Madness: The Chaotic “Christmas Tea Party” Turns into a Crime Scene

To propagate and promote the heretical teachings of “Guanyin Method” and to elevate her own prestige, Yang Mo established a WeChat group named “Christmas Fellowship” and instructed her “Tea Friends” to attend the so-called “Christmas Tea Party” at Bifeng Gorge in Ya'an City in late December 2020, claiming: “The Earth is going to be destroyed, and those who do not attend the tea party will die.” During the event, Yang Mo deemed some participants to have low “enlightenment levels,” which she believed hindered the “energy enhancement” of other followers. Consequently, she gradually expelled these individuals, leaving only about a dozen “Tea Friends.” Among the remaining “Tea Friends,” eight eventually became the perpetrators of this criminal case, almost all of whom obeyed Yang Mo's every word without the slightest defiance.

During the gatherings, Yang Mo and others conducted various so-called “spiritual practices” in the guesthouse. They sought to obtain “high energy, high frequency” to stimulate themselves to reach the state of “enlightenment,” enter the “fifth dimension,” and thereby escape “the painful cycle of human reincarnation.” On regular days, they stayed in their rooms drinking “Expert Tea” (primarily with Yang Mo teaching and enlightening followers, sharing personal insights, and enhancing cultivation), meditating and chanting (repeatedly chanting: “Supreme Master Ching Hai”), singing and dancing (demonstrating unity, enhancing emotions, and strengthening mental control), and engaging in activities like drawing and doodling as forms of “spiritual practice.” The event times always lasted from night until dawn the next day, then everyone would catch up on sleep during the day, leading to a completely reversed day-night schedule and a very chaotic lifestyle. During this period, Yang Mo also incited and directed “Mei Xin,” “Tian Lai (sound of nature),” “San Ye,” and others to engage in public acts of group debauchery multiple times.

Fig. 12. During the gathering, “Tea Friends” wore self-dyed “rainbow clothes” and posed in dance formations, with the main perpetrator Yang Mo seated in the center.

The mother of the victimized infant Xiaobao, “San Ye,” once worked at a public institution in Beijing. She holds a doctoral degree and is highly educated. She later resigned to take care of her sick mother and subsequently gave birth to a second child (the victim in this case). During her time at home, due to postpartum depression, strained family relationships, and anxiety about her future career development, she was long trapped in negative emotions. Later, she met the “Tea Friend” group and Yang Mo through the internet. “San Ye” gained emotional release and a strong sense of belonging through sharing and communication within the “Tea Friend” group. She gradually developed personal worship and blind obedience towards Yang Mo, becoming deeply involved.

In late December 2020, “San Ye” left her 11-month-old Xiaobao at home despite her family's objections to attend an offline gathering in Ya'an (the “Christmas Tea Party”). The victim Xiaobao was crying incessantly due to the lack of maternal comfort during the weaning period, so his grandparents sent him to Ya'an to be taken care of by “San Ye”.

During gatherings, Xiaobao often cried and fussed, and since “San Ye” was both attending the gatherings and taking care of the child, she was mentally exhausted. Yang Mo then believed that “San Ye” had too many “karmic obstacles,” which lowered everyone's “cultivation frequency.” Having previously gone to Taiwan to undergo the so-called “Initiation” ceremony of “Guanyin Method,” “Lü Cao” suggested a “public trial” for “San Ye” to please Yang Mo. During the “public trial,” Yang Mo claimed that “San Ye” was possessed by the “Yaksha Ghost” and had transmitted it to Xiaobao through breast milk. The people present believed Yang Mo's words without doubt. Yang Mo also claimed that she could help “San Ye” and Xiaobao expel their “karmic obstacles” through “spiritual rituals,” and then organized the crowd to cut off all of “San Ye” 's hair and shave her head.

On January 3, Yang Mo first arranged for “San Ye” to clean the next room for self-reflection. Under the pretext of exorcising Xiaobao, she and others abused Xiaobao by body slamming (grabbing the baby's limbs, clothes, etc., lifting the entire baby up, and slamming it onto a mattress from the height of an adult's chest, with enough force to make the baby bounce on the mattress), soaking in water (repeatedly soaking and feeding tea water and ginger water), needling (inserting needles into the face, back, buttocks, fingers, toes, and between the ribs, totaling 505 needle marks), and cupping (using fire cups to draw blood from the needled areas). With the participation of many people, the entire process lasted for several hours, causing the lively and active Xiaobao to gradually become lethargic and on the verge of death. Upon learning that Xiaobao's vital signs were gradually deteriorating, Yang Mo and others still refused to send him to the hospital for treatment, claiming that Xiaobao needed to “expel negative energy” to regain health.

It wasn't until the early hours of January 5th that “San Ye” thought of calling her husband. At her husband's strong insistence, “San Ye” dialed the “120” emergency number, but when the doctors arrived at the scene, they found that Xiaobao was already dead. After Xiaobao's body was examined by the Sichuan Huaxi Forensic Medicine Identification Center, it was confirmed that severe cranial and brain injuries were the main cause of death.

