Cult an anti-China tool

Last week, more than 100 Falun Gong activists gathered illegally at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, but they were immediately stopped by police and civilians.

Shortly afterwards, the overseas media reported the event based on exaggerated reports faxed by the so-called "Information Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China" in Hong Kong. The centre claimed that more than 200 Falun Gong practitioners had staged a protest and were arrested at Tian'anmen Square. They claimed the protest and subsequent arrests were linked to the issue of human rights.

Since April 25, 1999, when Falun Gong followers held a large-scale gathering in Beijing, the Li Hongzhi-led cult has persisted in confronting the government and breaking the law. It has continued to organize and agitate Falun Gong believers to hold illegal gatherings around the country.

Last Thursday's illegal gathering was nothing new. But it is another law-defying and anti-government activity that was better organized and planned this time.

What was unusual this time was the speed with which the foreign media filed exaggerated reports on the event.

Now, some Falun Gong sponsored overseas websites have revealed that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights is planning to vote on a US-raised proposal to condemn China.

These people have forgotten Li Hongzhi's pledge that Falun Gong organizations will "never be involved in politics, never oppose the government and never throw in their lot with any domestic or foreign political force."

These days, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights has been holding its 56th session in Geneva, Switzerland. Some Americans who are making irresponsible remarks on the pretext of "human rights" have made Falun Gong an important part of their proposal to condemn China.

Anti-China forces in the United States are paying much attention to the Falun Gong cult. They value lies, such as the Chinese Government has suppressed "civilians" and "persecuted Falun Gong practitioners on a large scale" - all fabricated by the cult leader and his followers.

However, they have turned a blind eye to the fact that many Falun Gong practitioners have suffered from the cult. More than 1,500 have lost their lives and more than 600 have developed serious mental illnesses.

This is not because the anti-China elements in the United States love cults, but because the Falun Gong cult is still capable of raising the devil in China.

In this year's anti-China proposal to the UN Commission on Human Rights, Li Hongzhi and his cult have become a new tool for anti-China elements in the United States.

This tool has been used by anti-China forces in the United States on several occasions.

On March 2, a Chinese-American Falun Gong follower spread rumours at a hearing on "Human Rights Issues in China and Tibet" held by a US congressional committee on foreign relations.

The speaker, who claimed he was detained for eight days in Beijing a month earlier for "protecting Falun Gong," won the sympathy of some committee members.

On March 16, Zhang Erping, a close aide to Li Hongzhi, and Wei Jingsheng attended a hearing on "Religious Freedom in China and Tibet" held by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. In his speech, Wei urged foreign countries to block China's bid to enter the World Trade Organization.

On March 20, when the 56th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights convened, Li Hongzhi held a news conference and publicized a "news announcement" claiming they were very happy to see the US Government was preparing to raise a proposal criticizing China's human rights record in 1999 and that human rights violations must not be regarded as an internal affair.