By Liu Jing, Chinese Delegate to the 56th Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
"Falun Gong" is a kind of cult that has emerged in some parts of China over recent years.
Like other cults in the world, the founder of "Falun Gong," Li Hongzhi, concocted and propagated a set of lies and heretical fallacies to instill them into practitioners of "Falun gong," so as to control them spiritually. In order to make its heretical fallacies clearly known to the public, we patiently extract them as follows:
-- "The practitioners of Falun Dafa are forbidden to go to see a doctor, otherwise you no longer belong to Falun Dafa." Medicine is a dirty thing."
-- "The laws formulated by human beings restrict and isolate people in a mechanical way."
-- "None of the existing religions, whether Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism or Judaism, can save people from torment any more. They are all on a low plane." "Most of the religions emerging in this century, including many new religions emerging in various places of the world in the previous centuries, are fake."
-- "The Earth serves as the rubbish heap of the universe," "It is an apple which has been rotten off thoroughly." Therefore, "the human beings on our Earth now may experience catastrophe." "We have found that mankind has experienced 81 great calamities in the past, and there were only a few people who survived."
-- "More than three million Chinese were killed in the Nanjing massacre. That is nothing to us." "Hitler killed a lot of people, and many people died in World War II. All these were caused by changes of astronomical phenomena."
-- "Now I am the only person in the world who can spread the orthodox Law of Buddha. Therefore, I am doing a deed never before done by our predecessors."
-- "I have countless law-bodies. I can protect you wherever you go, even if you go to the moon." "I can look after as many people as I want to, even the entire human race."
-- "Science is developed from a wrong basis." "The law of universal gravitation is wrong." "Darwin is the greatest disgrace for Europe."
-- "I am the oldest man in this universe, even my parents are made by me."
The above-mentioned fallacies are just conveniently extracted from Li Hongzhi's speeches, records, videotapes and books. People with the slightest common sense can see through them at once. Now Li Hongzhi tries to deny them. But he will never succeed in doing so in front of these irrefutable evidences. It is with these fallacies and such lies as "truthfulness, benevolence and tolerance," "dispelling karma," "leading to a higher level of cultivation" and "achieving all-round fulfillment" that Li Hongzhi deceives, benumbs and controls the practitioners.
Actually, it was some people in the religious circles who were the first to disclose the true features of "Falun Gong" as a cult. The media and some relatives of the victims of "Falun Gong" also continuously disclosed and accused it with facts of its harm to people's mind and health.
Lu Xingchong's wife became obsessed with "Falun Gong" in 1995. She was so possessed that although suffering from serious illness, she did not dare to take medicine regardless of advice from her family. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to "Falun Gong" wishing to ascend to Heaven. As a result, she couldn't suffer anymore and her mind collapsed. On January 23, 1998, she committed suicide by cutting her throat. From then on, Lu Xingchong has been unceasingly accusing "Falun Gong" of its evils to the public and requesting the government to outlaw "Falun Gong." On April 10, Lu delivered a speech of accusation at the 56th Session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights.
The "Falun Gong" cult has already caused serious damages to society. Incomplete statistics show that 1559 people have died of suicide or refusal to accept medical treatment as a result of crazing for "Falun Gong," 651 people led to psychological distress, 11 people killed others, 144 people became disabled, and thousands upon thousands of families lost their previous harmony and happiness. Furthermore, the "Falun Gong" organization has amassed enormous illegal funds and engineered more than 300 incidents involving besieging and attacking news agencies, schools, scientific research institutions and government organs holding different views from "Falun Gong," seriously disturbing social order and violating other people's rights and personal safety.
Any responsible government will never take a laissez-faire attitude toward a cult and allow it to injure people's life. It is just because "Falun Gong" has massively committed illegal activities that its criminals having caused serious damages to society were punished in accordance with the provisions formulated in Articles 300, etc of the Criminal Law related to the punishment for offenses in the name of a cult. This action is fully legitimate and justified and therefore has won support from society at large. The Chinese judiciary body has put the cult founder Li Hongzhi on the wanted list and prosecuted its key members including Li Chang for their criminal responsibility. All these actions were carried out strictly according to law. Before the law and facts, Li Chang and other criminals had to plead guilty in the court.
The majority of the "Falun Gong" practitioners didn't see its true features as a cult. They were taken in as victims, and were innocent. We carried out a policy of persuasion, education and protection toward them. To this end, the relevant authorities of the Chinese government and people from all walks of life showed the utmost tolerance and patience toward them by helping them to break away with the spiritual control of the cult without any discrimination or exclusion against them. Li Hongzhi and his followers have claimed again and again that there are 100 million "Falun Gong" practitioners. Actually this has been exaggerated by 50 times the actual figure just for bluffing and raising their social status. In fact, there are no more than two million people who have practiced "Falun Gong." Up till now, over 98% of them have broken away with the mind control of "Falun Gong" and are now living normal lives. The Chinese government and society at large are sincere, responsible and successful in caring for and helping those indulged in "Falun Gong."
Some Western countries launched accusations against China on the issue of "Falun Gong." This is thoroughly unwarranted. They describe the handling of the "Falun gong," which has caused serious harm to people's lives and health and their families, as violation of human rights. This is down-right confusion of right with wrong. It is indeed a mockery of human rights and should be condemned by the international community. Despite the fact that "Falun Gong" has jeopardized society and its true features as a cult have been fully revealed to the public, some Western countries still try to absolve it from guilt and exercise double standards on the issue of cult. Obviously they do all this with ulterior motives.
The accusations launched by those Western countries are based on lies, including those fabricated by "Falun Gong." Therefore they are not tenable. "Falun Gong" has concocted a report on 103 cases of so-called persecution of "Falun Gong" practitioners and massive violation of human rights by China. However, investigation by the related authorities over all those 103 cases reveals as follows: 33 cases are make-up stories, accounting for 32% of the total number; 58 cases distorting the facts, 56.3%; 10 cases clearly inconsistent with the facts, 9.7%; and 2 cases without any evidence, 2%. That means none of those cases is true. After the outlawing of "Falun Gong," some infatuated practitioners held illegal assemblies in some public places in Beijing. They were persuaded to leave or led away or sent back home by the related authorities. That involves totally more than 35,000 persons. However, "Falun Gong" spread the lie that more than 35,000 people were arrested. In order to fabricate lies, "Falun Gong" has stretched its imagination by the farthest extent possible. This is natural because cults invariably build themselves up by lies and heretical fallacies; they cannot survive without cheating. It is astonishing and exasperating that some Western countries should base their accusations against China upon such lies.
Cult is a common scourge in the world today. The Branch Davidians, the People' Temple, the Aum Shinrikyo, the Solar Temple, The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God as well as "Falun Gong" have all caused serious harm to human rights. In order to protect human rights, researches should be carried out as to how to prevent cults from harming the life, health and mind of mankind. In this context, all countries should enhance cooperation to fight against cults together. China would lie to learn other countries' helpful experience and contribute with its own experience to the global effort for the prevention of and the fight against cults -- the social narcotic drug.
(April 12, 2000)
