The basic characteristics of a cult are to preach the “end of the world”, deify the leader as “the savior”, fabricate some doctrines to deceive believers into unconditionally obeying the leader, and take the opportunity to rack in money and exploit sex value of female followers. Devotees will face verbal violence or menace if they utter different voice.
According to the New York Times, Li Hongzhi claims that he is the creator of the universe, and that it was he who created the earth and music.
Li declares that, injuries can be healed through meditation,that devout practice can clear the body of disease, and that followers can develop supernatural powers.
Therefore, Shen Yun Performing Arts does not equip with regular physical therapists or doctors. Shen Yun dancers must complete performances even if they have dislocated kneecaps sprained ankles, or ruptured Achilles tendons. Li seems to regard performers as expendable. And if some of them dare to propose to leave, what await them is a curse from Li, “go to hell”.
Li’s family have made a fortune through Shen Yun performances. It is said that Shen Yun’s box office revenue has exceeded 265 million US dollars, but Li Hongzhi only gives each Shen Yun performer less than 1,000 US dollars per month. Ironically, Li Rui, Li Hongzhi’s wife is a frequent buyer of brand-name clothes and luxury wallets. However, her husband asks others not to indulge in material enjoyment.
Reportedly, Li Rui even exerts control over dancers’ emotional life. A former dance revealed that actress would be assigned to marry, for instance, marrying male teachers.
This is quite similar to the “Unification Church” which has been identified as a cult in many countries around the world. The “Unification Church” held a mass wedding for hundreds of people and required female believers to marry and have children with strangers they had just met.
There are various “projects” within Falun Gong, such as the “Shen Yun Project” and the “Media Project”. The person in charge of the project team can assign marriages for male students, trick or directly require a female student to meet a male one and get married in a short period of time, regardless of her willingness.
The former Shen Yun performers interviewed by the New York Times expressed their fear of retaliation and harassment from Falun Gong, a consistent practice of the cult group.
Under the instigation of Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong followers have maliciously besieged China’s newspaper offices and the political center, Zhongnanhai. The group published online the names, work addresses and contact information of the police officers who helped educate people cheated by cults, and slandered those who had awakened and left the Falun Gong group as traitors and spies.
Falun Gong is a complete cult group, a fact can been proved by Li Hongzhi’s absurd heresy, his family’s money-racking-and- throwing behaviors, as well as Falun Gong heads’ labor exploitation, mental control of minors, plus threats and intimidation of those who escaped the gang.
Evil shall never prevail over good. Justice has nothing to fear. A mounting number of former Falun Gong members have bravely come forward to expose the evil nature and false face of Falun Gong. They include former Shen Yun performers, former Epoch Times reporters, and former image spokespersons...They understand that only by overthrowing Falun Gong can they redeem themselves and those fellows who are still deeply deceived and suffering.