Falun Gong, truly a cult

FALUN GONG is an illegal organization with every feature of a cult, according to a signed Xinhua article written by An Wenru.

The world has witnessed many cults since the 1970s, some of which have engendered a series of mass suicides and attacks on society.

Such incidents include the suicides of more than 900 people of the California-based People's Temple in Guyana in South America some 20 years ago; the more than 80 people of a sect led by David Koresh who burned to death in Texas in the United States during a government raid in 1993; and dozens of people of the Sun Temple who killed themselves in Canada, Switzerland, and France, among other places, the article says.

A cult is not religion, but a kind of evil force in the disguise of religion, which usually distorts religious doctrine, makes up so-called principles, and deifies its leaders, the article says.

The crimes committed by cults include extortion, exploitation, injuries and even the deaths and break-up of families. They also spread rumours like "Doomsday" to create chaos and disorder.

"Cult leaders' inflated desires for power are destined to result in anti-government and anti-State political forces," the article says.

In essence, cults are evil forces that are against the tenets of conventional religions, and against society, the government and the people.

"In recent weeks, China's religious circles have talked a lot about this. After comparing cults with Falun Gong, they have concluded Falun Gong is an illegal organization with every feature of cults," the article notes.

Cults are against science and promote superstition and pseudo-science, the article says. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, proclaimed that he doesn't accept modern science and all scientific achievements, though he included some scientific jargon in his preachings.

Li, by taking advantage of the unexplained phenomena of the world, has promoted mythism. He has boasted that his Falun Dafa represents the most profound and superb science in the world, and that only through Falun Dafa can people know and change the world.

Li also claimed that illness is actually the result of offences left over from previous lives, and can only be cured through practising Falun Dafa. This has actually deprived practitioners of their rights to life and health, the article says.

Cults are against traditional religions. They are dangerous because of their tendency towards extremism, for fabricating malicious heresies by mixing together several concepts and teachings borrowed from religion with superstition, pseudo-science, and occultism.

Falun Gong did exactly this by claiming to be able to release souls from purgatory, the article adds.

Li Hongzhi, who claimed he was the only saviour, dominating the universe and superior to Buddha and Jesus, is the grand ruler of the Falun Dafa organization, the article points out.

The Falun Dafa Society formed by Li Hongzhi acts like a mysterious underground realm. The organizations under the society are very systematic in spreading orders from Li Hongzhi and information via modern communications, it says.

Li, like Jim Jones of the People's Temple, and David Koresh, brainwashed practitioners by ordering them to read his books and teachings every day. Gradually, these people became entirely controlled by the Falun Gong organization.

Cults are anti-society, they hate human beings and try to escape from this life and destroy society and reality. One common method is to spread eschatology, the theology of death and final destiny, it says.

Li Hongzhi claimed that the Earth will explode, and that only he could postpone the date of doom, and that only Falun Dafa could save the human race.

The so-called "truth, benevolence, and forbearance" espoused by Falun Dafa was part of the claim that only Li was true, all the others were fake; only Li was kind, and all the others were sinful; and that practitioners could only forebear under Li's control, the article says.

Li, unlike other cultists who were eager for quick success and instant benefits, was more sly in claiming that he has postponed the date of doom for 30 years with his magic power.

The article said such a fallacy was only fabricated to give Li Hongzhi plenty of time and space to practise his evil activities.

Cults are anti-government, and most of their leaders have political ambitions. Not content with being the rulers of their mysterious realms, they also attempt to take the place of the government.

Li Hongzhi, like other cult leaders, while accumulating wealth by fraud, focused more on political activities and created a political scheme for Falun Gong.

Li Hongzhi described the Earth as a "dustbin" of the universe, and society an awful mess, which are problems beyond any government's power to solve and current social norms would only make things worse.
The only way to escape is to do as Li Hongzhi says, and establish an Elysium dominated by him, the article says.

Li Hongzhi got some intellectuals and civil servants to function as his political consultants.

Li stole information from government organizations through his followers, and thought of ways to oppose the Party and the government.

Li stirred up his followers to attack press organizations and governments, to pressure the Party and government, and threaten legal authority, the article says.

Li knew clearly that he is doomed to fail so he strived for backing overseas, aiming to leave an escape route for himself, as well as preparing to oppose the government for the long term.

The article points out that the direct result of cults is to severely damage believers both physically and spiritually. The latest information shows that Falun Gong was blamed for the deaths of over 2,000 practitioners. Falun Gong also organized over 300 sieges around press and government organizations since April 25.

"From this point, Falun Gong has a more obvious political purpose than common cults, and that is the basis for calling Falun Gong an illegal organization with every cult feature," the article stresses.

The article also notes that ordinary Falun Gong practitioners must separate themselves from its key members, who harbour evil political purposes. The majority of Falun Gong practitioners wished for good health, and didn't have a clear understanding of the evil political ambitions of Falun Gong, let alone its cult feature.

Once they realized the true features of the organization, they separated from it, the article says, calling on the whole of society to give them a hand.

The article stresses, that though China has eradicated cults since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, people should still remain vigilant against the emergence of cults in "modern" forms.

Xinhua
08/11/99