A Twisted Argument

By Xiao Guang

In late November 1999, an article titled ``Yan Jiaqi Argues in Favor of `Falun Gong,'" and published in the Xinwen Ziyou Daobao, was carried by the Duowei Web Site. This article criticizes the Chinese Government's action of cracking down on ``Falun Gong,'' saying, ``The opposition to `Falun Gong' tramples on legality and human rights, because `Falun Gong' cannot be deemed a cult according to the definition of a cult by the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.''

The following is part of Yan Jiaqi's article (sections in brackets added by this writer):

``The Supreme (People's) Court and Supreme (People's) Procuratorate (located in) Beijing issued `Explanations on Some Questions on Specific Applications of the Laws in Handling the Cases of Organizing and Using Cults for Criminal Activities' (on October 30). It gives a further explanation of Article 300 of the Criminal Law on `cultist organizations' in Clause 1, saying that the `Explanations' do not say that `Falun Gong' is a cult.

``According to the law of China, the `Explanations' by the Supreme (People's) Court and the Supreme (People's) Procuratorate have binding force on judicial organs.... This is the base for the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate to determine that `Falun Gong' is a `cultist organization.'

``The definition of a cult by the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate is vague.
(The definition of a ``cultist organization'' given by the ``Explanations'' is as follows: ``Cultist organizations'' refer to those illegal organizations that have been established under the guise of religion, Qigong, or other forms, deifying their leading members, enchanting and deceiving others by concocting and spreading superstitious fallacies, recruiting and controlling their members, and endangering society.)

`Deifying leading members' is not the essential characteristic of a cult. Of course, many cults deify their leading members.... An essential attribute of a cult is that the cult followers all live together cut off from the outside world and endangering the members of the cultist organization and society. The `Explanations' do not point out this characteristic.... The followers of a cult are firmly controlled by their head, and their personal freedom is also restricted.

``Tens of millions of people (two million people) in China practice `Falun Gong.' They do not live together, separating themselves from the outside world. They just practice `Falun Gong' half an hour or one hour each day in public places (such as parks). Then they do their work.''

Now let's analyze Yan Jiaqi's sophistry:

First, Yan Jiaqi adulterates the connotation of the ``cultist organization'' defined by the ``Explanations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate.''

``Cultist organizations'' as defined by the `Explanation' refer to those illegal organizations that have been established under the guise of religion, Qigong, or other forms, deifying their leading members, enchanting and deceiving others by concocting and spreading superstitious fallacies, recruiting and controlling their members and endangering society. This is the essential nature of a ``cultist organization. (The definition explains the essential nature of a ``cultist organization'' in precise terms.) So any organization which has this essential nature is a ``cultist organization.'' (The connotation of definition refers to the nature of a thing and the extension refers to the applicable scale.) For example, if we say that Beijing City is the capital of the People's Republic of China, the nature is that Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China, and then Beijing is ``that city.''

But Yan Jiaqi thinks that the a ``cultist organization'' has an essential attribute, namely that members of the organization live in groups, being cut off from outside world and endangering the members of the organization and society. And he says, ``Deifying the leading members is not the essential nature of a `cultist organization.' ''

We should point it out that the ``Explanations'' do not consider that deifying the leading members is the essential nature of a ``cultist organization.'' It says that the essential nature is, under the guise of religion, Qigong or other forms, deifying their leading members, enchanting and deceiving others by concocting and spreading superstitious fallacies, recruiting and controlling their members, and endangering society. (It means that an organization with the above-mentioned characteristics is a ``cultist organization.'')

So we can say that the essential attribute of a ``cultist organization'' defined by Yan Jiaqi is wrong. People from theoretical, religious and scientific circles all think that the basic characteristics of ``cultist organizations'' are as follows: flaunting the banner of religion, distorting religious classics, mixing up superstition and pseudoscience, piecing together ``creeds,'' deifying the cult heads, increasing the membership by proselytising, fabricating and spreading fallacies, and deceiving, threatening and coercing their followers; appearing in criminal groups; establishing well-organized illegal organizations to engage in secretive activities; being deliberately mystifying, defrauding money from their followers; harming the families and health of the practitioners; spreading rumors about ``catastrophe for mankind'' to frighten the disciples and disturb public order; and developing into political forces with a hostile attitude toward the government and trying to overthrow the government.

So Yan Jiaqi can not reach a correct definition of a cult because he twisted the definition of the ``cultist organizations'' determined in the ``Explanations'' and saw only one side of the nature of cults.

Actually we can see clearly that ``Falun Gong'' is a cult according to the definition in the ``Explanations.''

In addition, Yan Jiaqi said that the definition of ``cultist organizations'' in the "Explanations" is vague. But the fact is that Yan Jiaqi himself does not know clearly what a cult is. On the contrary, the definition of ``cultist organizations'' in the ``Explanations'' is accurate.

Yan Jaiqi also says that ``Falun Gong'' is not a religion, but it has a religious coloring. Is this right?

