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Falun Gong's rapid growth in China garnered widespread attention from the media, academics, and members of China's religious community. As early as 1995, critics called Falun Gong "superstitious" and were skeptical of its claimed health benefits.<ref name="Rahn2002">Rahn, Patsy (2002) “The Chemistry of a Conflict: The Chinese Government and the Falun Gong” in ''Terrorism and Political Violence'', Winter, 2002, Vol 14, No. 4 (London: Frank Cass Publishers) [http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_member/mem_articles/rahn_patsy_crs0202m.htm reprinted in Cultic Studies Review, subscription required]</ref> By 1996, the Buddhist Association and Buddhist journals were issuing in-depth critiques of Falun Gong.<ref name="Penny2005">Penny, Benjamin, “The Falun Gong, Buddhism and ‘Buddhist qigong’”, ''Asian Studies Review'' March 2005, Vol 29, pp.35-46. </ref> |
Falun Gong's rapid growth in China garnered widespread attention from the media, academics, and members of China's religious community. As early as 1995, critics called Falun Gong "superstitious" and were skeptical of its claimed health benefits.<ref name="Rahn2002">Rahn, Patsy (2002) “The Chemistry of a Conflict: The Chinese Government and the Falun Gong” in ''Terrorism and Political Violence'', Winter, 2002, Vol 14, No. 4 (London: Frank Cass Publishers) [http://www.culticstudiesreview.org/csr_member/mem_articles/rahn_patsy_crs0202m.htm reprinted in Cultic Studies Review, subscription required]</ref> By 1996, the Buddhist Association and Buddhist journals were issuing in-depth critiques of Falun Gong.<ref name="Penny2005">Penny, Benjamin, “The Falun Gong, Buddhism and ‘Buddhist qigong’”, ''Asian Studies Review'' March 2005, Vol 29, pp.35-46. </ref> |
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In April 1999, physicist and [[pseudoscience]] critic [[He Zuoxiu]] published an article in the [[Tianjin Normal University]]’s ''Youth Reader'' magazine, entitled “I Do Not Agree with Youth Practicing ''qigong'',” singling Falun Gong out for criticism.<ref>[http://www.faluninfo.net/article/518/ The Truth Behind the 25 April Incident (Abridged version) - Faluninfo.net]</ref><ref>[http://www.cnfxj.org/Html/lgxd/2007-6/24/165513641.html# I do not agree with Youth Practicing ''Qigong'' Full text]</ref> Practitioners regarded the treatment unfair and subsequently gathered in large numbers to protest the article in Tianjin. Falun Gong organizers sent an appeal to the Tianjin Municipal party headquarters and government. Subsequently the police were called, and practitioners were beaten and arrested.<ref name="Schechter"/> |
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Dissatisfied with the treatment received in Tianjin, on 25 April, around ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners lined the streets near [[Zhongnanhai]] in silence, seeking legal recognition and protection of the practice in light of the alleged beatings and arrests in Tianjin. A few months later, on 20 July 1999, thousands of practitioners were arrested in the middle of the night{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}, the media campaign to vilify the practice began. |
Dissatisfied with the treatment received in Tianjin, on 25 April, around ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners lined the streets near [[Zhongnanhai]] in silence, seeking legal recognition and protection of the practice in light of the alleged beatings and arrests in Tianjin. A few months later, on 20 July 1999, thousands of practitioners were arrested in the middle of the night{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}, the media campaign to vilify the practice began. |
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A nationwide crackdown ensued with the exception of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and [[Macau]]. In October 1999, four months after the ban, legislation was created to outlaw "heterodox religions" and applied to Falun Gong retroactively.<ref name="Leung" /> The Chinese authorities branded Falun Gong, along with some other practices, movements or organizations ''xiejiao'' ({{zh-c|c=邪教}}),<ref name="peoples20010701">{{cite web | url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/guandian/26/20010107/372729.html | title = 揭穿李洪志及其“法轮功”的险恶政治用心 (uncovering Li Hongzhi's and Falun Gong's wicked political intentions) |language=Chinese | work=People's Daily | date = 1 July 2001 | author = op.ed}}</ref> which was given in English as "cult" or "evil cult", and introduced a barrage of media material criticizing Falun Gong.<ref name="english.peopledaily.com.cn"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceat/det/zt/jpflg/t105141.htm | title = Chinese Ambassador Defends Government Banning of Falun Gong | date = 13 May 2004 | accessdate = 17 July 2008}}</ref> |
A nationwide crackdown ensued with the exception of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and [[Macau]]. In October 1999, four months after the ban, legislation was created to outlaw "heterodox religions" and applied to Falun Gong retroactively.<ref name="Leung" /> The Chinese authorities branded Falun Gong, along with some other practices, movements or organizations ''xiejiao'' ({{zh-c|c=邪教}}),<ref name="peoples20010701">{{cite web | url=http://www.people.com.cn/GB/guandian/26/20010107/372729.html | title = 揭穿李洪志及其“法轮功”的险恶政治用心 (uncovering Li Hongzhi's and Falun Gong's wicked political intentions) |language=Chinese | work=People's Daily | date = 1 July 2001 | author = op.ed}}</ref> which was given in English as "cult" or "evil cult", and introduced a barrage of media material criticizing Falun Gong.<ref name="english.peopledaily.com.cn"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceat/det/zt/jpflg/t105141.htm | title = Chinese Ambassador Defends Government Banning of Falun Gong | date = 13 May 2004 | accessdate = 17 July 2008}}</ref> |
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===The persecution=== |
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According to some reports, every aspect of society was mobilized against Falun Gong, including the media apparatus, police force, army, education system, families, and workplaces.<ref name="wildgrass" /> An extra-constitutional body, the "[[6-10 Office]]" was created to "oversee the terror campaign,"<ref name=morais>Morais, Richard C.[http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/02/09/falun-gong-china_cz_rm_0209falungong.html "China's Fight With Falun Gong"], ''Forbes'', February 9, 2006, retrieved July 7, 2006</ref> which was allegedly driven by large-scale propaganda through television, newspapers, radio and internet.<ref name="Leung" /> Families and workplaces were urged to cooperate with the government's position on Falun Gong, while practitioners themselves were subject to severe coercive measures to have them recant.<ref name=dangerous>Mickey Spiegel, [http://hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ "Dangerous Meditation: China's Campaign Against Falungong"], Human Rights Watch, 2002, accessed Sept 28, 2007</ref> Amnesty International declares the persecution to be politically motivated and a restriction of fundamental freedoms. |
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In late 2000, the Party began to use "[[re-education through labor]]" widely against Falun Gong practitioners in the hope of permanently "transforming recidivists," who would often be immediately sentenced to re-education for up to three years.<ref name=dangerous /> Terms could also be arbitrarily extended by police. Practitioners may have ambiguous charges levied against them, according to Robert Bejesky, writing in the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, such as "disrupting social order," "endangering national security," or "subverting the socialist system."<ref name=bejesky>Robert Bejesky, “Falun Gong & reeducation through labour”, ''Columbia Journal of Asian Law'', 17:2, Spring 2004, pp. 147-189</ref> Up to 99% of long term Falun Gong detainees are processed administratively through this system, and do not enter the formal criminal justice system.<ref name=bejesky>p. 178</ref> Outside access is not given to the camps, prisoners are forced to do heavy work in mines, brick factories, and agriculture, and physical torture, beatings, interrogations, inadequate food rations, and other human rights abuses take place, according to Human Rights Watch.<ref name=dangerous /> According to the US Department of State's 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, "Some foreign observers estimated that Falun Gong adherents constituted at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in reeducation-through-labor camps, while Falun Gong sources overseas placed the number even higher."<ref name=usdos2007>US Department of State, [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100518.htm 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices], accessed 25/6/09</ref> |
