City Colleges of Chicago - Europe
ENG 102: English Composition II
Essay #4 - 01 September 2001
Historical revolutions of various kinds alter the natural direction of a country. Revolutionary activities are good and bad for countries when the interest of the people is forgotten. I’m implying that some revolutionary leaders should continue earning a productive living instead of distorting the minds of the masses. People change towards good and productive lives and others undergo wicked transformations, causing or killing innocent people and family. People change so much that they lose their direction in life and often put themselves in danger. Sometimes a government will recognize this behavior as destructive and will intervene, offering to help these people who have lost their way.
Li Hongzhi has gone astray. He is lost. Millions of people around the world have bought into his distorted vision. This man is the founder of the cult known as Falun Gong. He lives in exile from China. "Like it or not, the Falun Gong is a byproduct of today's more materialistic China," says the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. (Asia Times Online July 24, 1999①) It is this materialism that is creeping into China that led to the creation of the Falun Gong cult. Had the Chinese Communist Party not have been led by revisionists, this cult might not exist today. This man lost faith in the Communist Party of China and sought a release through his ideas.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Jiang Zemin, said China must uphold and consolidate the status of Marxism as a guiding ideology and help the people acquire a correct world outlook, philosophy of life and values. The Chinese people, he said, must strengthen their belief in Marxism and socialism, and build up their confidence in reforms towards opening-up and modernization. Increasing the people’s trust in the Party and the Government is also necessary as well as instilling into people's mind such ideas as self-reliance, competition, efficiency, democracy, the legal system, as well as a pioneering and innovative spirit②.
Unfortunately Li Hongzhi has a different agenda; he walks a path different from the Chinese government. He is interested in fame and material attainment via the expense of spiritually starved people. People in China are still searching for something else after the Mao Tse-Tung era. "People have to look for some spiritual support somewhere other than the Communist Party," an elderly woman follower stated③.
Mr. Li Hongzhi commercialized Buddhist and Taoist practices combined his own brand of mysticism into the socially deviant practice called Falun Gong. In his words, “Everyone possesses supernormal abilities, and the mater is one of developing and strengthening them via continued cultivation.” (Hongzhi, 9④) It seems evident that Li Hongzhi is attempting to spread witchcraft or some false belief in the minds of the people to overcome their stresses, both mental and physical. His entire book China Falun Gong has scattered about its pages, half-truths and often eludes more questions than a politician.
An example of the commercialization of historical methods he preaches is, “Falun is most precious and cannot be exchanged for any amount of money. When passing Falun onto me, my master told me that Falun shouldn’t be passed onto anyone else; all those people who have cultivated for thousands of years want to have it, yet they cannot…Falun is therefore extremely precious. Even though we have now made it public and altered it to become less powerful, it is still extremely precious.” He compiled meditation techniques and misguided theories together into one, teaching two-cent practices unworthy of respect. He disobeyed his master, and is attempting to discredit all Buddhist and Taoist schools of thought.
Jiang Zemin said the Chinese people should double their effort for a publicity campaign on scientific knowledge, approach, thinking and spirit. A vital principle to be followed in developing China's advanced culture according to Jiang Zemin is to emphasize the central theme of the socialist culture, persevere in serving the people and socialism, and let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend⑤. Following someone who believes that Falun is an intelligent being consisting of high-energy substances, China will be destroyed by foolishness.
Jiang Zemin said, “To promote the socialist ideological and ethical standards constitutes an essential component of and a key link in developing China's advanced culture. We must realize that we would lose the common objective of struggle and reject the accepted code of conduct if we only value material gains and money without thinking of ideals and moral standards. We should combine the rule of law with the rule of virtue in order to lay a lofty ideological and ethical foundation for a good public order and a healthy environment. We should advocate patriotism, collectivism and socialism among all people, combat and resist money worship, hedonism, ultra-egoism and other decadent ideas, enhance the Chinese people's national self-esteem, self-confidence, and the sense of pride, and inspire them to work unremittingly for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation⑥.”
Mr. Li Hongzhi states the following claim: “Practitioners should hold themselves to higher standards at all times. Practitioners are continuously interferes with by all kinds of complicated social phenomena, many vulgar and unhealthy things various emotions and desires. The things that are promoted on television, in movies, and in literature induce you to become a stronger and more practical person among everyday people. If you cannot go beyond these, you will distance yourself (Hongzhi, 79⑦),” from deeper or better cultivation”.
Jiang Zemin said, “The socialist culture has become dominant in China. Because of the past and present reasons, however, there still exist some backward cultural phenomena in China such as superstition, ignorance, decadence and vulgarity, or even decadent cultural phenomena that corrode people's mind and jeopardize the socialist cause. We should try to eliminate backward culture, prevent and resolutely resist the corrosion by the decadent culture and erroneous ideas, and gradually reduce and remove the soil breeding the culture and ideas, through better policies, systems, education and management, and by changing prevailing customs and habits.
The habit of practicing out in the open in large formations of people is a habit that the Chinese people can break. They can also break the spell of illusion that they follow through this Falun Gong. It is merely a system of exercise that claims spiritual wellness. Exercise is good for people, this is known. If people spent the time of day running, lifting weights, or even playing with their children during this time, or even perhaps reading or brushing up on their Marxism this phenomenon would not exist.
I claim that the Falun Gong only exists in a faddish state. Conditions in China were and are ripe for a new ideology. Though Chairman Mao Tse-Tung is long gone, his legacy over China is not forgotten. The leadership that followed after his death simply cannot rally the masses in the same manner. Opening up to the western countries has interjected China with cultural pollution.
