The Chinese religious delegation in Geneva, Switzerland said on Thursday that Chinese citizens enjoy full religious freedom and the banning of Falun Gong is completely right because the cult encourages its practitioners to take their own lives and kill others.

At a press conference at the International Press Center in Geneva, Master Jing Hui, head of the delegation and vice chairman of the Buddhist Association of China, said Falun Gong in no way contributes to the overall benefit of the society.

Rather, it encourages practitioners to kill.

Master Jing Hui also said that so far more than 1,000 practitioners have died but none of them were killed by the Chinese government.

The dead either took their own lives or murdered relatives.

"This has clearly shown that Falun Gong doesn't cherish human life as required by other religions," said Master Jing Hui.

Falun Gong---a form of spiritual control

Delegation member Pastor Zhao Yu said that what Falun Gong does is actually a form of spiritual control.

Christians favor humanity and contributions to society, but Falun Gong does the opposite.

"The leader of Falun Gong ran away to the United States. He is afraid of death but calls on his followers to kill themselves and hurt their family members. It just runs in the opposite direction of any religious spirit. Therefore, religious believers are against Falun Gong," Pastor Zhao Yu said.

The Chinese religious delegation also held a photo exhibition in Geneva and met with local religious leaders.

The delegation will wind up its six-day visit to Switzerland and return to China on Friday.

 

(People's Daily April 19, 2002)