He also says in his article, ``Religio, the Latin term for religion, means the combination of the limit and the unlimit. A religion, no matter of what kind, has two major characteristics: First, it believes in or worships one or several supernatural and super-social force or forces which people can not understand by normal knowledge; second, it believes in the theory of the immortality of souls, and that there is another world beside this world, such as the one containing Heaven and Hell.

`` `Truthfulness, benevolence and tolerance' advocated by `Falun Gong' require its followers to be honest, kind and tolerant and improve their morality. The `Falun Dafa' of Li Hongzhi tells its practitioners to put the `cultivation of their temperament' in the first place and then after a period of practice they can have `wheels of law' inside their stomachs. If they concentrate their minds the `wheels of law' will turn inside their stomachs to promote the circulation of their qi. So their illness will be cured and they will keep fit..... From the anatomy angle there is no `wheel of law' in anyone's stomach and there have been no wheels in any animal or plants on earth from the beginning of life till today. I think that `Falun Gong' has only a religions coloring, but it is not a religion because it does not have the ordinary characteristics of a religion and there are no religious rites.''

So from what Yan Jiaqi said we can see, first, that what he said about religion having two major characteristics is wrong. From the essence of religion we say that religion has the following basic characteristics: 1. Orthodoxy: the object of worship of traditional religion is the superhuman god, such as the god of the Christians, Buddha of Buddhism and the Most Exalted Lord Lao of Taoism. The clergy are servants of the god, but they themselves are not gods or incarnations of gods. They do not ask the disciples of the religion to worship them as gods. 2. Stressing reality: the religious doctrines of traditional religions pay attention to the present life of their disciples and gives them comfort, advice and encouragement, urging them to seek happiness in Heaven. For example, Christians tell people to love universally and to be tolerant and lenient. Buddhism teaches people to be kind and lenient, and Islam prays to Allah to give great rewards in this world and in the hereafter. 3. Serving society: traditional religion does its best to be adaptable to society so as to serve society and the people, such as by honoring the country and benefiting the people of Buddhism, glorifying God and benefiting the people of Christianity, being benevolent, peaceful and harmonious, and saving the world and benefiting the people of Taoism, and practicing philanthropy of Islam. The system of each religion does not endanger the basic rights of the disciples entrusted by the Constitution and laws. The clergy never coerce their disciples to do things by force and they only give them advice. 4. Following the government: religion does not want to subvert the existing government to establish its religious authority. It tries to establish a harmonious relationship with the government so as to play its role as a non-governmental group. The religious disciples love both the country and their religion. So we can see that Yan Jiaqi's understanding of religion is one-sided.

Second, Yan Jiaqi does not understand that ``Falun Dafa'' makes mistakes in terminology. According to an article by Bai Huawen published in the 1999 tenth issue of Knowledge of Culture and History, `` `Dafa' is the basic creed of Buddhism. It has a special religious meaning, and it is used erroneously by `Falun Gong' practitioners.'' So it is lamentable that Yan Jiaqi talks about the "Falun Dafa" established by Li Hongzhi since he does not understand the meaning of ``Falun Dafa."

Third, Yan Jiaqi thinks that ``Falun'' (Wheel of Law) is an object. Bai Huawen explains, ``Sakyamuni explained the doctrine to his five followers in the Deer Garden, and they were converted, becoming the first five Buddhist monks. From then on, Buddhism had the Triratna: the triad of the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha. This is called `the beginning of the Wheel of Law.' Then the Buddhist teachings were expounded from generation to generation, referred to as `the wheel of transmigration always goes on.' This is a symbolic metaphor. It signifies the following: 1) the Buddha's truth which is capable of crushing all evil and all opposition, like Indra's wheel; 2) the Buddhist doctrine, like a wheel, rolls on from person to person; 3) the Buddhist doctrine is satisfactory. So `Falun' (Wheel of Law) is a special terminology of Buddhism and it can not be used indiscriminately.'' This gives a clear explanation of ``Falun.'' So now Yan Jiaqi should know what ``Falun'' is.

Fourth, analyzing from the basic characteristics of religion, we have to say that ``Falun Gong'' is not a religion, nor has it a religions coloring; it is an out-and-out cult. It is totally wrong for Yan Jiaqi to say that ``Falun Gong'' is merely a set of exercises for improving people's health and morality.

Lastly, let us analyze Yan Jiaqi's statement that ``China should stick by the `principle of freedom of belief.'

Yan Jiaqi asserted that ``the measures taken against `Falun Gong' not only violate the `principle of determining the crime according to the law' which is stated in China's Criminal Law and also the `principle of freedom of belief' formulated in its Constitution.'' He also said, ``It is difficult to decide what kind of organization a cult is according to the definition given in the `Explanations' issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on October 30, because the definition of a cult is vague, and is not standardized by law.''

So, from the above analysis we know that the definition of a ``cult organization'' contained in the ``Explanations'' is accurate, and that ``Falun Gong'' is an out-and-out cult. The above assertions of Yan Jiaqi demonstrate their own bankruptcy.

China always persists in the principle of freedom of belief. But one cannot do whatever one wishes by taking advantage of the freedom of belief. The ban on ``Falun Gong'' in China is a boon for the Chinese people and for the people of the whole world.

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