By Qi Ren

Sima Taixing has said that Fang Zhouzi should be careful about what he says. He has listed a welter of reasons to argue that the Chinese Government's banning of "Falun Gong" is an arbitrary act. After reading Sima's essay, we are not impressed by whether Fang Zhouzi should be careful about what he says, but feel strongly that Sima Taixing's arguments are unreasonable.

According to Sima Taixing, since the Chinese Government controls the mass media, the adherents of "Falun Gong" had no alternative but to "ask for a reasonable statement" by means of sit-ins and other kinds of demonstrations. Really? All those aware of the truth know that "Falun Gong," before being banned by the Chinese Government, repeatedly harassed reporters, writers or scientists who had written articles criticizing it. They besieged the Guangming Daily office, the Beijing TV Station and the Qilu Evening News office, and sued Zhang Ping, a writer who is well known for his writings on the theme of anti-corruption. The incident that touched off the April 25 gathering at Zhongnanhai started with an essay warning youngsters not to practice Qigong, written by scientist He Zuoxiu in the magazine Science Readings for Youngsters. Naturally, this was the freedom of speech of a scientist, who simply clarified his position on the practice of Qigong. Unexpectedly, the "Falun Gong" organization, relying on its great strength in numbers, surrounded the university to which the office of Science Readings for Youngsters belongs. It did not allow the students to attend classes, and insisted that the periodical should acknowledge its guilt. Here we can see who was the bully. I think Sima Taixing is utterly unreasonable, for he either deliberately or unconsciously concealed these basic facts, and insisted that the Chinese Government had bullied the "Falun Gong" organization before the latter started harassing the mass media.

What's more, although a sit-in cannot be deemed violence, we cannot deny the fact that it was illegal for the "Falun Gong" organization to besiege the seat of the Central Government. In which country in the world can a sit-in or other kind of mass demonstration be staged without the permission of the government? Don't the governments of other countries arrest people for staging illegal sit-ins or other kinds of demonstrations? Before the "Falun Gong" organization conspired against the Chinese Government and besieged the seat of the Central Government on April 25, 1999, the government authorities had taken no steps against it. It was only after "Falun Gong" had broken the law, illegally accumulated wealth, killed more than 1,400 practitioners, conspired to create disturbances and committed other crimes that the Chinese Government complied with the people's will and took drastic measures against this heretical organization. In the streets and lanes of China may be witnessed ordinary people's abhorrence of the "Falun Gong" cult and their support for the Chinese Government's banning of it. People even complain that the Chinese Government waited too long to ban this cult, saying that Li Hongzhi should have been punished according to law earlier. Hasn't Sima Taixing noticed this?

Another absurdity of Sima Taixing lies in the twisted logic of his arguments. According to him, supporting the stronger is a shame. We readers cannot agree with him. Sima Taixing is really unreasonable. Supporting the stronger cannot be said to be a shame, for the stronger can be on the side of justice. Otherwise, no state government could ban heretical cults and crack down on crimes.

"Falun Gong" master Li Hongzhi always declares that "Falun Gong" has no organization and does not engage in political activities. But who can still believe this after reading the messages on the Internet, which make clear his deep hatred for the Chinese Government?

Sima Taixing's stand is really unreasonable. It would be better if he stayed away from the "Falun Gong" controversy.

(Compiled by New Star Publishers, Dec., 1999)