● BBC

 

Falun Gong is the No.1 cult in China. Falun Gong will lead to collective suicide. (By James Meyers, a journalist for BBC, November, 1998)

 

Falun Gong combines slow meditative exercises with Mr. Li's homespun philosophy and teachings loosely drawn from Buddhism and Taoism. (Who is Li Hongzhi, May 8, 2001)

 

● Washington Post

 

Li Hongzhi played a key role in fomenting the confrontation and in exploiting differences within the Chinese government. Li Hongzhi, a former state grain clerk who leads Falun Gong from a secret location in the New York City borough of Queens, sought to take on Chinese police and continues to urge his followers to confront the security services.

 

According to Falun Gong practitioners, Li's pronouncements have encouraged a belief that the suffering incurred in opposing China's authoritarian government can elevate followers to a higher level of spiritual existence, which Li describes as "Consummation."

 

In the preceding year, Li's followers had conducted some major protests in the major cities and provinces, putting Falun Gong on a collision course with the party leadership. And days before the April 25 incident, Li came to China, apparently to direct the unprecedented sit-in, which has been cited by Jiang as the reason for beginning his campaign against the group. (A Foe Rattles Beijing from Abroad, March 10, 2001)

 

● Associated Press

 

The Epoch Times is not a typical media outlet. It was launched in 2000 by Falun Gong members, and has since rapidly expanded its Web and print presence. As it has grown, The Epoch Times has tried to carve a place for itself in the mainstream media while distinguishing itself from Falun Gong...Some observers say The Epoch Times appears to be a major element of a global public relations campaign by Falun Gong to gain sympathy and new followers. (Epoch Times: Falun Gong Paper, or Not? February 5, 2007)

 

Falun Gong has gained a following outside China, but remains controversial among many Chinese-Americans who view the group as a cult and question its political agenda...Observers say Falun Gong has become increasingly sophisticated in spreading its message through the widely circulated Epoch Times newspaper and New Tang Dynasty Television. Both were founded by Falun Gong supporters and feature anti-communist news and commentary. (Falun Gong Show Called Propaganda, January 20, 2007)

 

● New York Times

 

Anguish over the recent earthquake in China helped set off a small ideological disturbance in Chinatown on Sunday when a Falun Gong parade was jeered by supporters of the Chinese government who hurled water bottles and pieces of pastry at the marchers, as well as insults.

 

At some point, Chinatown residents said, rumors spread that Falun Gong was discouraging donations and telling people that the Chinese government would steal the money...Things were calm along much of the parade route, but as the marchers moved down East Broadway and beneath the Manhattan Bridge overpass – some of them holding aloft banners and placards that read "Only Without the Communist Party There Will Be a New China" – the atmosphere became charged. People on the sidelines hooted and booed. Spectators gave the thumbs-down sign while chanting a derisive oath in Chinese. Plastic water bottles flew through the air, aimed at the marchers. (Falun Gong Marchers are Jeered in Chinatown, May 26, 2008)

 

● Los Angeles Times

 

They (Falun Gong) have failed to generate lasting sympathy from the Chinese American community at large, where some label the Falun Gong as a fringe group. (Activists Fail to Stir Opposition to China's Float, December 30, 2007)

 

Falun Gong members have raised hackles in the mainstream Chinese-American community – in part because some consider Falun Gong a fringe group or cult religion and in part because of the group's in-your-face approach to spreading its message. Those who practice Falun Gong frequently congregate in public places, display banners or take to the streets to distribute printed materials that detail ways in which Falun Gong practitioners...sometimes including graphic images of physical abuse.

 

Others say that though Falun Gong practitioners call themselves a religious group, their main message has been political – and some believe that politics, not culture, dominates in the Chinese New Year Spectacular. (Ties to Falun Gong Add Controversy to the Chinese New Year Spectacular, January 7, 2008)

 

● Whittier Daily News

 

In the San Gabriel Valley, Falun Gong activists have appeared at meetings since at least 2001 trying to gain support for resolutions against China, according to city documents of Covina.

 

Falun Gong has dedicated volunteers and activists in major cities across the world, and has not been shy about using litigation as a tool to protect its interests.

 

Alhambra officials also struggled with what to do about a Falun Gong request to march in a Chinese New Year's parade in 2005. Chamber of Commerce officials denied the request, said Talbot, because of the political nature of the group. The same rationale applied to denials of the group's annual request to march in parades in Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Falun Gong Activists Make Appeals, December 29, 2007)

 

● The Ottawa Citizen

 

The Matas-Kilgour report gave credence to allegations advanced by Falun Gong.

 

Questions about the Matas-Kilgour report went beyond the allegations about Sujiatun. A paper prepared by the US Congressional Research Service concluded that the report for the most part "does not bring forth new or independently-obtained testimony and relies largely upon the making of logical inferences." Researchers working for the US Congress concluded that some of the key allegations in the report appear to be inconsistent with the findings of other investigations. It also questioned the transcripts of telephone calls, in which Chinese officials are said to admit using Falun Gong organs. "Some argue that such apparent candour would seem unlikely given Chinese government controls over sensitive information, which may raise questions about the credibility of the telephone recordings," the research service paper said.

 

The Sujiatun story lost more air when Harry Wu, a former political prisoner of the Chinese government and outspoken voice against the Communist government, said he doubted the witness accounts upon which the Sujiatun stories relied. His organization investigated and found the witness statements unreliable. He concluded the story may be intentionally fabricated. "We haven't found any evidence to support the location and the number and events they have described going on," said Lisa Pertoso, a spokeswoman for Mr. Wu's organization. (Former MP Pushes for Beijing Games Boycott, August 9, 2007)

 

There wasn't a whole lot of sympathy for the Falun Gong in some quarters, it's because many people likely shared the view that it's a weird cult. (Cult Followings, May 17, 2008)

 

● Radio-Canada, the national French Radio and TV station in Canada

 

According to our investigation, Falun Gong is actually a well organized group with strong financial support.

 

Just the same with their newspapers, radio, and TV station, Falun Gong practitioners carefully cover the real intention, which is to publicize their progress and to overthrow the ruling Communist Party of China.

 

Loic Tasse, expert in Chinese issues, University of Montreal during the interview said, "Falun Gong has always denied that it has political background; but since they have been suppressed by the government and they have fought against the suppression, so I think they've engaged in a political movement. There's no doubt about that." (Uneasiness in Chinatown, October 30, 2008)

 

● The Age, Australia

 

According to Lord Mayor John So, "EVERYONE is welcome in Melbourne. Except Falun Gong." Last night, he used his numbers on the Melbourne City Council to quash a proposed Town Hall reception for Falun Gong.

 

Cr Carl Jetter, questioned before last night's meeting, said the Falun Gong were fanatics. "I don't support any fanatical religious or political groups."

 

In 2003, council banned Falun Gong members from taking part in the Moomba parade because they were too political. (Falun Gong is So out at City Hall, October 31, 2007)

 

● Scoop Politics, New Zealand

 

Recently, New Zealand's Auckland Santa Parade Trust official claimed, Falun Gong did not meet the participation criteria because it refused to assure parade organizers that it would not ambush the fun family Christmas occasion to promote its own political agenda.Falun Gong group would not be allowed to participate in the event held in this city on November 25. Michael Barnett, chairman of the Christmas Parade Organizing Committee of Auckland, made a statement: "The group is now using publicity to try and manipulate the rules." "The trust is now convinced that today's press conference is yet another attempt by the sect to ambush a proud 74 year old Christmas tradition to promote its own political agenda." (Statement on Falun Gong Exclusion, November 22, 2007)