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There are estimates of at least 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners having been officially sentenced to reeducation from the beginning of the crackdown,<ref name=dangerous /> and that at least half of the 250,000 total recorded inmates in China's reeducation camps are Falun Gong practitioners, according to the US State Department.<ref name=USstate /> Upon completion of their reeducation sentences, practitioners are sometimes then incarcerated in "legal education centers," another form of punishment set up by provincial authorities to "transform the minds" of practitioners, according to Human Rights Watch, which delivered a comprehensive report on the persecution, including extensive references to state-media and official statements.<ref name=dangerous /><ref name=USstate /> While Beijing officials initially portrayed the process as "benign," a harder line was later adopted; "teams of education assistants and workers, leading cadres, and people from all walks of life" were drafted into the campaign. In early 2001 quotas were given for how many practitioners needed to be "transformed." Official records do not mention the methods employed to achieve this, though Falun Gong and third party accounts indicate that the mental and physical abuses could be "extraordinarily severe."<ref name=dangerous /> |
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Soon after the onset of the persecution, Falun Gong and human rights observers began reporting widespread psychiatric abuse of mentally-healthy practitioners. Falun Gong says that thousands have been forcefully detained in mental hospitals and subject to psychiatric abuses such as injection of sedatives or anti-psychotic drugs, torture by electrocution, force-feeding, beatings and starvation.<ref>{{Citation | title = Falun Gong Practitioners Tortured in Mental Hospitals Throughout China | publisher = Falun Dafa Information Center | url = http://www.faluninfo.net/hrreports/PsychAbuse.pdf |format=PDF| year = | accessdate = 2007-03-10}}</ref> Schechter states that as the persecution progressed, the "authorities came up with a new tactic, throwing those arrested into mental hospitals."<ref name=Schechter/> |
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⚫ | There are particular concerns over reports of torture,<ref name="Amnesty2000">[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/048/2000/en ''China: Falun Gong deaths in custody continue to rise as crackdown worsens'']. [[2000-12-19]]. Amnesty International index ASA 17/048/2000 - News Service Nr. 239.</ref><ref>[http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA17/014/2007/en China: Fear of torture or ill-treatment]. [[2007-03-20]]. Amnesty International index ASA 17/014/2007</ref> illegal imprisonment including forced labour,<ref name=usdos2007/> and psychiatric abuses.<ref name=sunnygalli>Sunny Y. Lu, MD, PhD, and Viviana B. Galli, MD, “Psychiatric Abuse of Falun Gong Practitioners in China”, ''J Am Acad Psychiatry Law'', 30:126–30, 2002</ref><ref name=munro2002> Robin J. Munro, "Judicial Psychiatry in China and its Political Abuses", ''Columbia Journal of Asian Law'', [[Columbia University]], Volume 14, Number 1, Fall 2000, p 114</ref><ref name = "UN.org-2004">United Nations (February 4, 2004) [http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2004/hrcn1073.doc.htm Press Release HR/CN/1073], retrieved September 12, 2006</ref> Falun Gong related cases comprise 66% of all reported torture cases in China,<ref name=nowak66>[http://www.cecc.gov/pages/annualRpt/annualRpt06/Religion.php Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: MISSION TO CHINA], Manfred Nowak, United Nations, Table 1: Victims of alleged torture, p. 13, 2006, accessed October 12 2007</ref> and at least half of the labour camp population.<ref name=USstate> [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90133.htm ''International Religious Freedom Report 2007''], [[US Department of State]], Sept 14, 2007, accessed 28th Sept 2007</ref> |
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On July 30, 2008, the Chinese Communist Party foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that during the [[Beijing Olympic Games]] Falun Gong websites would be blocked, censoring [[journalists]]' access to the internet.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7532338.stm Web curbs for Olympic journalists], BBC News, July 30 2008, accessed 31/07/08</ref> |
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===Response in China=== |
===Response in China=== |
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Protests in Beijing were frequent for the first few years following the 1999 edict, though they have largely been silenced since.<ref name="wildgrass" /> Practitioners' presence in mainland China has become more low-profile, as they opt for alternative methods of informing the citizenry, such as through overnight letterbox drops of CD-ROMs. |
Protests in Beijing were frequent for the first few years following the 1999 edict, though they have largely been silenced since.<ref name="wildgrass" /> Practitioners' presence in mainland China has become more low-profile, as they opt for alternative methods of informing the citizenry, such as through overnight letterbox drops of CD-ROMs. |
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According to the Chinese government, Falun Gong activists have launched attacks against [[Sinosat]] satellites and jammed television signals, replacing regular state television broadcasts with their own material.<ref>http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-07/08/content_473926.htm</ref> For example, in March 2002, Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, managed to intercept eight cable television networks in Changchun City and Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and televised a program titled “Self-Immolation or a Staged Act?”. Liu was arrested and subjected to 21 months of |
According to the Chinese government, Falun Gong activists have launched attacks against [[Sinosat]] satellites and jammed television signals, replacing regular state television broadcasts with their own material.<ref>http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2002-07/08/content_473926.htm</ref> For example, in March 2002, Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, managed to intercept eight cable television networks in Changchun City and Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and televised a program titled “Self-Immolation or a Staged Act?” exposing the Chinese government’s alleged cover-up of its persecution of Falun Gong and the "staged immolation the government claimed was the action of practitioners." Liu was arrested and subjected to 21 months of torture that led directly to his death.<ref name=mediacontrol>He Qinglian, Media Control in China, HRIC, 2008</ref> |
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===Response outside China=== |
===Response outside China=== |
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==Organizational Structure== |
==Organizational Structure== |
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Falun Gong denies having an organizational structure, and maintains that it is merely a spiritual group that practices a brand of ''qigong''.<ref name=Tong>James Tong: An Organizational Analysis of the Falun Gong: Structure, Communications, Financing* The China Quarterly, No. 171 (Sep., 2002), pp. 636-660</ref> It does not have an organized membership system, and eschews the term 'membership'. As a result, estimates vary over the number of people practicing Falun Gong. Before the |
Falun Gong denies having an organizational structure, and maintains that it is merely a spiritual group that practices a brand of ''qigong''.<ref name=Tong>James Tong: An Organizational Analysis of the Falun Gong: Structure, Communications, Financing* The China Quarterly, No. 171 (Sep., 2002), pp. 636-660</ref> It does not have an organized membership system, and eschews the term 'membership'. As a result, estimates vary over the number of people practicing Falun Gong. Before the persecution, the government estimated 70 million, and after 2 million, in an effort to downplay the practice's significance.<ref name="Practitioners_PRC_estimate">{{cite web |
