Fooled by Li's false faces

SOME Falun Gong members are still loyal to Li Hongzhi after three months of relentless bombardment against the cult.

Li's ability to fool so many people for so long has something to do with his many faces.

Despite playing super-deity before his devotees, in an interview with Time magazine Li humbly acknowledged that he was merely an ordinary person.

It seems his split personality syndrome extends to his preaching and practice, both of which have hidden faces.

While advertising the doomsday theory, Li also preaches benevolence and forbearance;

While his Falun Gong exercise is largely a fallacy, technically it might have some merits which Li has stolen from traditional breathing exercise formulas.

However, the benefits are only a means to an end: mind control. To a certain extent, the promised benefits are just masks that help Li market himself, deceive the naive and dodge attacks.

Even while telling Time magazine the truth, he was still lying.

His only purpose in playing the weak and ordinary man was to win sympathy from the innocent abroad, and hopefully undermine the authorities' crackdown, suggesting it was unwarranted.

To thoroughly unmask the true nature of Falun Gong, the government needs to reveal to the public the two faces of Li. (Xi Mi)

China Daily 11/05/1999