threat does Falun Gong pose to the stability of the Chinese government and how should the government respond?

Cleaning the Lens of Our Prejudices

I here use the term “prejudice” in the sense of “any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable” (Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Second Edition, 2001).  Several kinds of prejudices can distort our thinking on the conflict between China and Falun Gong.

China is a Gulag

Many people perceive China to be such a heavy-handed totalitarian state that to live in China is tantamount to living in a gulag.  This view fosters a presumption of deception toward the Chinese government: Whatever the government says must be a lie, and whatever the government’s enemies say about it must be true.

Certainly, China is still a long way from being as open, tolerant, and free as the United States and other democracies.  But is it so bad as to warrant a presumption of deception?  Economically, China has made remarkable strides in recent years, progress that could not have occurred without an increased level of political freedom and respect for the rule of law.  Although the Tiananmen Square episode remains a vivid memory for most who watched it unfold on television, the recent peaceful protest marches in Hong Kong suggest to some that Hong Kong may accelerate China’s movement toward greater freedom, rather than have its own freedom suppressed by the Chinese government.

Now, let me not be misunderstood.  I am not saying that China is a “worker’s paradise”!  Political freedom, however, does indeed appear to be increasing, even if not as rapidly as many want.  Nonetheless, there are still many human rights problems.  A number of independent agencies support Dr. Robbins’ assertion that some adherents of Falun Gong and other religious groups are indeed brutally targeted by the government (e.g., Chinese crackdown on religion, 2001, 13 December; U.N. human rights boss blasts China, 2000, 29 February; Up to 1200 temples destroyed in Chinese Crackdown, 2000, 13 December).

The Chinese government can surely be criticized.  But that does not mean that the government’s claims, or claims by people in mental health agencies, for example, must always be contradicted.  We should approach their allegations with skepticism, not a presumption of deception.  And we should hope that China continues its movement toward political transparency, the need for which became acutely clear during the SARS epidemic.  Otherwise, we run the risk of falling into an ideological hole in which we automatically assume that allegations 1, 2, 3 ….n are all false simply because they are made by people working for or dependent upon the government.  Let us look at the claims skeptically, but also individually.

Cults are Good

Where some approach China with a presumption of deception, others approach cults with a presumption of benevolence (I here use “cult” in the more general sense of a charismatic group, not the pejorative sense).  Cult members mean what they say, and since what they say is almost always warm and fuzzy, cults must be good.  Falun Gong members say that the movement is about truth, compassion, and forbearance.  Since no sensible person opposes these aspirations, Falun Gong must be “good,” if one accepts its claims uncritically.

Ironically, some who seem inclined toward a presumption of benevolence with regard to cults and cult members demonstrate a presumption of deception when those very same cult members become ex-members and say bad things about their former groups.  They are now said to be apostates telling “atrocity tales” that are motivated by sour grapes and a desire to save face.

The presumption of benevolence transforms into a presumption of persecution when a cultic movement commits violent acts.  Why do “good” groups do “bad” things? The simplistic answer some offer is that “bad” people, “bad” movements, or “bad” governments persecute the groups unjustly and “drive” them to violence.  Of course, there is an element of truth to this assertion, for sociology has a rich literature on deviance amplification.  An element of truth, however, isn’t the whole truth, and we should eschew simplistic interpretations.

Cults are Bad

The same mentality, but pointing in the opposite direction, can be found among some cult critics.  If a religious group is new, out of the mainstream, and centered on a charismatic leader, it must be a cult and ipso facto must be bad.  Nothing group members say can be believed.  Everything the group’s critics say is accepted.  Obviously, when this attitude characterizes people in positions of power, unfair treatment of groups labeled “cults” is to be expected.

A Middle Road

It is easy to listen to what the Chinese government or Falun Gong has to say and dismiss it all as lies unworthy of serious consideration.  We can then experience the satisfaction of thinking that we understand or that we are part of a noble cause, whether that cause is to protect people from an evil cult or protect a persecuted cult from an evil government.  So long as we see events through the lens of our black-and-white prejudices, everything is crystal clear and our vision seems to be exemplary.  Such clarity is comforting.

If, however, we put aside our prejudices, our vision suddenly becomes blurry.  The clarity and confidence we once had is now seen to be an illusion.  We realize that understanding will take a lot of time and work.  We have to question everything the Chinese government or Falun Gong tells us. On the other hand, we cannot dismiss what they say out of hand.  Instead, we have to examine the evidence critically and laboriously.