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| url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/042799china-protest.html |
| url=http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/asia/042799china-protest.html |
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| work=[[The New York Times]] |
| work=[[The New York Times]] |
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| title=In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protesters }}</ref> between 2 million<ref>Renmin ribao, 15 August 1999, p. 1; Xinhua, Beijing, 27 October 2001</ref>. Falun Gong website ''clearwisdom.net'' claims over 100 million practitioners in 114 countries around the world.<ref name="114countries"/> |
| title=In Beijing: A Roar of Silent Protesters }}</ref> between 2 million<ref>Renmin ribao, 15 August 1999, p. 1; Xinhua, Beijing, 27 October 2001</ref>. Falun Gong website ''clearwisdom.net'' claims over 100 million practitioners in 114 countries around the world.<ref name="114countries"/> |
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Institutionally, Falun Gong was a part of the Scientific Qigong Research Association until 1994 as the ''Falun Dafa Research Society'', then applied to be listed as an organization under the National Minority Affairs Commission, to which it was denied. It subsequently applied to the China Buddhist Federation as a cultural organization to study Buddhism, and was also rejected. Its final attempt at registering under a Party-sanctioned organization was an application to the [[United Front (PRC)|United Front Department]] as a "non-religious, academic organization", to which it was also rejected.<ref name = Tong/> In early 1997, Falun Gong began pursuing a more decentralized and loose organizational structure, with its main bases in Beijing and [[Wuhan]]. Chinese state media claimed that at the time, the Beijing national office was led by Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and Yao Jie;<ref name=Tong/> Li and Wang were members of the Communist Party.<ref>Michael Laris, "Chinese Sentence 4 Falun Leaders; Jail Terms Range Up to 18 Years," Washington Post, December 27, 1999;</ref> Their communication with founder Li Hongzhi is unclear. In addition, regional offices diverged in their organizational structures. Each office generally maintained a "propaganda department", logistics department, and "doctrine" committee, or variations of those functions thereof, according to reports in state media after the |
Institutionally, Falun Gong was a part of the Scientific Qigong Research Association until 1994 as the ''Falun Dafa Research Society'', then applied to be listed as an organization under the National Minority Affairs Commission, to which it was denied. It subsequently applied to the China Buddhist Federation as a cultural organization to study Buddhism, and was also rejected. Its final attempt at registering under a Party-sanctioned organization was an application to the [[United Front (PRC)|United Front Department]] as a "non-religious, academic organization", to which it was also rejected.<ref name = Tong/> In early 1997, Falun Gong began pursuing a more decentralized and loose organizational structure, with its main bases in Beijing and [[Wuhan]]. Chinese state media claimed that at the time, the Beijing national office was led by Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and Yao Jie;<ref name=Tong/> Li and Wang were members of the Communist Party.<ref>Michael Laris, "Chinese Sentence 4 Falun Leaders; Jail Terms Range Up to 18 Years," Washington Post, December 27, 1999;</ref> Their communication with founder Li Hongzhi is unclear. In addition, regional offices diverged in their organizational structures. Each office generally maintained a "propaganda department", logistics department, and "doctrine" committee, or variations of those functions thereof, according to reports in state-run media after the persecution had begun.<ref name=Tong/> |
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At the time of the movement's suppression in July 1999, Falun Gong websites claim that the movement had no "national organization", no regulations or by-laws, and that practitioners were free to join or leave at any time, and there were no membership rosters. The Chinese government, in contrast, claims that Falun Gong was a highly organized group, with 39 "main stations", 1,900 "guidance stations", and 28,263 practice sites nation-wide, overseeing a total of 2.1 million practitioners.<ref name = Peoples>''[[People's Daily]]'', 23 July 1999, "''Li Hongzhi qirenqishi''"</ref> A number of "Falun Dafa Associations" now exist around the world, of which the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is one of the most prominent. Not all practitioners are members of an association. |
At the time of the movement's suppression in July 1999, Falun Gong websites claim that the movement had no "national organization", no regulations or by-laws, and that practitioners were free to join or leave at any time, and there were no membership rosters. The Chinese government, in contrast, claims that Falun Gong was a highly organized group, with 39 "main stations", 1,900 "guidance stations", and 28,263 practice sites nation-wide, overseeing a total of 2.1 million practitioners.<ref name = Peoples>''[[People's Daily]]'', 23 July 1999, "''Li Hongzhi qirenqishi''"</ref> A number of "Falun Dafa Associations" now exist around the world, of which the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is one of the most prominent. Not all practitioners are members of an association. |
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Together these organizations also promote the ''Chinese New Year Spectacular'', performed by the FG affiliated [[Shen Yun Performing Arts]] troupe.<ref name=morais>Morais, Richard C.[http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/02/09/falun-gong-china_cz_rm_0209falungong.html "China's Fight With Falun Gong"], ''Forbes'', 9 February 2006, retrieved 7 July 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119508926438693540.html |title= Chinese Dissidents Take On Beijing Via Media Empire |work=Wall Street Journal |first=Kathy |last=Chen }}</ref> In addition, Falun Gong has a considerable presence on the Internet,<ref name=hanson1999/> with websites such as ''clearwisdom.net'', ''faluninfo.net'', ''mingui'', ''pureinsight'' etc., which they use not only to spread Li's teachings, but also to publicise the plight of practitioners with graphic testimonials.<ref name=morais/> |
Together these organizations also promote the ''Chinese New Year Spectacular'', performed by the FG affiliated [[Shen Yun Performing Arts]] troupe.<ref name=morais>Morais, Richard C.[http://www.forbes.com/technology/2006/02/09/falun-gong-china_cz_rm_0209falungong.html "China's Fight With Falun Gong"], ''Forbes'', 9 February 2006, retrieved 7 July 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119508926438693540.html |title= Chinese Dissidents Take On Beijing Via Media Empire |work=Wall Street Journal |first=Kathy |last=Chen }}</ref> In addition, Falun Gong has a considerable presence on the Internet,<ref name=hanson1999/> with websites such as ''clearwisdom.net'', ''faluninfo.net'', ''mingui'', ''pureinsight'' etc., which they use not only to spread Li's teachings, but also to publicise the plight of practitioners with graphic testimonials.<ref name=morais/> |
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While Chinese media have launched an unrelenting assault on Falun Gong since 1999, Falun Gong's response through its various media organizations has earned the practice considerable public relations clout in the West. In North America and Europe, where Falun Gong maintains a strong presence, media obtain much of their information about the spiritual group through ''Faluninfo.net'', although Kavan says it comes from a "[[public relations]] firm" for Falun Gong managed by Gail Rachlin, who Kavan considers to be "Li’s inner circle."<ref name=kavan/> Kavan also compared Falun Gong practitioners' media strategies with those of the Chinese Communist Party: common traits she found included intolerance of criticism, issuing blanket denials when accused, exaggerating and sensationalizing claims, and deflecting blame by charging the other of the same offense.<ref name=kavan/> In 2009, in response to a practitioner raising related concerns, Li Hongzhi said to the practitioners who staff New Tang Dynasty Television "Don’t be like the propaganda tools of the wicked Party. It’s not right to depart from the truth when you describe events in hopes of achieving some effect... Don’t knowingly bend the truth. You will lose credibility."<ref>Li Hongzhi, Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting, June 6, 2009</ref> |
