FALUN Gong practitioners will not be penalized if they break their ties with the outlawed organization, a senior government official said in Beijing yesterday.

The official added that qigong groups abiding by the law will not be affected by the ban.

"The government will not blame or punish ordinary Falun Gong practitioners as long as they break ties with Falun Gong organizations and do not participate in their illegal activities," Li Baoku, vice-minister of Civil Affairs, told a press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council.

The ministry outlawed Falun Gong organizations on Thursday and refuses to recognize Falun Dafa, the Chinese equivalent of Falun Gong, as a kind of religious belief.

"We believe most Falun Gong practitioners were misled and hoodwinked by Falun Gong organizations," Li said.

The major task now is to bring home the ordinary practitioners, publicize the anti-science nature of Falun Gong and persuade followers to break away from the organization.

According to the doctrines of Falun Gong, practitioners who fall sick should not see doctors and take medicines, but must rely solely on Falun Gong for cures.

It also says science has generated an immoral world plagued by drugs and television, yet by practising Falun Gong, followers are supposed to be able to acquire supernatural powers to do things that would have been unimaginable before.

The minister said the government understands the difference between ordinary Falun Gong practitioners and a handful of Falun Gong organizers and key members and will treat them differently.

"Those who plotted and organized disturbances will be punished according to law," Li said.

A distinction will also be made between ordinary religious beliefs and illegal Falun Gong organizations and their activities. Normal physical exercises and organized illegal Falun Gong activities will also be treated differently.

Meanwhile, the ministry reiterated that freedom of belief in religion is protected by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China.