Falun Gong and Harm

Since I am trying to put aside my prejudices, I trust that the reader will treat my words as the observations of a man with blurry vision.  I don’t claim to have in-depth knowledge of the subject. Our electronic files, for example, contain over 1000 articles (mostly newspaper) on Falun Gong, only a small fraction of which I have read.  And I am only superficially familiar with the scholarly literature.  Hence, I will examine the issue as one who questions rather than one who answers.

Let me begin by giving Falun Gong the benefit of the doubt and presuming, at least for now, that initially it was a more or less benign qigong movement, “a general term designating a system for improving and maintaining good health based on ideas found in traditional Chinese medicine and culture” (Rahn, 2003, paragraph 1).  Rahn says, “The qigong boom in China was massive.  It began in the late 1970s and by 1986 there were over 2,000 qigong organizations.  To regulate these groups, the government established the Chinese Qigong Scientific Research Organization” (Rahn, 2003, paragraph 25).

Falun Gong was certainly a major player in this qigong boom.  Estimates of its popularity, however, vary considerably. An enemy of the group estimated it had 20,000,000 followers, while Li Hongzhi claimed 100,000,000 followers, including 70,000,000 in China (Ching, 2001).  According to Ching (2001), even The People’s Daily said the group had a following of 2,100,000.  Rahn (2003) cites sources claiming that 400,000 Communist Party members in China are Falun Gong members.

Ching (2001) says, “Qigong is practiced to cease human thinking” (paragraph 14).  If that is so and qigong does produce dissociative or altered states of mind, then one would expect a small but noticeable percentage of adherents to have adverse psychiatric reactions.  There is some empirical evidence of harm associated with meditation (Otis, 1985; Perez-De-Albeniz & Holmes, 2000).  Even relaxation exercises practiced in a psychologist’s office can occasionally produce what has been called “relaxation induced anxiety,” and very occasionally it can result in psychotic episodes (Heide, 1985; Heide & Borkevec, 1983; Heide & Borkevec, 1984).  So far as I know, reliable statistics on the prevalence of such adverse effects are not available.  However, even if the incidence were only one in one thousand, we could expect 2,000 to 100,000 such adverse reactions to meditation associated with Falun Gong, depending upon whose membership estimates one accepts.  Even the low estimate would probably spark considerable public concern, since family members of adversely affected practitioners would probably place the blame on Falun Gong, even if the adverse reactions were nothing more than statistical aberrations reflecting the great variety in human psychological makeup.

A number of sources cited by Luo (2003) clearly suggest that Li says that practitioners of Falun Gong would not need medical care.  Yet our informal conference discussion with Falun Gong members, several of whom were medical research professionals, indicated that some followers exercise common sense when applying the doctrines to their own lives.  One medical researcher, for example, said that he of course takes his children to a pediatrician for immunizations and medical care when they are sick.  Another said that he would of course take insulin if he had diabetes.

I don’t think these people were lying.  If they applied common sense to Li’s doctrines they might reason as follows: “A person who is fully developed spiritually would as a result have a healthy body and not need medical care.  I am not fully developed spiritually.  Therefore, I may sometimes need medical care.”  Falun Gong would not be the first faith-healing group to which such reasoning could be applied.

But some will not apply common sense to the doctrines.  How many diabetics, for example, delude themselves into thinking that they don’t need insulin because they practice Falun Gong?  How many people, like Samuel Luo’s step-father (Luo, 2003), have strokes and don’t seek medical care?  Given Falun Gong’s huge following, there are probably tens of thousands of followers who reject needed medical care.  Even though Falun Gong might claim that responsibility for such medical harm may lie with the irrational practitioner rather than the organization, family members will understandably blame Falun Gong.  Moreover, the government’s public health authorities are sure to become alarmed, especially when an epidemic such as SARS threatens public health.

Thus, given its system of beliefs and practices, one would expect even a completely benign Falun Gong to be associated with harm among its members, even if it didn’t cause the harm.  Hence, the government wouldn’t have to lie in order to compile evidence of harm associated with the organization, although the government could inflame the situation by simplistically imputing evil motives to Falun Gong merely because some practitioners get hurt.

