Kaiwind.com (October 22, 2010) – On the morning of October 13, the founder and Executive Director of the Rick A. Ross Institute (RI) in New Jersey, as well as a famous expert on cultic studies Rick A. Ross accepted an exclusive interview with Kaiwind.com's reporter He Jie, sharing his opinions about paying attention to the infiltration of all kinds of destructive cults and especially Falun Gong issue.
Mr. Ross said, "It has been almost 30 years since I started cult related work from a personal interest", "Destructive cults are everywhere in the world."
He Jie asked, "What kinds of means used by destructive cults to manipulate, exploit their followers, and what's the consequence to the followers and their families?"
"Most destructive cults rely on isolation, so what that means is they begin to monopolize a person's time, control their environment, in such a way that they cut them off from their family, from their old friends, from their co-worker. Because what the group wants is to control everything they see, everything they experience, and in that way control their mind. And how this harm their life is it causes family estrangement, it can break up marriages, it can cause people to become so preoccupied with the group that they neglect their children, their family, and their job. I've seen people give up everything for a destructive cult," Mr. Ross answered.
Because destructive cult is a global issue, Mr. Ross advised to coordinate and work together in sharing information, "it is very important for all countries,"because "by sharing information, we help each other, what one country learns can be shared with another, and that's helpful to all of us."
When talking about Falun Gong issues, Mr. Ross said, "Falun Gong fits the three criteria that would establish the destructive cult. Li Hongzhi is a typical cult leader. He makes fantastic claims about his powers, which define the group though the group talks about Qigong and other ancient Chinese traditions and beliefs. It really is about the personality of Li Hongzhi. He is supernatural claims, he is the authority. Second, in the group, there is dynamic where people basically give up much of their critical thinking, and they defer that to Li Hongzhi. What he says is what they think, and they allow him to make value judgments for them. You will not find Falun Gong members that question his authority or would even point out that he has made a mistake about anything. Finally, the group does harm. Anyone who knows about the horrible self-immolation that occurred in Tian'anmen Square in 2001 knows the horrible consequences of submission to Master Li."
"Li Hongzhi has chosen to live in the United States, as I heard he has a home in New York, and a home in New Jersey. Based on just those two properties, he is a millionaire, he is a rich man, he lives a comfortable life, while many of the members suffer, he lives very comfortably, he is taken care of. And he appears to be living a very comfortable life," said by Mr. Ross.
Mr. Ross told the reporter of Kaiwind.com about Shenyun shows that, "I think the dance troupe to going on that Falun Gong sponsors is false advertising. They have gotten some critical reviews in New York and London. Because audiences and critics who go on to review the shows, thought they were taken advantaged of, they thought they were going to just be entertained and instead they were suggested to the religious and political propaganda. So I think that Falun Gong has actually got in trouble over their dance touring company rather than really put forward the positive image."
He said, "I think the Americans are increasingly skeptical of Falun Gong, because they made many outrageous things that have not been able to be approved objectively. For example, they said that thousands of people were killed here in China and their organs were harvested. That was never proven."
When talking about the suits that Mr. Ross and his RI have experienced, he said, "The Ross Institute and myself has been suited about five times, not recently." "Though cults have appealed their defeats to higher courts, in two cases all the way to the United States Supreme Court, they have lost. And I think that this is a victory for free speech, and a demonstration that information will get to the public, regardless of threats of legal action and this type of behavior. " "In Canada, Falun Gong collected about 250 members, and they suited a newspaper in Quebec, because that newspaper published critical articles about them. They didn't win any damages, but the idea behind that type of litigation is to intimidate people."
Online video interview: Pay Attention to Infiltration of Cults (Part Ⅰ)
Online video interview: Pay Attention to Infiltration of Cults (Part Ⅱ)
(Kaiwind.com, October 20, 2010)