While Chinese media have launched an unrelenting assault on Falun Gong since 1999, Falun Gong's response through its various media organizations has earned the practice considerable public relations clout in the West. In North America and Europe, where Falun Gong maintains a strong presence, media obtain much of their information about the spiritual group through ''Faluninfo.net'', although Kavan says it comes from a "[[public relations]] firm" for Falun Gong managed by Gail Rachlin, who Kavan considers to be "Li’s inner circle."<ref name=kavan/> Kavan also compared Falun Gong practitioners' media strategies with those of the Chinese Communist Party: common traits she found included intolerance of criticism, issuing blanket denials when accused, exaggerating and sensationalizing claims, and deflecting blame by charging the other of the same offense.<ref name=kavan/> In 2009, in response to a practitioner raising related concerns, Li Hongzhi said to the practitioners who staff New Tang Dynasty Television "Don’t be like the propaganda tools of the wicked Party. It’s not right to depart from the truth when you describe events in hopes of achieving some effect... Don’t knowingly bend the truth. You will lose credibility."<ref>Li Hongzhi, Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting, June 6, 2009</ref> |
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Falun Gong have set up groups [[CIPFG]] and WOIPFG to lobby foreign governments/legislators, human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]], who now expressed their concerns over allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have also urged the United Nations and international governments to intervene and bring an end to the ongoing persecution.<ref name=HRW1>[http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ China's Campaign Against Falungong], Human Rights Watch</ref><ref name=Amnesty1>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030711022606/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170112000 The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called ''heretical organizations'']. The Amnesty International</ref> Friends of Falun Gong USA is a non-profit corporation domiciled in New Jersey which raises funds for FLG causes.<ref>{{cite news |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title= Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition)|date=14 April 2004 |page=B.2I }}</ref> |
Falun Gong have set up groups [[CIPFG]] and WOIPFG to lobby foreign governments/legislators, human rights organizations such as [[Amnesty International]] and [[Human Rights Watch]], who now expressed their concerns over allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have also urged the United Nations and international governments to intervene and bring an end to the ongoing persecution.<ref name=HRW1>[http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/china/ China's Campaign Against Falungong], Human Rights Watch</ref><ref name=Amnesty1>[http://web.archive.org/web/20030711022606/http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engASA170112000 The crackdown on Falun Gong and other so-called ''heretical organizations'']. The Amnesty International</ref> Friends of Falun Gong USA is a non-profit corporation domiciled in New Jersey which raises funds for FLG causes.<ref>{{cite news |first=Susan V. |last=Lawrence |title= Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers |work=Wall Street Journal (Eastern edition)|date=14 April 2004 |page=B.2I }}</ref> |
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# an emerging scholarly tradition, |
# an emerging scholarly tradition, |
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# the discourse of Human rights groups, and |
# the discourse of Human rights groups, and |
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# a sympathetic practice-based discourse.--></ref> Since the 1999 ban the Chinese government has repeatedly classified them as a ''xiejiao'', which means "evil cult" in English<ref name=pennyharrold/><ref name=chan04>Chan 2004</ref><ref name=irons2003>Irons, Edward. 2003 Falun Gong and the Sectarian Religion Paradigm Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Volume 6, Issue 2, pages 244-62, ISSN 1092-6690</ref>, claiming that Falun Gong's "malicious concepts" led to "physical and mental injuries."<ref name=gunn>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss16/gunn.shtml#fn33 The Complexity of Religion and the Definition of “Religion” in International Law]</ref> The characterization of Falun Gong as a cult, however, is dismissed by leading researchers in the field. David Ownby argues that "The entire issue of the supposed cultic nature of Falun Gong was a red herring from the beginning, cleverly exploited by the Chinese state to blunt the appeal of Falun gong and the effectiveness of the group’s activities outside of China."<ref name=Ownbyfuture /> [[Ian Johnson]] also rejects the label, writing that it "put Falun Gong on the defensive, forcing it to prove its innocence, and cloaked the government's crackdown with the legitimacy of the West's anticult movement."<ref name=wildgrass>Johnson, Ian, ''Wild Grass: three portraits of change in modern china'', Vintage (8 March 2005)</ref> Practitioners of Falun Gong say they are engaged in merely a "spiritual discipline." According to the United States, State Department, whether or not a group is classified as a cult depends on the Chinese authorities and is "based on no discernible criteria other than the Government’s desire to maintain control."<ref name="USStateDepartment">Katie Xiao, [http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/July/20050722172621wkoaix0.3967707.html China Continues To Persecute Religious Groups, State's Birkle Says, United States urges systemic reform and human rights improvement in China],State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, US State Department, 22 July 2005, accessed 2/10/09</ref> |
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# a sympathetic practice-based discourse.--></ref> |
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Since the 1999 ban the Chinese government has repeatedly classified them as a ''xiejiao'', which means "evil cult" in English<ref name=pennyharrold/><ref name=chan04>Chan 2004</ref><ref name=irons2003>Irons, Edward. 2003 Falun Gong and the Sectarian Religion Paradigm Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, Volume 6, Issue 2, pages 244-62, ISSN 1092-6690</ref>. The government uses the term to classify groups deemed harmful to social stability in China.<ref name=irons2003/> They also claim that Falun Gong damages people's physical and mental health<ref name=gunn>[http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/hrj/iss16/gunn.shtml#fn33 The Complexity of Religion and the Definition of “Religion” in International Law]</ref> and have compared the group to the [[Branch Davidian]]s and [[Aum Shinrikyo]].<ref name=gunn /> Practitioners of Falun Gong deny being an "evil cult" and in fact deny being a religious group of any kind.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} |
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Western media's response was initially similar to that of the anti-cult movement.<ref name=frank2004>Frank, Adam. (2004) Falun Gong and the threat of history. in ''Gods, guns, and globalization: religious radicalism and international political economy'' edited by Mary Ann Tétreault, Robert Allen Denemark, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, ISBN 1588262537, pp 241-243</ref> However, media eventually started using less loaded terms to describe the movement.<ref name=kipnis2001>Kipnis, Andrew B. 2001, The Flourishing of Religion in Post-Mao China and the Anthropological Category of Religion, THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, 12:1, 32-46 Anthropology, Australian National University</ref> The perspectives of western media of Falun Gong play a large role in shaping the public's perceptions of the practice and sets the stage for scholarly debate, according to Adam Frank.<ref name=frank2004 /> Soon after Zhongnanhai, "China hands," those in the media industry with training in Chinese language and history, made the connection between Falun Gong and the [[Taiping Rebellion]] and [[Boxer Uprising]]. This may have been related to the Western press's long history of representing China as "exotic," according to Frank.<ref name=frank2004 /> Journalists in China who used the cult label would be ensured continued media access, according to Gutmann.<ref name=carrytorch>Ethan Gutmann, [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=14986&R=16332AA6B Carrying a Torch for China],Weekly Standard, Volume 013, Issue 30, accessed 2/10/09</ref> |
