John Sun’s life was a life of “selfless dedication” to Li Hongzhi.
Who is “John Sun”?
On November 1, 1999, Craig S. Smith, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, published an article titled（Chinese Spiritual Leader Finds American Dream in New Jersey），which revealed that Li Hongzhi, who always claimed not to amass wealth, could afford a mansion worth hundreds of thousands of dollars less than a year after fleeing to the United States. Li Hongzhi claimed that the house was a gift from one of his "most loyal followers," a lighting manufacturer called "John Sun".
▲Screenshot of the original report from The Wall Street Journal
▲Related descriptions of the original article
"John Sun" was originally named Sun Jun (English name John J Sun, born in 1959). In the late 1980s, he and his wife Li Chen (born in 1962) went abroad to the United States to start a business. In January 1996, they registered and operated Montreat Co., Ltd. in New Jersey, engaged in the production and sales of lampshade crafts. Later, both husband and wife obtained American citizenship.
In 1995, Sun Jun and his wife began to practice "Falun Gong" and became loyal believers of Li Hongzhi.
According to the Wall Street Journal, in February 1998, Sun Jun invested $35,000 to rent the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in Manhattan, New York City, for Li Hongzhi to "spread the Fa."
In May 1999, Sun Jun donated a $580,000 house at 27 Drinking Brook Road, Monmouth, New Jersey to Li Hongzhi. After the Chinese government banned Falun Gong according to law, Li Hongzhi and his few followers fled to the United States. Sun Jun provided his apartment at 103 Egan Avenue, Staten Island, New York as a venue for the activities of core members of the Falun Gong organization such as Li Hongzhi, Yi Rong, and Zhang Erping, and registered the address as the "Eastern United States Falun Dafa Research Association."
▲103 Egan Avenue, Staten Island, New York
（103 EAGAN，AVE，STATEN ISLAND，NY10312-4103，RICHMOND COUNTY），Area: 1854 square feet (about 172 square meters). Source: Google Maps
▲27 Drinking Brook Road, Monmouth, New Jersey
(27 DRINKING BROOK RD MONMOUTH JCT,NJ08852)，
The area is 4297 square feet (about 400 square meters). Source: Google Maps
▲Distribution map of Li Hongzhi's 11 properties in the United States (Sun Jun donated properties 5 and 6 in the left picture)
Since 2001, Li Hongzhi has built the "Longquan Temple" in Orange County, New York, as the headquarters of the "Falun Gong" cult. During the construction period, Sun Jun provided his villa for Li Hongzhi's family to live in, and he and his wife Chen Li served Li Hongzhi and his family in their daily lives. He also used his own company to purchase, transfer, and receive goods and materials from outside the United States for the construction of the "Longquan Temple". After the "Longquan Temple" was completed, Sun Jun was stationed in the "Longquan Temple" in November 2012, managing the affairs of the "inner courtyard", taking care of Li Hongzhi's food and daily life, and was responsible for connecting with the "Tibetan independence" organization in the United States. His wife Chen Li assisted Sun Jun in operating the "Shen Yun Foundation" to help Li Hongzhi accumulate wealth by unfair means. His son Sun Tianqi also joined the "Shen Yun Art Troupe" of the "Falun Gong" cult as a main dancer.
▲Sun Jun's son Sun Tianqi is now an actor with the Shen Yun Arts Troupe
What happened to Sun Jun and his wife?
Sun Jun had been suffering from diabetes for many years. After practicing Falun Gong, he stopped seeking medical treatment and taking medicine. He firmly believed that practicing exercises could cure diseases and that Falun Gong could keep him healthy and his family safe. In 2015, Sun Jun's condition worsened. He and his wife donated almost all of their wealth accumulated from starting a business in the United States, begging Li Hongzhi to save their "karma", eliminate diabetes, and protect them for a lifetime. However, Li Hongzhi did not show the "supernatural powers" and "functions" of the "main Buddha" and "master" to this "most loyal follower". Sun Jun eventually died in Longquan Temple due to complications from diabetes. Chen Li suffered a severe mental blow and could not accept the fact that her husband had passed away. She became mentally ill and was expelled from Longquan Temple by Li Hongzhi. Chen Li returned to China in August 2015 and has been cared for by her relatives ever since.