If Falun Gong were not as benign as it claims to be, one could expect higher levels of harm among its members, for group pressures aimed at enforcing conformity with group doctrines would magnify whatever baseline level of irrationality might characterize the population of practitioners.  Certain quotes from Li, such as the following from the New York Times, can lead one to suspect that there may be more causality in the associated harm than the Falun Gong organization is willing to acknowledge: “Other segments are said to show him urging practitioners to forgo medical care with admonitions like this: `If you go to the doctor it shows you don’t trust me'” (Rosenthal, E., 1999, 5 November, paragraph 9).  Li even seems to place the blame on practitioners if the practice doesn’t cure them of ailments, a reproach that can have a devastating effect on psychologically vulnerable individuals:

…so many people who had severe health problems or incurable diseases before they learned the Fa became well after learning Dafa, so why is it some students are going the other direction and can’t sustain themselves?…Yes, the old forces have arranged for some people to get in, but why is it that most people can do it now, but you can’t?  Haven’t I taught the Fa to you?!  When problems arise, when something doesn’t feel right, you have to look at yourself!  Look at where you were wrong and allowed the evil to take advantage.  If you were wrong you should recognize it and do better.  Don’t forget, you are all Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples! (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/5/6/2003nyjiefa.html)

The members I met at our conference seem, for the most part, to be well-intentioned.  However, many of us who participated in the discussion felt very strongly that they were “spinning” us, that they had a public relations agenda.  Their goal seemed to be to portray Falun Gong as a spiritual exercise aiming to promote a love of truth, compassion, and tolerance (this triad seems to vary; sometimes, for example, it is expressed as truth, benevolence, and forbearance). I encountered resistance when I pressed them, for example, on the nature of their relationship to Li.  Their agenda seemed to be to enhance Falun Gong’s image so as to marshal western sentiment against the Chinese government, an understandable agenda given the reports of human rights abuses in China, and to avoid anything that might discomfort a western audience, such as their views on Li Hongzhi.

Nevertheless, an agenda that calls for “spin” will cause some to wonder what the members of the organization “really” believe and to suspect that “spin” is necessary because the truth may not go over that well.  I, for example, would like Falun Gong to answer the following questions:

1. Do any of Li’s teachings or the organization’s writings on healing encourage practitioners to take a common-sense, rather than a fanatical, attitude toward the teachings on healing and/or provide guidelines on when to go to a doctor?  If so, which writings?

2. What has the organization done to make sure it’s members pay attention to such caveats, if they indeed exist?

3. Is there any internal dissent within the Falun Gong organization?  When my colleagues and I first began to dialogue with members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) several years ago, we were struck by the fact that the ISKCON Communications Journal had published articles critical of events, practices, and beliefs within ISKCON, e.g., the treatment of women and children, the structure of the guru system.  This internal dissent was an important factor in convincing some of us that the reform movement within ISKCON is genuine, and it strengthened our commitment to further dialogue.  Dissent is an essential aspect of any organization that permits its members to think for themselves.  Is there evidence of such internal dissent within Falun Gong, or are members only likely to hear that all is well within Falun Gong and all “bad” events are due to negative “outside” forces?

4. When practitioners perform their qigong exercises, what goes on inside their minds, and what is supposed to go on?  I have heard, for example, that some practitioners “claim that while practicing the exercises they can see gods, the F.G. paradise and things in the other world” (Luo, Samuel, personal communication, June 28, 2003).  On the other hand, as noted above, Ching (2001) says that qigong seeks to cease human thinking, implying an affinity with the mind-emptying forms of meditation in Buddhism.  Some meditative disciplines are aware of the risk of adverse psychological effects.  Has Falun Gong demonstrated any such awareness and has it done anything to try to minimize this risk among its followers?

5. Who exactly is Li Hongzhi and what is his relationship with his followers?  During the discussion at our conference, I pressed some of the Falun Gong members on this question.  They had been emphasizing the “exercises.”  But when the issue of the Chinese government’s claim that Li had committed fraud came up, I asked them if their relationship to the exercises would change if it turned out that the government was correct.  My reasoning was that if they indeed practice Falun Gong because of the beneficial effects of the exercises, then it would not matter if Li were a crook.  If, for example, it were demonstrated that Dr. Atkins had committed grand larceny when he was alive, the effectiveness of his diet would be neither diminished nor augmented for the people who follow it.  My question, however, encountered noticeable resistance because, it later turned out, Li Hongzhi is much more than a teacher of valuable spiritual exercises.  One of the members in a private conversation acknowledged that he sees Li as a god man, although he was quick to point out that the term doesn’t have the same meaning for him as it probably does for a westerner. Whatever Li’s status, he certainly talks as though he thinks he is godlike, if not God:

I’m now talking about it from yet another angle, which is, I’m explaining to you why I didn’t do it inside the Three Realms when Fa-rectification began. Some students are thinking, “Master doesn’t acknowledge the old forces’ arrangements. So why doesn’t Master instantly destroy the old forces?” Master is able to do that, and no matter how large they are, Master could still do it. But have you thought about this: if I were to redirect the enormous, gigantic energy in the Fa-rectification back here into the Three Realms to do things, it would be like hitting a mosquito with an atomic bomb, it’d be a clumsy use of force.  (Hongzhi, 2003, February 15)

In my opinion, Falun Gong members have a right to believe Li is a god man or even God.  There are scores of people today whose followers deem them god men.  However, if Falun Gong members expect to be taken seriously in their cultivation of “truth,” they ought not to hide their beliefs simply because they might be unpopular and incompatible with a public relations message focused more on “effect” than “truth.”