Western media's response was initially similar to that of the anti-cult movement.<ref name=frank2004>Frank, Adam. (2004) Falun Gong and the threat of history. in ''Gods, guns, and globalization: religious radicalism and international political economy'' edited by Mary Ann Tétreault, Robert Allen Denemark, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004, ISBN 1588262537, pp 241-243</ref> However, media eventually started using less loaded terms to describe the movement.<ref name=kipnis2001>Kipnis, Andrew B. 2001, The Flourishing of Religion in Post-Mao China and the Anthropological Category of Religion, THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, 12:1, 32-46 Anthropology, Australian National University</ref> The perspectives of western media of Falun Gong play a large role in shaping the public's perceptions of the practice and sets the stage for scholarly debate, according to Adam Frank.<ref name=frank2004 /> Soon after Zhongnanhai, "China hands," those in the media industry with training in Chinese language and history, made the connection between Falun Gong and the [[Taiping Rebellion]] and [[Boxer Uprising]]. This may have been related to the Western press's long history of representing China as "exotic," according to Frank.<ref name=frank2004 /> Journalists in China who used the cult label would be ensured continued media access, according to Gutmann.<ref name=carrytorch>Ethan Gutmann, [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=14986&R=16332AA6B Carrying a Torch for China],Weekly Standard, Volume 013, Issue 30, accessed 2/10/09</ref> |
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In scholarship calling Falun Gong a "cult" depends on how the term is defined and many scholars refrain from using the label for various reasons. However, following the stance taken by the Chinese government, western [[Anti-cult movement|anti-cult]] groups<ref name=wildgrass /> and associated scholars like [[Margaret Singer]]<ref name =BromleyEncy>{{cite book |chapter = Brainwashing |last = Bromley | first = David G. |year = 1998 |pages= 61-62 | title= Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editors = William H. Swatos Jr. (Ed.) | publisher = AltaMira | location = Walnut Creek, CA | isbn =978-0761989561}}</ref> have considered Falun Gong a cult based upon on their perception that the group is authoritarian and practitioners are influenced by forms of [[psychological coercion]].<ref name=lewis2004>Lewis, James R. 2004 The Oxford handbook of new religious movements, Oxford University Press US, 2004, ISBN 0195149866</ref><ref name="lattin">Don Lattin, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/04/29/MN45026.DTL Falun Gong Derided as Authoritarian Sect by Anti-Cult Experts in Seattle], [[San Francisco Chronicle]], 29 April 2000.</ref> Journalism professor Heather Kavan, also states that Falun Gong has cult-like traits, such as a manipulative leader and doctrine |
In scholarship calling Falun Gong a "cult" depends on how the term is defined and many scholars refrain from using the label for various reasons. However, following the stance taken by the Chinese government, western [[Anti-cult movement|anti-cult]] groups<ref name=wildgrass /> and associated scholars like [[Margaret Singer]]<ref name =BromleyEncy>{{cite book |chapter = Brainwashing |last = Bromley | first = David G. |year = 1998 |pages= 61-62 | title= Encyclopedia of Religion and Society |editors = William H. Swatos Jr. (Ed.) | publisher = AltaMira | location = Walnut Creek, CA | isbn =978-0761989561}}</ref> have considered Falun Gong a cult based upon on their perception that the group is authoritarian and practitioners are influenced by forms of [[psychological coercion]].<ref name=lewis2004>Lewis, James R. 2004 The Oxford handbook of new religious movements, Oxford University Press US, 2004, ISBN 0195149866</ref><ref name="lattin">Don Lattin, [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/04/29/MN45026.DTL Falun Gong Derided as Authoritarian Sect by Anti-Cult Experts in Seattle], [[San Francisco Chronicle]], 29 April 2000.</ref> Journalism professor Heather Kavan, also states that Falun Gong has cult-like traits, such as a manipulative leader and doctrine |
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<ref name=kavan>{{cite journal |url=http://molta.massey.ac.nz/massey/fms/Colleges/College%20of%20Business/Communication%20and%20Journalism/ANZCA%202008/Refereed%20Papers/Kavan_ANZCA08.pdf |title=Falun Gong in the media: What can we believe? |first=Heather |last=Kavan |author=Department of Communication, Journalism and Marketing |work=Massey University |page=13 |journal=E. Tilley (Ed.) Power and Place: Refereed Proceedings of the Australian & New Zealand Communication Association Conference, Wellington. |date=July 2008 | quote = [Cults characterized by] an idolised charismatic leader who exploits people by letting them believe he – and it usually is a 'he' – is God’s mouthpiece; mind control techniques; an apocalyptic world view used to manipulate members; exclusivity ('only our religion can save people'); alienation from society; and a view of members as superior to the rest of humanity.}}</ref> |
<ref name=kavan>{{cite journal |url=http://molta.massey.ac.nz/massey/fms/Colleges/College%20of%20Business/Communication%20and%20Journalism/ANZCA%202008/Refereed%20Papers/Kavan_ANZCA08.pdf |title=Falun Gong in the media: What can we believe? |first=Heather |last=Kavan |author=Department of Communication, Journalism and Marketing |work=Massey University |page=13 |journal=E. Tilley (Ed.) Power and Place: Refereed Proceedings of the Australian & New Zealand Communication Association Conference, Wellington. |date=July 2008 | quote = [Cults characterized by] an idolised charismatic leader who exploits people by letting them believe he – and it usually is a 'he' – is God’s mouthpiece; mind control techniques; an apocalyptic world view used to manipulate members; exclusivity ('only our religion can save people'); alienation from society; and a view of members as superior to the rest of humanity.}}</ref> |
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David Ownby argues that the cult label is a red herring used to blunt the appeal of Falun Gong.<ref name=Ownbyfuture /> [[Ian Johnson]] also rejects the label, writing that it legitimises the government crackdown with the West's anti-cult movement.<ref name=wildgrass>Johnson, Ian, ''Wild Grass: three portraits of change in modern china'', Vintage (8 March 2005)</ref> |
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Most social scientists and scholars of religion reject "brainwashing" theories<ref>{{cite web |first = J. Gordon |last = Melton |authorlink = J. Gordon Melton |title = Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory |url = http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm |publisher = CESNUR: Center for Studies on New Religions |date = 10 December 1999 |accessdate = 5 September 2009|quote = Since the late 1980s, though a significant public belief in cult-brainwashing remains, the academic community-including scholars from psychology, sociology, and religious studies-have shared an almost unanimous consensus that the coercive persuasion/brainwashing thesis proposed by Margaret Singer and her colleagues in the 1980s is without scientific merit.}}</ref> and do not subscribe to the definition of "cult" used by Singer. For example, Cheris Shun-ching Chan considers cults to be new religious movements that focus on the individual experience of the encounter with the sacred rather than collective worship; that cults are less demanding of their members and more tolerant of other religions than [[sects]] are; that have a strong charismatic leadership and that they lack clear boundaries of membership. Chan claims that Falun Gong is neither a cult nor a sect, but a [[new religious movement]] with Cult-like characteristics.