A Xinhua commentary Sunday called for a fight until the end against the Falun Gong cult in order to ensure the prosperity and stability of the nation as well as the safe and comfortable lives of the public.

"We should be fully aware that the fight will be long, arduous and complicated, and therefore, we must be vigilant against the Falun Gong cult and should in no way relax our efforts," said the commentary.

In July 1999, the Chinese Government banned the Falun Gong as an evil cult at the strong request of the general public and in the over four years since, great success has been achieved through resolute struggles against the cult, and the social stability of the country has been well safeguarded, it said.

More and more people have come to see through the anti-scientific, anti-human and anti-social nature of the cult and have devoted themselves to the struggle. Meanwhile, most of the former Falun Gong followers have shaken off the cult's spiritual control through reeducation and have resumed normal life, the commentary said.

However, the Falun Gong cult has never stopped their confrontation with the country and the law, said the commentary.

On several occasions, the Falun Gong cult interfered with TV signals transmitted via the Sinosat communications satellite, and on Aug. 12 and 13, interrupted the programming of China Central Television, China Educational Television, and another 10 provincial-level TV stations.

From June to November last year, the cult had tapped into signals via the satellite from Taipei of Taiwan many times, according to the commentary.

At this year's critical period when the whole nation was fighting against the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic, Falun Gong leader Li Hongzhi and the cult headquarters overseas frequently organized so-called congregations abroad and even distributed "lectures" via Internet, instigating followers at home to block the epidemic prevention.

The cult has also used international IP calls and mobile phone messages to spread their evil doctrines, severely affecting the normal life of the general public, said the commentary.

Under the temptation of Li and his cult, many cult followers have resorted to extreme and cruel activities including committing suicide, self-immolation, poisoning and setting themselves on fire in order to seek the "higher level," it said.

From May to June this year under the Falun Gong doctrines, a follower in east China's Zhejiang Province shocked society by poisoning more than 10 innocent people, adding another crime to the cult's anti-human record.

The commentary pointed out that the Falun Gong cult would not disappear within a short period of time, but rather, it may go even further to endanger society.

Recently, the cult has intensified its collusion with Western anti-China forces to launch attacks against both the government and the people. At a so-called congregation in Chicago in June, Li even went so far as to say that socialist China "can no longer exist."

"Any tolerance toward the cult will lead to extreme harm to the general public," said the commentary, stressing that to eradicate the Falun Gong cult will help create a harmonious and stable environment for the country's socialist construction and benefit both the country and the people.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2003)