What Falun Gong really teaches

Abstract: In the West Falun Gong, founded by Li Hongzhi, has successfully marketed itself as an innocent victim of the Chinese government’s repression. However, if one examines Falun Gong’s teachings and practices closely, one finds that its image of being a spiritual exercise masks the centrality of its founder’s god-like status and the cult-like use of deceptive and manipulative techniques to increase membership.

Ever since Falun Gong was banned by the Chinese government in July 1999, it has gained support and sympathy from human rights groups. By focusing just on its status as a victim of an oppressive regime, Falun Gong has also gained uncritical support from the media. As a result of all the favorable media attention, Falun Gong has been able to spread throughout the U.S., not only in the Chinese community but in the non-Chinese community as well. But what is the Falun Gong really about?

When Falun Gong was introduced to my parents in early 1999 in San Francisco, it was presented as an exercise that promised to improve health. I can’t describe how shocked I was when I heard my mother start talking about the aliens who live among us and saying that human society is bad, the end of world is coming, and Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, is offering the last chance to save mankind. How did an exercise become a world-saving religion?

Since immigrating to the United States in 1998, master Li has promoted his Falun Gong as a Tai Chi like exercise ( [1]) However Falun Gong (exercise of the Dharma wheel) is just the exercise component of Falun Dafa (great law of the Dharma wheel); both terms refer to a unique system of belief and exercises that were created by Li Hongzhi and first introduced in China in 1992. The free Falun Gong exercises work as a lure to recruit people into a system of belief that Li has described as “the highest principle of the universe.” In fact, Li has made it very clear to his followers that “those who only do the exercise but do not study the Dafa they are not disciples of Falun Dafa whatsoever” ( [2]).

Li’s Falun Dafa is usually taught to newcomers after they feel comfortable with the exercises. In it you learn that only Falun Gong practitioners can detect the highest moral principles of the universe ( [3]), the existence of mixed races is a serious problem ( [4]), modern science is destroying mankind ( [5]), and homosexuality is not the standard of being human ( [6]). Yet to Li the worst thing that mankind can do is think negatively towards his Dafa (great truth): “Let me tell you, when this Fa-rectification [Li’s judgment day] matter is over, humankind will enter the next stage, and those people and beings who in their minds think that the Great Fa of the cosmos isn’t good will be the first weeded out” ( [7]). The enlightened master also repeatedly warns his disciples that: “A Dafa disciple who fails to achieve the effect of the safeguarding and upholding Dafa has no way of reaching Consummation (Falun Dafa paradise)” ( [8]).

While heavily borrowing Buddhist terms for his Dafa, Li portrays himself as a supernatural being whose teachings are superior to those of Sakyamuni (Buddha) and Jesus ( [9]). Although Li has continually denied that Falun Gong is a religion, these denials are difficult to reconcile with his repeated claims that he is providing the only hope for mankind in this “Dharma-ending period” ( [10]). In Zhuan Falun, the Bible of the group, he states simply: “If I cannot save you, nobody else can do it” ( [11]).

But when the press interviews Li, he tends to hide his importance. In one interview he said: “Every time I see practitioners I tell them sitting before you is just a normal person. Don’t make me into a god” ( [12]). This statement contradicts what he teaches his practitioners: “If you are a genuine practitioner, our Falun [the law wheel Li installs in his practitioners’ abdomens] will safeguard you,” he writes in Zhuan Falun. “I am rooted in the universe. If anyone could harm you, he would be able to harm me. To make it plainly, he would be able to harm the universe” ( [13]).

Oddly enough, since the Chinese Government’s crackdown of the group in July 1999, Li has offered the least support of all to his practitioners. While he urges his practitioners to fight for him regardless of their own life ( [14]), he is enjoying a safe and presumably luxurious life in the United States. It’s painful to see innocent people putting themselves at risk and getting hurt while chasing a delusion.