<ref name=chan2004>Chan, Cheris Shun-ching (2004). The Falun Gong in China: A Sociological Perspective. The China Quarterly, 179 , pp 665-683</ref> Other scholars avoid the term "cult" altogether because "of the confusion between the historic meaning of the term and current pejorative use"<ref name=bainbridge97>Bainbridge, William Sims 1997 The sociology of religious movements, Routledge, 1997, page 24, ISBN 0415912024</ref><ref name=rich93>{{cite journal |last=Richardson |first=James T. |year=1993 |title=Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative |journal=Review of Religious Research |volume=34, No. 4 |pages=348-356}}</ref> These scholars prefer terms like "spiritual movement" or "[[new religious movement]]" to avoid the negative connotations of "cult" or to avoid mis-categorizing those which do not fit mainstream definitions.<ref name=frank2004/> Others see political ramifications in the term: Edelman and Richardson argue that, over the years, the CCP has become sensitive to criticism of its human rights record and in this context the anti-cult movement have been "useful tools," helping create the illusion that the rule-of-law has been upheld: "By applying the label and embracing theories that posit passive followers under the mental control of a dangerous leader, the government can aggressively destroy the group, all the while claiming to be protecting religious freedom."<ref name=edelmanrich>Edelman and Richardson, Imposed Limitations on Freedom of Religion in China and the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine: A Legal Analysis of the Crackdown on Falun Gong and other "Evil Cults", Journal of Church and State, Spring 2005, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p265-267</ref> |
Most social scientists and scholars of religion reject "brainwashing" theories<ref>{{cite web |first = J. Gordon |last = Melton |authorlink = J. Gordon Melton |title = Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory |url = http://www.cesnur.org/testi/melton.htm |publisher = CESNUR: Center for Studies on New Religions |date = 10 December 1999 |accessdate = 5 September 2009|quote = Since the late 1980s, though a significant public belief in cult-brainwashing remains, the academic community-including scholars from psychology, sociology, and religious studies-have shared an almost unanimous consensus that the coercive persuasion/brainwashing thesis proposed by Margaret Singer and her colleagues in the 1980s is without scientific merit.}}</ref> and do not subscribe to the definition of "cult" used by Singer. For example, Cheris Shun-ching Chan considers cults to be new religious movements that focus on the individual experience of the encounter with the sacred rather than collective worship; that cults are less demanding of their members and more tolerant of other religions than [[sects]] are; that have a strong charismatic leadership and that they lack clear boundaries of membership. Chan claims that Falun Gong is neither a cult nor a sect, but a [[new religious movement]] with Cult-like characteristics.<ref name=chan2004>Chan, Cheris Shun-ching (2004). The Falun Gong in China: A Sociological Perspective. The China Quarterly, 179 , pp 665-683</ref> Other scholars avoid the term "cult" altogether because "of the confusion between the historic meaning of the term and current pejorative use"<ref name=bainbridge97>Bainbridge, William Sims 1997 The sociology of religious movements, Routledge, 1997, page 24, ISBN 0415912024</ref><ref name=rich93>{{cite journal |last=Richardson |first=James T. |year=1993 |title=Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative |journal=Review of Religious Research |volume=34, No. 4 |pages=348-356}}</ref> These scholars prefer terms like "spiritual movement" or "[[new religious movement]]" to avoid the negative connotations of "cult" or to avoid mis-categorizing those which do not fit mainstream definitions.<ref name=frank2004/> Others see political ramifications in the term: Edelman and Richardson argue that, over the years, the CCP has become sensitive to criticism of its human rights record and in this context the anti-cult movement have been "useful tools," helping create the illusion that the rule-of-law has been upheld: "By applying the label and embracing theories that posit passive followers under the mental control of a dangerous leader, the government can aggressively destroy the group, all the while claiming to be protecting religious freedom."<ref name=edelmanrich>Edelman and Richardson, Imposed Limitations on Freedom of Religion in China and the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine: A Legal Analysis of the Crackdown on Falun Gong and other "Evil Cults", Journal of Church and State, Spring 2005, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p265-267</ref> |
Revision as of 11:00, 3 October 2009
Falun Gong | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 法輪功 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 法轮功 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | Practice of the Wheel of Law | ||||||||||
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Falun Dafa | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 法輪大法 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 法轮大法 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | Great Law of the Wheel of Law | ||||||||||
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Falun Gong (alternatively Falun Dafa) is a new religious movement founded in China by Li Hongzhi in 1992. The movement emerged at the end of China's "qigong boom" as a traditional qigong cultivation practice. Its teachings are influenced by both Taoism and Buddhism.[1][2][3]
The number of Falun Gong practitioners is unknown, and the group has no organized membership system. In 1998, the Chinese government published a figure of 70 million practitioners in China.[4] Falun Gong asserts over 100 million practitioners of Falun Dafa in "114 countries and regions around the world".[5] The movement distributes large amounts of material via the Internet free-of-charge.[5][6]
Falun Gong differs from competing qigong schools through its absence of daily rituals of worship, its self-consciousness about outside critics,[7] its greater emphasis on morality and the apparently theological nature of its teachings.[8][9] There is on-going debate about Falun Gong's classification as a religion, "cult", or new religious movement (NRM).[10]
In April 1999, over ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Communist Party of China headquarters, Zhongnanhai, in a silent protest following an incident in Tianjin.[11][12][13] Two months later the Chinese government banned the practice through a crackdown and began a large propaganda campaign.[14][15][16] Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners in China have been reportedly subject to torture,[17] illegal imprisonment,[18] beatings, forced labor, organ harvesting, and psychiatric abuses.[19][20] Falun Gong has responded with their own media campaign, and have emerged as a notable voice of dissent against the Communist Party of China, by founding organizations such as the Epoch Times, NTDTV and the Shen Yun Performing Arts to publicize their cause.[21]
Beliefs and teachings
Falun Gong was introduced to the public by Li Hongzhi(李洪志) in Changchun, China, in 1992. Its teachings cover spiritual, religious, mystical and metaphysical topics. Falun Gong is an introductory book that discusses qigong, which introduces the principles and provides illustrations and explanations of the exercises involved in Falun Gong practice.
The main body of teachings is articulated in the core book Zhuan Falun (轉法輪),[22] published in late 1994. According to the texts, Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa) is a "complete system of mind-body cultivation practice" (修煉).[23] 'Truthfulness' (眞), 'Compassion' (善), and 'Forbearance' (忍) are regarded as the fundamental characteristics of the cosmos—an omnipresent nature that permeates and encompasses everything. In the process of cultivation, the practitioner is supposed to assimilate himself or herself to these qualities by letting go of "attachments and notions," thus returning to the "original, true self." In Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi said that "As a practitioner, if you assimilate yourself to this characteristic, you are one that has attained the Tao—it's just such a simple principle."