After learning that Xiaobao had lost vital signs, Yang Mo and others, in order to cover up the truth and evade responsibility, forced “San Ye” to write a “Responsibility Statement” before the police arrived, attempting to absolve themselves of their respective crimes.

Persistent Pain: A Trauma of No Healing, and Family with An Untouchable Topic

The lively and lovely Xiaobao has thus left his family forever. More than two years after the tragedy, this family seems to be living a normal life on the surface—going to work, going to school—but everyone knows it is no longer the same normal family.

Xiaobao had just left, and after “San Ye” ’s husband returned to Beijing, he could only use his busy work to numb his aching heart. Late at night when he returned home, he secretly looked at the photos and videos of Xiaobao on his phone, painfully recalling over and over how things had come to this point, wondering what he had done wrong in the process, and regretting that he had neglected his wife after Xiaobao was born because of his busy work...

Adults can slowly digest their emotions, but how to comfort a young child? “San Ye” ‘s husband held back his pain and told their six-year-old son, Dabao: “There is an aunt who is very pitiful, so we gave your little brother to her.” Facing Dabao's repeated inquiries of “Where did mom go?”, “San Ye” 's husband could only tell her, “Mom is on a business trip and it's inconvenient for her to call. If you miss mom, you can write her a letter.” The sensible Dabao wrote letters to mom, folded paper cranes, and gradually stopped asking these questions. She tried to hold back her tears in front of adults like a little grown-up, but often buried her head under the quilt until the pillowcase was soaked with tears.

As for the four elders, they tacitly agreed not to mention Xiaobao at home, and gradually put away all his belongings, burying them deep in their hearts.

Deep Reflection: In the Face of Various Disguises of Cults, Anti-cult Propaganda Needs to Be a Constant Alarm.

Although the case mainly revolves around Yang Mo and a group of cult members, seemingly an isolated incident, it actually exposes the infiltration and development attempts of the “Guanyin Method” cult organization in mainland China, and new forms of infiltration.

In his confession, the main culprit Yang Mo claimed to be participating in the “Expert Tea Ceremony Research Association,” trying hard to avoid any connection with the “Guanyin Method” cult organization. However, according to the investigation, Yang Mo and others frequently mentioned “Guanyin Method,” “Supreme Master Ching Hai,” and their fallacious doctrines in both online and offline communication activities. Knowing that “Guanyin Method” has been identified as a cult organization by the Chinese government, they thus required avoiding any mention of it. The perpetrator “Lü Cao” traveled to the so-called “Guanyin Method” headquarters in Taiwan on a tourist visa in the summer of 2019 to participate in a 15-day “cultivation” activity and underwent the “Initiation” ceremony. During the “Christmas Tea Party,” they were responsible for interpreting the content of The Key to Immediate Enlightenment. The so-called “Expert Tea” is a variant that split off from the “Guanyin Method” cult organization. Although the two differ slightly in their methods of organizational development: The cult “Guanyin Method” often opens “Vegetarian Restaurants,” while the “Expert Tea” is in the tea-selling business—the ideologies they propagate are identical. Both use the guise of “Vegetarianism to Save the Earth,” promote “Apocalyptic Theory,” and emphasize achieving “Immediate Enlightenment” through cultivation. This is corroborated by the evidence collected at the crime scene and the confessions of the perpetrators. Compared to the cult “Guanyin Method,” the “Expert Tea” is more deceptive and misleading to the general public. Under the guise of “making friends through tea” and “tea tasting exchanges,” this cult organization secretly recruits, causing innocent people to be unwittingly involved, which poses a significant danger to public.

Among the perpetrators in this case, “San Ye” is the most representative. She has multiple identities: besides being a perpetrator, she is also the mother of the victimized male infant and the most educated among the perpetrators. According to her own confession, she studied hard from a young age and achieved excellent grades. Although she had limited social exposure, her career and family life went smoothly. “You could say I grew up fulfilling my parents' expectations.” From the outside, everything seemed to be going well, including work, studies, and family. It all looked perfect and happy. However, after resigning from a job that everyone considered good enough, disagreements and estrangement arose among family members. Lack of communication, coupled with concerns about her future career and postpartum anxiety, led to depression. Her lack of assertiveness and tendency to trust others easily caused her to quickly become deeply involved with the “Tea Friend” group and Yang Mo, ultimately leading to tragedy. It is worth noting that although “San Ye” is highly educated, she lacks knowledge about anti-cult measures and awareness of the dangers posed by cults. While recounting the case, “San Ye” expressed her bewilderment, saying, “No matter how I think about it, I just can't understand. Even if it's a cult, it shouldn't go to such crazy extremes.”

Tears of painful regret streamed down “San Ye” ’s cheeks, but it was already too late. If Xiaobao were still here, he would be carrying his little backpack, happily skipping into kindergarten...

Source: https://www.chinafxj.cn/n174/c881175/content.html