More than 100 experts and scholars from eight countries including the United States, Japan and Uganda attended the meeting, which sought to identify effective ways of containing the social problem.

Acknowledging that cults are becoming a global problem, the experts are calling for international cooperation and academic research in dealing with the issue. A religious scholar from the United States, Ms. Faye Pearson, says this is of great importance in today's world.

"Cults are an international issue. Most of the time, a cult brings damage to people and to the society. I think to exchange ideas, to share information, to share with each other the findings of why people join cults and so forth will be very helpful to the international community."

Professor Xu Rulei says rules of law have been enforced in China to crack down on cults.

Xu Rulei says China has set an example in its efforts to combat the Falun gong cult.

He says the Chinese government has been cautious in its approach to dealing with cults, drawing a clear distinction between cult leaders and followers. Strict measures such as prison terms are applied to leaders and organizers, for the followers, the government has focused its efforts on educating them as to the dangerous nature of the cult.

Xu Rulei says China's approach to dealing with this social problem has attracted world-wide attention. Countries like France, Kenya and Japan are now beginning to follow China's example and are passing special laws aimed at containing and neutralizing cult activities.

(CRI 2000/11/14)