Falun Gong draws on Oriental mysticism and traditional Chinese medicine, criticizes self-imposed limits of modern science, and views traditional Chinese science as an entirely different, yet equally valid knowledge system, according to Yuezhi Zhao, professor in the University of California. Concomitantly, it borrows the language of modern science in representing its cosmic laws. Zhao says: "Falun gong is not conceptualized as a religious faith; on the contrary, its practitioners, which include doctorate holders from prestigious American universities, see it as 'a new form of science.'"[24]
Theoretical background
Qigong refers to a wide variety of traditional "cultivation" practices that involve movement and/or regulated breathing designed to be therapeutic. Qigong is practiced for health maintenance purposes, as a therapeutic intervention, as a medical profession, a spiritual path, or a component of Chinese martial arts. Unlike in the West, where many may believe that qigong is a socially neutral, subjective, New Age-style concept incapable of scientific proof, much of China's scientific establishment believes in the existence of qi. Controlled experiments by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the late 1970s and early 1980s concluded that qi, when emitted by a qigong expert, "actually constitutes measurable infrared electromagnetic waves and causes chemical changes in static water through mental concentration."[25]
Falun Gong also borrows from Buddhist and Taoist teachings. Theories about the cultivation of elixir (dan), "placement of the mysterious pass" (xuanguan shewei), among others, are also found in ancient Chinese texts such as The Book of Elixir (Dan Jing), Daoist Canon (Tao Zang) and Guide to Nature and Longevity (Xingming Guizhi). Falun Gong's teachings tap into a wide array of phenomena and cultural heritage that has been debated for ages. However, the definitions of many of the terms used differ somewhat from Buddhist and Daoist traditions. Francesco Sisci says that Falun Gong "re-elaborated old, well-known Taoist and Buddhist routines, used the old vocabulary that people found familiar, and revamped them in a simple, persuasive way."[26]
History
Beginnings
Falon Gong was founded by Li Hongzhi. In his spiritual biography in early versions of Zhuan Falun, Li Hongzhi claims that he was taught ways of "cultivation practice" (xiulian) by several masters of the Dao and Buddhist schools of thought starting at a very young age. The biography indicates that he was trained by Quan Jue, the 10th Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School, at age four. He was then trained by a Taoist master at age eight. This master left him at age twelve, and from then on, he was trained by a master of the Great Way School with the Taoist alias of True Taoist, who came from the Changbai Mountains. Li also claimed numerous supernatural feats, including invisibility, levitation, and weather modification.[27]
Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Gong to the public in May 1992, in Changchun, Jilin.[28] Early versions of Zhuan Falun claims that the system was tested extensively before its introduction, between 1989 and 1992,[27] while the Chinese government claims that Falun Gong was based on existing Qigong systems, namely Chanmi Gong and Jiugong Bagua Gong. Like many qigong masters at the time, Li toured major cities in China from 1992 to 1994 to teach the practice. Falun Gong websites say that during this time, Li was granted several awards by Chinese governmental organizations.[29] Neither Li nor Falun Gong were particularly controversial in the beginning.[30] Li and the Falun Dafa Research Society were welcomed into the Scientific Qigong Research Association.[30] Li became an "instant star of the qigong movement," according to Ownby, with his practice method celebrated at the Beijing Oriental Health Expos of both 1992 and 1993. Falun Gong was welcomed into the Scientific Qigong Research Association, which sponsored and helped organise many of Li's activities between 1992 and 1994, including the 54 large-scale lectures given throughout China in most major cities to a total audience of 20,000. The movement enjoyed a rapid and huge success.[30]
In 1994, Falun Gong was taught at the Chinese consulate in New York as part of the Party's "cultural propaganda to the West", alongside Chinese silk craft and cooking.[31] The consulate at that time also set up Falun Gong clubs at MIT and Columbia University which are active to this day. Starting in 1995, Li himself taught the practice outside of China, chairing a series of conferences at the Chinese embassy in Paris, upon invitation by China's ambassador to France.[31][32]
Growth in China
Falun Gong's growth in China took place to the backdrop of contradictions in China's "technocratic-oriented modernization drive" and comparative lack of spiritual fulfillment.[24] Following the suppression of pro-democracy forces during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, China experienced deep and widespread ideological and identity crises. In the early 1990s, Deng Xiaoping called for an end to debates about the political and social meaning of the economic reforms, urging the populace to participate in commercialism and the pursuit of material wealth. Falun Gong, in contrast, "insisted on the search for meaning and called for a radical transcendence of materialism in both the mundane and philosophical senses."[24] In this context, Falun Gong was a Chinese manifestation of "a worldwide backlash against capitalist modernity"[24] Though it is grounded in Chinese cultural traditions and responds to unique post-1989 Chinese realities, Falun Gong also addressed wider concerns, asking for a re-examination of existing the value system.
While Chinese authorities condemn Falun Gong as having "fallen prey to premodern superstitions," the practice "articulates a mixture of premodern, modern, and postmodern sensibilities."[24] In Zhao Yuezhi's view, Falun Gong has established a 'resistance identity', resisting prevailing pursuits of wealth, power, scientific rationality and "the entire value system associated with the project of modernization". Zhao points out that Falun Gong's spread and popularity was reflective of the wider social transformation in happening in China.[24]
After teaching publicly in Changchun, Li began to make his lectures more widely accessible and affordable, charging less than competing qigong systems for lectures, tapes, and books.[13] On 4 January 1995, Zhuan Falun, the main book on Falun Gong, was published and became a best-seller in China.[13] In the face of Falun Gong's rise in popularity, a large part of which was attributed to its low cost, competing qigong masters accused Li of unfair business practices. The qigong society under which Li and other qigong masters belonged asked Li to hike his tuition, but Li refused.[13] Due to political in-fighting in the qigong Association, Li withdrew Falun Gong's membership.
From 1995 on, Falun Gong had established a clear competitive advantage over alternative qigong groups in its emphasis on morality and life philosophies, low cost, and its benefits to practitioners' health, and rapidly spread via word-of-mouth.[33] In a reversal from the 1989 outpouring of desire for political participation, many Chinese turned to Falun Gong precisely because they saw it as an apolitical response to existing individual and social concerns.[24] Its rapid growth within China was also related to family ties and community relationships, which still retain great power in contemporary China.[33] Falun Gong attracted a wide range of adherents from all walks of life.[34]
The Economist asserts that much of Falun Gong's success in the 1990s was due to claims that it could heal without costly medicine, as many citizens had lost medical benefits and services due to changing economic conditions.[35] Some in China maintained that Falun Gong was the most popular qigong practice in the country, and that many professors from Peking University practiced the exercises every day on the campus grounds until the crackdown in 1999.[36]
Lowe acknowledges sociological "macro-issues," such as economic insecurity, free time, the collapse of moral standards, worries about health and medical care, the desire for existential certitude, and other factors as explanations for Falun Gong's rise. He constests, however, that these were secondary considerations to the growth of Falun Gong.[33] Falun Gong appeals to individuals on several levels of understanding, he says: "For beginners, health benefits seem to be a primary concern. Over time, as good health comes to be a given and as their study of Master Li’s books deepens, the metaphysical system of Falun Gong seems to take precedence as cultivators work to shed their attachments and move to higher levels..."[33] Over time, followers appear to find in the teachings an "intricate, orderly, and internally consistent understanding of the cosmos," he writes. Other qigong practices were unable to provide "clear, unambiguous explanations of life’s deepest mysteries" and such a "complete and intellectually satisfying picture of the universe," as practitioners see it, he says.[33]
Skeptics, Tianjin, and Zhongnanhai
Falun Gong's rapid growth in China garnered widespread attention from the media, academics, and members of China's religious community. As early as 1995, critics called Falun Gong "superstitious" and were skeptical of its claimed health benefits.[37] By 1996, the Buddhist Association and Buddhist journals were issuing in-depth critiques of Falun Gong.[38]
In April 1999, physicist and pseudoscience critic He Zuoxiu published an article in the Tianjin Normal University’s Youth Reader magazine, entitled “I Do Not Agree with Youth Practicing qigong,” singling Falun Gong out for criticism.[39][40] Practitioners regarded the treatment unfair and subsequently gathered in large numbers to protest the article in Tianjin. Falun Gong organizers sent an appeal to the Tianjin Municipal party headquarters and government. Subsequently the police were called, and practitioners were beaten and arrested.[13]
Dissatisfied with the treatment received in Tianjin, on 25 April, around ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners lined the streets near Zhongnanhai in silence, seeking legal recognition and protection of the practice in light of the alleged beatings and arrests in Tianjin. A few months later, on 20 July 1999, thousands of practitioners were arrested in the middle of the night[citation needed], the media campaign to vilify the practice began.
