Falun Gong Ban Results in Boom in Science Book Sales

Science books started becoming more popular in the Chinese capital after the government banned the Falun Dafa sect on July 22.

Special shelves have been set up in major Beijing bookstores for books on astronomy, geology, and biology, and on anti- superstition. An executive with Sanlian, a large Beijing bookstore, says they have added 60 different science books and have sold 1, 000 copies in the past few days.

The founder of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), Li Hongzhi, has said that the earth will soon explode, causing many people to commit suicide, so the bookstore has arranged lectures on this so-called "1999 catastrophe", with astronomers explaining why in fact the earth is safe and this has increased sales.

At the Capital Book Building, about 200 copies of "Aspiring to Science and Eradicating Superstition" have been sold in two days.

One customer said that Falun Gong's popularity was a result of the lack of scientific information among the general public, so he had decided to read more about astronomy and biology.

Many publishing houses have decided to use this in a related way. Xinhua Publishing House, for example, has released a new book, "Exposing The True Face of Falun Gong", which has become a best seller.

And many people have called People's Publishing House to order several new books, including "A brief Introduction to Materialism and Atheism".

People have also been going to the National Library to borrow these books in greater numbers.

(China daily 1999/07/28)