There are claims that some high level officials in the Communist Party are practitioners also. Jiang Zemin offered the following words: “Leading cadres at all levels should maintain a high degree of self-discipline, self-examination, self-caution and self-motivation, and should always attach importance to study, political awareness and integrity. They should often use criticism and self-criticism as a weapon in waging active ideological struggles and adhere to truth while rectifying mistakes.⑧”
China recognizes five major religions, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and Protestantism. The people have a quite the choice of beliefs. Article 36 of the Chinese Constitution states, “Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. Religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.
This individual compelled citizens to believe his distortions of respectable institutions that disrupt public order and the educational system of the state. That is why he fled the country. He is fearful of imprisonment and death.
My words might seem rather harsh. It seems like I am defending the Chinese Communist Party and not the right of the individual like a good American would do. To clarify I declare freedoms are often extreme and misused. There should not be total freedom from anything. When there are too many freedoms granted to the individual, he thinks he can run amuck and do as he pleases, chaotically without regard to public policy. By violating Article 36, he also should face Article 28: “The State maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter-revolutionary activities; it penalizes criminal activities that endanger public security and disrupt the socialist economy as well as other criminal activities; and it punishes and reforms criminals.
In a question and answer period, Li Hongzhi was asked, “There are several of us whose heads have been feeling swollen and dizzy since we began our study.” Mr. Li Hongzhi answered, “This might be because you are new students whose bodies haven’t been fully adjusted. The energy I emit is very powerful.”
Unfortunately Li Hongzhi’s stain upon society will not go away anytime soon. He will be remembered for the “struggle” of his followers. They are foolish to believe his bogus methods. I am sickened by the international media’s outcry for sympathy towards Falun Gong followers. It is very unfortunate that believing Li Hongzhi’s ideas have lead to deaths. The Chinese government offers rehabilitation and reeducation programs to cleanse cult members of their disease. Several people have taken the rewards of rehabilitation. Many more members should continue rehabilitation in the future.
In a question and answer period Li Hongzhi was asked, “What did you say last time that a person of mixed race has lost?”
Mr. Hongzhi replies, “He has lost the body that comes from the top down through to here. Let me put it this way: People of the yellow race have people of the yellow race up there, and people of the white race have people of the white race up there. He’s lost this thread.” (Hongzhi, 2001)
Another question was asked, “Children who’ve grown up in the U.S. aren’t so good with Chinese. Should they be sent back to China in the future?”
Mr. Hongzhi answers, “I can tell you that I’ve been to many places abroad and I’ve found this problem everywhere, so when I see my disciples I often tell them this: Make sure you have your kids learn Chinese; you can’t lose the characteristics of your yellow race. Since there’s no place for you in the Caucasian paradises, you still need to return to the paradises of the yellow race’s people. What matters the most is that you can’t understand the true meaning of Fa when you study it. Today the translated books provide people with a process of understanding during the transitional period. Just like our book China Falun Gong, It is something only for people’s understanding process, whereas in true cultivation one follows Zhuan Falun. The books translated into foreign languages are also for during your process of understanding. If you want to truly practice cultivation, you need to read the original text. Only from the original text can you know what’s what. The translations—no matter how well they’re done—are shallow, [much like his teachings!] and don’t have the inner meanings. That’s why many of us find that each time you read the book It is different; when you read the same sentence from different realms it’s completely different.” (Hongzhi, 2001)
It is clear that Mr. Hongzhi is a racist as well as being a liar, deceiver, and capitalist (in the sense of exploiting people for profit!).
In a statement titled, Suffocate the Evil, Mr. Hongzhi says, “Masanjia Labor Re-education Camp is a dark den of evil forces. Most of the disciplinary guards there are reincarnated minor ghosts from hell. As for the people who have been "reformed,” it was arranged before that they would damage the Fa by doing this. No matter how well they acted when arrested or beaten, all of that was setting the stage for their leaping out today to damage the Fa and confuse students. I hope that students don't listen to or believe their vicious lies. This has happened because I'm purposefully allowing them to expose themselves in order to let all of you clearly recognize them and to have these hidden malignant tumors be removed from among disciples. All of the students who are clarifying the truth today in order to validate Dafa have done really well. I have thoroughly affirmed this. What they have been doing is absolutely correct—there is no doubt about this. I hope everyone remains clearheaded. (Hongzhi, 2000)
I know I have presented you with a lot of information. I discovered that it was necessary for you to view the material from the source. There are always two sides to every story, and then there is the truth. The truth is that this man is motivated to overthrow the Communist Party of China with his proclaimed doctrine of cultivation. He is acting revolutionary. If Mr. Hongzhi wants to be a revolutionary, he must be prepared for what must historically be his defeat. Historically, revolutionary leaders or actors have fallen terminally. Li Hongzhi escaped his fate by coming to America. We must not cry for him.
Note：
①Asia Times Online, www.atimes.com, July 24th , 1999.
②Zemin, Jiang, Speech Marking the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
③Asia Times Online, same July 24th article.
④Hongzhi, Li, China Falun Gong, New York, NY (Universal Publishing Company: 2000).
⑤Zemin, Jiang, Speech to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, echoing famous words spoken by Chairman Mao Tse-Tung.
⑥Same speech.
⑦Hongzhi, page 79.
⑧From Jiang Zemin’s Speech on the 80th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party.
Original text from: http://mcu.academia.edu/DionPeoples/Papers/1528917/The_Falun_Gong_Cult