A group leader claiming that he is the only one who knows the truth of the universe or that he is the only savior of the world, a group using deception to recruit new members and not allowing room for questions or alternative viewpoints—these are some of the characteristics of a cult.  Cults also use mind control techniques to manipulate their followers.  This manipulation is designed to disrupt a person’s authentic identity and replace it with a new identity.  Individuals are deceptively and aggressively recruited, and through socialization new members learn to follow what other members do; slowly, they are influenced to think as the others do.  Dependence, conformity, and obedience to the leader’s absolute authority are encouraged constantly.  Looking at Falun Gong from the outside, one might think these practitioners have made their own choice.  But would anyone join the Falun Gong if they knew that they were going to be taught that Li is the personal savior of the world?  No, they all think that they are just joining a healthy exercise group.

One of the most important and common methods that cults use to control their followers can be called “exclusion of the outside world.”  Cult members are taught not to trust people outside of the group, including family members.  This component of mind control is definitely found in the Falun Gong teachings.  Falun Gong practitioners are made to distrust the moral thinking of non-practitioners who are called “ordinary people.”  This is done intentionally by master Li, who repeatedly teaches: “As a practitioner you cannot act according to the ordinary people’s standards” ( [15]).  This manipulation technique not only isolates practitioners from non-practitioners, including family members and friends, but also creates a system where practitioners only share information with other practitioners.  As a result, practitioners mutually reinforce each other’s belief in the teachings, thereby eliminating any conflicting or alternative views.

By reading Cults in Our Midst, written by the leading cult expert Dr. Margaret Singer, I came to recognize that all these mind control techniques have been used on my parents.  Since the beginning of 1999, they have practiced the exercises two hours a day and studied Li’s books every day.  They have hung Li’s portrait in our living room, and have gotten rid of all religion and exercise books except those of Falun Gong.  After the crackdown on the group, my mother not only donated money to the Falun Gong, but was also asked by the organization to distribute flyers and other materials on the streets and protest in front of the Chinese embassy.  I estimate that she spent at least nine hours a day, almost seven days a week, doing Falun-Gong-related activities until January 2002, when her husband had a stroke.  Falun Gong has become her life. This is also true for other devoted Falun Gong practitioners.

What worries me the most is that ever since my parents became Falun Gong practitioners they have abandoned seeking medical treatment when needed.  In Zhuan Falun, Li claims that his practitioners’ illnesses will be cured directly by him ( [16]).  Since illness and suffering are considered opportunities to repay the debt of karma, seeking medical help denies a practitioner this opportunity.  He writes: “taking medication during practice implies that you do not believe in the disease curing effects of the practice.  If you believed in it, why would you take medication?” ( [17])  Due to this teaching my stepfather suffered unnecessarily during previous attacks of gout and flu.

Worrying about my parent’s health and trying to protect them from this cult, I started to question Li’s teachings long before my stepfather’s stroke.  In so doing, I sadly discovered how greatly their world view had changed.  In stating their belief that Li has supernatural power, that the world is coming to an end, that sickness is caused by bad deeds, and that demons are everywhere, I realized that they had been brainwashed.  Our discussion soon turned into debate and then argument. To my shock my mother called me evil.

After our second argument I moved out.  Living at home with my parents had become painful and uneasy.  It hurts me to see them hurting themselves and I can’t do a thing about it.  I have even started to feel anxiety, anger, and sadness.

When my stepfather had a stroke in January; my mother, sister and I were traveling in China.  He went without medical treatment for approximately five days.  While he was alone in the house two friends came to visit him and offered to take him to the hospital.  Although the right side of his body was paralyzed he was able to open the door for his friends.  He could have gone to the hospital at that time, but he refused due to his belief in Li’s teachings.  Days later my sister returned home and found him sick.  She had to beg and cry for him to go to the hospital.  When he finally got to the hospital, the doctor pointed out that he could have died if he hadn’t been treated for another two days.  He was in the hospital for a month.

Today, Falun Gong practitioners can be seen everywhere. They have set up at least fifty permanent exercise sites throughout the Bay area, seven of them in San Francisco, one in front of City Hall.  Throughout the U.S., they have hundreds of practice sites, about seventy web sites, radio shows, TV broadcasts, and their own newspaper. The Falun Gong group has perhaps become the fastest growing quasi-religious cult in the U.S.

Beneath Li’s superficial teachings of “truthfulness, compassion and forbearance” are teachings that are intolerant of dissent and homophobic, that discourage sick people from seeking needed medical treatment and that manipulate followers to blindly follow Li’s absolute authority.  Unfortunately while the media has focused only on the human rights issues in China, it has failed to educate Americans about how deceptive and harmful the Falun Gong can be in our own country.