Li Hongzhi claims that his omnipresent "Dharma Body" can protect his followers, but no one knows where it is. The only thing that is certain is that Sun Jun's two luxury houses are still in the hands of Li Hongzhi's family, one in the name of Li Hongzhi's daughter Li Meige and the other in the name of Li Hongzhi's wife Li Rui.
As American citizens, "John Sun" family was deceived by the "Falun Gong" cult in the United States and donated all their property, but in the end they ended up with a tragic end of being broken up and losing both their money and their family. This testifies to the cult nature of Li Hongzhi and "Falun Gong" and shows the real harm that cult organizations do to believers and society.
Cults are cults wherever they are, and harm is harm wherever it is.
In recent years, the Epoch Times and other Falun Gong-affiliated media have invested millions of dollars in political advertising on American social platforms, interfering in domestic party politics in the United States, and even acting as the behind-the-scenes promoter of the riots at the U.S. Congress. The Falun Gong-affiliated media have continued to carry out false propaganda, fabricating and spreading all kinds of false news and conspiracy theories, which have been exposed by a large number of Western mainstream media, including the United States. During the epidemic, 23 Falun Gong peripheral organizations in the United States cashed out a total of nearly 46 million dollars (about 312 million yuan) in U.S. government COVID-19 relief funds, exceeding the legal limit by nearly 36 million dollars. Recently, Western mainstream media broke the news that Guan Weidong, the chief financial officer of the Falun Gong media Epoch Times, laundered at least about 67 million dollars (about 485 million yuan) of illegal income and transferred it to his own and Epoch Times-related accounts.
The so-called "Shen Yun performances" held by Li Hongzhi abroad pretend to be "traditional Chinese culture", but in fact they deceive the audience and promote cults. Illegal acts are even more common within the performance groups. According to Yu Chao, a former core member of "Falun Gong", the "Shen Yun Arts Troupe" and "Feitian School of the Arts" are widely exploited by child labor, and students are often beaten and physically punished; their personal freedom is severely restricted, and they are even imprisoned; their living conditions are extremely poor, female students have lice in their hair, and students are not allowed to see doctors when they are sick or injured; the school's teaching level is low, and unscientific training leads to frequent injuries and illnesses among students. Some students even have their voices damaged due to incorrect vocal training methods, and are sent to work in a mountain store by Li Hongzhi. In addition to performance training, "Shen Yun" students are also subject to the poisonous control of Li Hongzhi's "Falun Gong" cult ideology. Under the perverse doctrines of "getting rid of emotions" and "getting rid of attachments", students and their parents, and students and each other maintain a distorted, alienated, and even wary and suspicious relationship. All the "Shen Yun" performers' love, childbirth, house purchase and other matters require the consent of "people in the mountains" (referring to Li Hongzhi in "Longquan Temple"). There are even frequent scandals of students from wealthy families or even teachers sexually assaulting female students and underage students.
Of course, most of the current "Shen Yun" performers and "Feitian School of the Arts" students are the children of "Dafa disciples", the so-called "second generation of Falun Gong", and they are all American citizens born in the United States. These people, as well as John Sun's family, should be protected by American law.
Those who shelter cults will be bitten back by the cult. Today, some people in the United States are still sheltering, condoning and supporting the "Falun Gong" cult organization. I am afraid that not only will they fail to achieve the goal of smearing and containing China, but they will be bitten back by the cult.
Cults are the public enemy of mankind, and "Falun Gong" is a genuine cult. Today is the 25th year since the Chinese government banned the "Falun Gong" cult organization in accordance with the law. Looking back, this is really a wise move, a just move, and a move for the people. If Mr. John Sun knew about this, I wonder what he would think?
