People's Daily warns not to underestimate cults

People's Daily, the leading newspaper in China, Tuesday published a story about how Falun Gong members organized subversive activities in the national capital on the eve of the Spring Festival, along with a commentary warning not to treat Falun Gong lightly.

The commentary, titled "Never Underestimate," tells people that Falun Gong has not diminished despite months of a nationwide campaign against the cult.

The fight against the Galun Gong cult is a long-term, complicated, and arduous one, the commentary said.

The "New Year's Eve Preaching Program" proves that despite strenuous, painstaking efforts to educate and persuade the cult followers by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the government, a handful of die-hard Falun Gong elements are still trying to launch long-term resistance against the authorities, the commentary notes.

According to the story, which was simultaneously published in the overseas edition of the newspaper, a small number of hard-core Falun Gong members failed to hold an illegal gathering in southern Guangzhou City last November after local police launched a successful crack-down.

Shortly after, Mi Xiaoping, organizer of the illegal gathering, escaped from police custody and returned to her hometown of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, and started plotting a large-scale gathering on the eve of the Spring Festival, the traditional Chinese Lunar New Year's Day which was on February 5 this year.

Between January 19 and February 2, Mi and dozens of Falun Gong members held secret meetings in downtown Beijing to prepare for the Spring Festival summoning. The Tian'anmen area was made the site for the gathering as it was said by the organizers to be "the very place where the root of the demon is seated" and "the ' preaching' must be held in the area so as to uproot the demon."

A dozen such meetings were held and were attended by more than 200 Falun Gong followers. The participants were told to spread the information to other believers. Those who masterminded the plot, including Mi of course, decided not to show up at Tian'anmen Square on the occasion.

On February 4, a number of local and overseas Falun Gong members gathered on Tian'anmen Square, but they failed to hold the planned "preaching program" due to timely and determined police action, the People's Daily said.

All the hard-core members were arrested, including Mi, who was captured by the police in Beijing on February 11.

(China daily 2000/05/10)