[Review] CCTV Topics in Focus: Falun Gong seeks glories by selling homeland

After the reelection of seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) held on May 3, the United States failed for the first time in holding a seat, which reminds us of a famous Chinese saying, a just cause gains great support, an unjust one gains little. We still remember clearly that during the 57th session of the UNHRC concluded in Geneva not long ago, China has, once again, foiled the tenth anti-China attempt tabled by the United States. But in order to cooperate with the anti-China vote, the organizations of Falun Gong cult put on a series of farces in Geneva.

(35″) Geneva located in south Switzerland is a city with international influence, favorable climate, and beautiful natural scenes. It’s the home of 243 international organizations including the United Nations Office and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). Palais des Nations in northwest of Geneva is the headquarters building of the United Nations Office at Geneva and the venue where the UNHRC holds regular meetings. There is a big wood chair with a broken leg on the lawn close to its south entrance, reminding everyone visiting the place of the damages caused by the landmines, and the square is also known as the Broken-Leg Square. This year, before the opening of Geneva Conference on Human Rights, the US government announced another anti-China vote and, as its supporter, Falun Gong organization hired people to participate in the half-day collective practice at the square everyday during March 17 through 19 even in spite of the rain. The purpose was to publicize the anti-China vote and to add more pressure on Chinese government. The representatives of China Association for Cultic Studies and religious community also arrived in Geneva before the conference and publicized a long scroll with the sloan of “Advocating Science and Rejecting Cult” and a million signatures during the other three half-days at the same square. In addition, they also handed over No. 100 long scroll to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

(1’50”) WANG Yusheng, Secretary-General, China Association for Cultic Studies: “Falun Gong practitioners gathered there on the morning and our delegation would go there showing the long scroll with a million signatures against the cult and safeguarding human rights on the afternoon. Then on the second day, we would go there on the morning and they did it on the afternoon. It’s interesting; when they went there practicing and doing promotions, it rained heavily, but when we were there, it was fine and shiny. So we always joke about it and say it’s because the heaven would support a just cause while the only things Falun Gong gets are wrath of God and resentment of men.”

(2’20”) In addition to collective practice at the square, Falun Gong organization also held several press conferences at Geneva during this period of time and their spokesman is Zhang Erping. But they kept it a secret of both the time and venue and distributed invitations in secret as well. What’s more, Chinese journalists finally making it to the press conference were stopped by the practitioners.

Falun Gong Practitioner: “Sorry, you must be invited to get in; only those with invitations are allowed in.”

LI Jingchen, Journalist of Xinhua News Agency in Geneva: “But I don’t need an invitation to get into this hotel; everyone can go in there.”

Falun Gong Practitioner: “Then we’ll call the police; please call the police.”

(3’18”) But one hour later, no policeman showed up. They have people guarding the entrance of the press conference and this strong man is definitely a guard. Some people walked off shortly after the press conference started and a journalist of Xinhua News Agency in Geneva was one of the witnesses.

LI Jingchen, Journalist of Xinhua News Agency in Geneva: “I came across Zhang Erping, the spokesman of Falun Gong organization. He knew me and, at the sight of me, he was angry and said to me, you can’t stay here, get out, for only foreign reporters are allowed here. My foreign colleagues weren’t happy about it; but since they insisted, I had to leave. I met my friends and other Chinese reporters outside the door. Then the reporters of a Swiss Television coming to the press conference organized by Falun Gong interviewed us. So we took the chance and held an outdoor press conference against Falun Gong.

(4’37”) Our reporters accepted the interviews in both English and French, revealing the truth about Falun Gong to the public.

HUANG Liangde, Chief Journalist, China Radio International in Geneva: “Falun Gong organization held several press conferences during the Geneva session on Human Rights; but they did it in secret. Why is that? He said they were afraid of Chinese reporters and learned the lesson from the failure last year. But the truth is that, what he said are all lies and they are cheating, because we know the truth about Falun Gong. He was afraid that Chinese reporters would ask questions. That’s why they held press conferences in secret, telling lies to western journalists, cheating with things that are not real.”

(5’22”) On the evening of March 21 local time, Falun Gong organization held a hearing at University of Geneva, another important event during the US Human Rights session supporting anti-China vote and giving pressure on Chinese government. They had invited some VIPs including Swiss officials, but when they saw none of them showed up even if they postponed the starting time again and again, they had no choice but to recruit some practitioners to take up the empty seats. Several delegates of China Association for Cultic Studies also managed to attend the hearing and Doctor Zhang Ning of law was the first asking questions. She said Falun Gong controlled people’s mind and was responsible for 1,600 deaths in China, including those burning themselves at Tian’anmen Square and even a 12-year-old girl. “How do you explain these tragedies?” She asked. Totally unprepared for this kind of question, the organizer stopped her, saying no Chinese and the question must be put in French. Dr. Zhang then asked the same question in French but the organizer claimed that those burning themselves were not practitioners. Being unable to handle the situation, the organizer sent people to push the reporters of CCTV out of the conference room and the hearing finally concluded in haste.

(6’37”) WANG Yusheng, Secretary-General, China Association for Cultic Studies: “In my opinion, the activities that Falun Gong organized during the 57th session of the UNHRC at Geneva show clearly that they are willing to be used as a tool by anti-China force in the west. To be more specific, they are seeking glories by selling the homeland, for whatever Chinese people and Chinese government are determined to accomplish, such as applying for hosting the Olympics and for joining in WTO, they would oppose to it.”

Rev CAO Shengjie, Vice President, China Christian Council: “On our way to the conference, we would always see them gathering for practicing or distributing promotion materials. But in a couple of days, they just disappeared and we wondered what had happened. Then we knew that they’d gone to Lausanne, the headquarters of International Olympic Committee. They protested against China in applying for hosting the Olympic Games. In this sense, Falun Gong has become a tool used by the US government against China.”

(7’33”) Since we made careful arrangements and adopted effective measures, Falun Gong organization failed in accomplishing the task of publicizing anti-China vote for the Americans in early days after the UNHRC meeting started. With the supervision of US advisors, they changed their plan and decided to make a bigger stir in Geneva just before the voting of anti-China bill. They gathered their men from the US, Japan, Germany, France, Belgium, Canada, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on April 18 and sent a mission team to the airport to meet these practitioners before helping them settling down in several designated hotels. They wore the same dress and badges of Falun Gong and claimed that they didn’t know each other and came to Geneva at their own expense. Since their gathering hadn’t got the approval from Geneva authority, they had to choose public places such as parks, lakeside squares, and streets. They usually divided into small groups of three to five people, with one or two practicing Falun Gong and the other talking to the passengers and distributing promotion materials.

(8’31”) ZHAO Yuan, President, Swiss Federation of Overseas Chinese: “At the UN Square, by the Lake Leman, which is also known as Lake Geneva, and at may other memorial squares, you can always see these practitioners in ugly yellow clothing. They greatly disturbed the local people in Geneva as well as the visitors by forcing them to accept their promotion materials and their long talks about Falun Gong. Even we had been bothered for many times and therefore some overseas Chinese questioned or even criticized their acts. But what they got in turn were brutal attacks and irrational abuses by the practitioners.” What the practitioners said and did have caused antipathy among the overseas Chinese and dissatisfaction among the locals.

(9’36”) Hotel Manager, Geneva Kydon Hotel: “At reading the report about self-immolation of Falun Gong practitioners at Tian’anmen Square, people will remember the mass suicide committed by the followers of the Solar Temple in Switzerland six years ago, a tragic incidents resulting in more than 50 deaths. It’s a pity that, as a victim nation of the cult and instead of learning a blood lesson, the Switzerland gives permission to Falun Gong, the same cult as the Solar Temple, to gather in public places and to publicize its ridiculous and harmful theories. This is not right; it’s immoral and we’re angry about it.” These people not only work for Falun Gong organization, but also for Tibet separatists and anti-China force.

(10’13”) ZHANG Wanhai, Deputy Director-General of UNA-China: “They give their materials to everyone they see and even to us. One day on my way to the conference I came across a woman in the dress of Falun Gong organization, she handed out a pamphlet to me and I thought it was about Falun Gong. But when I took a look at it, I found it was about Tibet. I was surprised and asked her why a Falun Gong practitioner would work for Tibet separatists. She was apparently embarrassed and went away saying nothing.” At the café outside the conference room, Zhang Erping, who claimed himself as the leading disciple of Li Hongzhi, met with the representative of US government attending the UN conference on Human Rights, Tibet and Xinjiang separatists, as well as anti-China activist Wei Jingsheng. He also talked to the representatives of many other nations as well as journalists on anti-China vote.

(11’06”) Reporter: Which organization helped Wei Jingsheng and Zhang Erping in arriving in Geneva?

ZHANG Wanhai, Deputy Director-General of UNA-China: “That’s because all the NGOs establishing consultative relationship with the UN are entitled to participate in the UNHRC meeting. So the pro-democracy activists such as Wei Jingsheng, the Falun Gong practitioners such as Zhang Erping, and Tibet separatists, they can attend the meeting in the name and as the members of NGOs with consultative relationship with the UN. This also shows clearly that they actually work for the anti-China force in the US, for the Americans paid their bills and gave them opportunities to attack China.”

(11’57”) Thiab, Vice Chairman, UN office at Geneva (UNOG) Correspondents Association: “I believe the reason why Falun Gong came here during the session is to support the anti-China bill proposed by the US. They treated the reporters attending the press conference with free dinks and free food; I wonder where they got the fund. The UNHRC meeting lasts six weeks, it requires a large amount of money and they must have someone behind them. I talked to China delegation and read some materials; I’m now sure that Falun Gong is a cult doing great damages to human society and should definitely be banned.”

(12’26”) ZHANG Wanhai, Deputy Director-General of UNA-China: “During the War of Resistance against Japan during 1937 through 1945, I heard that there were lots of traitors. Today, to tell the truth, I see them with my own eyes. These people would oppose anything that Chinese government advocates and be for anything that American government advocates. They would ignore facts and actual situations and the only thing they have done is to seek glories by selling the home country. In this sense, they are traitors in a real sense.” At eight o’clock on the evening of April 17, the night before the final voting on anti-China bill, some practitioners appeared on the lawn across the street facing Palais des Nations.

SUN Zhonghua, Commissioner of International Affairs, China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF): “Their intention was clear and they wanted to talk to the representatives attending the meeting at Palais des Nations. Next morning on our way to Palais des Nations, I noticed those people standing or sitting on the lawn there. It was such a mess and I saw many others shook their heads at the scene too.”

(13’31”) April 18 is the day that the UNHRC votes on the anti-China bill. On the morning, since Geneva authority had made it clear that it would not approve the mass gathering proposed by Falun Gong organization, hundreds of practitioners gathered at the square after resorting to other organizations for an official registration and approval, making the final efforts for the anti-China vote. At the conference hall, pro-democracy activist Wei Jingsheng and Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Erping were among the reporters and echoed the voice of US representatives.

LI Jingchen, Journalist of Xinhua News Agency in Geneva: “It seemed that they were expecting the possibility of success at the conference and talked cheerfully with each other before the meeting.”

At 5:52 on the afternoon of April 18, Chinese delegate proposed “no act” to the anti-China bill proposed by the US, which was adopted with 23 yeas, 17 nays, 12 abstentions and one absence, which means the anti-China bill proposed by US government was voted down. At the announcing of the final results of votes, the delegates applauded and representatives of friendly nations stepped out to shake hands with Chinese delegates, congratulating Chinese government on another success against hegemonism and power politics. The Falun Gong practitioners were disappointed and left without saying anything.

(14’46”) LI Jingchen, Journalist of Xinhua News Agency in Geneva: “This is the 10th anti-China bill proposed by the US to the UNHRC; at realizing another failure, these people left the conference hall and so did the practitioners gathering at the square outside.”

ZHAO Yuan, President, Swiss Federation of Overseas Chinese: During the past two sessions of the UNHRC, Falun Gong practitioners were willing to be used as a tool by anti-China force in the west and they have become traitors to China and Chinese people. China should therefore crack them down and allow no room for their survival in any forms.”

(15’36”) Shortly after the conclusion of the 57th Session of the UNHRC, the US was no longer a member state of next UNHRC. According to the established rules, the UNHRC is composed of 53 member states, which are elected according to the regional quota decided by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The membership term is three years and one third of the members will be re-elected every year. This year, three seats of western countries were re-elected and on May 3, after 54 members of the ECOSOC cast votes in secret, the US ranked the fourth among four candidates with only 29 votes and was therefore lost its membership in the UNHRC for the first time in half a century. This is no surprise considering the unjust causes the US has initiated in a long period of time, which results in little support in international community. The result shows that the hegemonism and power politics the US forces on human rights fail in winning the heart of people.

(16’39”) the ugly show put on by Falun Gong practitioners in cooperation with anti-China force in foreign countries during the 57th session of the UNHRC once again shattered the lies of Li Hongzhi about not participating in politics and revealed the truth about the nature of Falun Gong as a cult and as a tool used by the US. The just cause is unconquerable and the anti-China attempt of the US is doomed to be a failure. To make things worse for American anti-China force, the US even lost its membership of the UNHRC, which is a clear evidence showing that the international community refuses to adopt the anti-China bill and that Falun Gong organization serving as the vanguards will face the same miserable ending in near future.