At the time of the Zhongnanhai Incident, Falun Gong had evolved to become a politicized and highly mobilized form of social dissent. While Falun Gong's pre-1999 political involvement is difficult to verify, no other disenfranchised social group has ever staged a mass protest near the Zhongnanhai compound in PRC history. The incident raised questions about the Communist Party's control over the country,[41] and led to fear, animosity and suppression of the movement.[42] A World Journal article suggested that certain high-level Party officials had wanted to crack down on the practice for several years, but lacked sufficient pretext until the protest at Zhongnanhai—which it claims may have been partly orchestrated by Luo Gan, a long-time opponent of Falun Gong.[36] There was also reportedly rifts in the Politburo at the time of the incident. Some reports indicate that Premier Zhu Rongji had met with Falun Gong representatives and gave them satisfactory answers, but was criticized by General Secretary and President Jiang Zemin for being too soft.[13] Jiang Zemin is held by Falun Gong to be largely personally responsible for the final decision.[43][44] Cited motives include suspected personal jealousy of Li Hongzhi,[43] anger at Falun Gong's widespread appeal, and ideological struggle.[44]
The ban
On 20 July 1999, the Chinese government declared the Research Society of Falun Dafa and the Falun Gong organization under its control to be illegal for having been "engaged in illegal activities, advocating superstition and spreading fallacies, hoodwinking people, inciting and creating disturbances, and jeopardizing social stability."[45] Xinhua further declared that Falun Gong was a highly organised political group "opposed to the Communist Party of China and the central government, [that] preaches idealism, theism and feudal superstition."[46] Xinhua also affirmed that "the so-called 'truth, kindness and forbearance' principle preached by Li has nothing in common with the socialist ethical and cultural progress we are striving to achieve."[47]
In response, Li Hongzhi declared that Falun Gong did not have any particular organization, nor any political objectives. "We have never been involved in any anti-government activities... We are not against the government now, nor will we be in the future."[48]
A nationwide crackdown ensued with the exception of the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. In October 1999, four months after the ban, legislation was created to outlaw "heterodox religions" and applied to Falun Gong retroactively.[18] The Chinese authorities branded Falun Gong, along with some other practices, movements or organizations xiejiao (Chinese: 邪教),[49] which was given in English as "cult" or "evil cult", and introduced a barrage of media material criticizing Falun Gong.[46][50]
The persecution
According to some reports, every aspect of society was mobilized against Falun Gong, including the media apparatus, police force, army, education system, families, and workplaces.[16] An extra-constitutional body, the "6-10 Office" was created to "oversee the terror campaign,"[51] which was allegedly driven by large-scale propaganda through television, newspapers, radio and internet.[18] Families and workplaces were urged to cooperate with the government's position on Falun Gong, while practitioners themselves were subject to severe coercive measures to have them recant.[52] Amnesty International declares the persecution to be politically motivated and a restriction of fundamental freedoms.
In late 2000, the Party began to use "re-education through labor" widely against Falun Gong practitioners in the hope of permanently "transforming recidivists," who would often be immediately sentenced to re-education for up to three years.[52] Terms could also be arbitrarily extended by police. Practitioners may have ambiguous charges levied against them, according to Robert Bejesky, writing in the Columbia Journal of Asian Law, such as "disrupting social order," "endangering national security," or "subverting the socialist system."[53] Up to 99% of long term Falun Gong detainees are processed administratively through this system, and do not enter the formal criminal justice system.[53] Outside access is not given to the camps, prisoners are forced to do heavy work in mines, brick factories, and agriculture, and physical torture, beatings, interrogations, inadequate food rations, and other human rights abuses take place, according to Human Rights Watch.[52] According to the US Department of State's 2007 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, "Some foreign observers estimated that Falun Gong adherents constituted at least half of the 250,000 officially recorded inmates in reeducation-through-labor camps, while Falun Gong sources overseas placed the number even higher."[54]
There are estimates of at least 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners having been officially sentenced to reeducation from the beginning of the crackdown,[52] and that at least half of the 250,000 total recorded inmates in China's reeducation camps are Falun Gong practitioners, according to the US State Department.[55] Upon completion of their reeducation sentences, practitioners are sometimes then incarcerated in "legal education centers," another form of punishment set up by provincial authorities to "transform the minds" of practitioners, according to Human Rights Watch, which delivered a comprehensive report on the persecution, including extensive references to state-media and official statements.[52][55] While Beijing officials initially portrayed the process as "benign," a harder line was later adopted; "teams of education assistants and workers, leading cadres, and people from all walks of life" were drafted into the campaign. In early 2001 quotas were given for how many practitioners needed to be "transformed." Official records do not mention the methods employed to achieve this, though Falun Gong and third party accounts indicate that the mental and physical abuses could be "extraordinarily severe."[52]
Soon after the onset of the persecution, Falun Gong and human rights observers began reporting widespread psychiatric abuse of mentally-healthy practitioners. Falun Gong says that thousands have been forcefully detained in mental hospitals and subject to psychiatric abuses such as injection of sedatives or anti-psychotic drugs, torture by electrocution, force-feeding, beatings and starvation.[56] Schechter states that as the persecution progressed, the "authorities came up with a new tactic, throwing those arrested into mental hospitals."[13]
There are particular concerns over reports of torture,[57][58] illegal imprisonment including forced labour,[54] and psychiatric abuses.[19][20][17] Falun Gong related cases comprise 66% of all reported torture cases in China,[59] and at least half of the labour camp population.[55]
On July 30, 2008, the Chinese Communist Party foreign ministry spokesman confirmed that during the Beijing Olympic Games Falun Gong websites would be blocked, censoring journalists' access to the internet.[60]
Response in China
Protests in Beijing were frequent for the first few years following the 1999 edict, though they have largely been silenced since.[16] Practitioners' presence in mainland China has become more low-profile, as they opt for alternative methods of informing the citizenry, such as through overnight letterbox drops of CD-ROMs.
According to the Chinese government, Falun Gong activists have launched attacks against Sinosat satellites and jammed television signals, replacing regular state television broadcasts with their own material.[61] For example, in March 2002, Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner, managed to intercept eight cable television networks in Changchun City and Songyuan City, Jilin Province, and televised a program titled “Self-Immolation or a Staged Act?” exposing the Chinese government’s alleged cover-up of its persecution of Falun Gong and the "staged immolation the government claimed was the action of practitioners." Liu was arrested and subjected to 21 months of torture that led directly to his death.[62]
Response outside China
Template:Image stack Due to its ban in mainland China, Falun Gong practitioners have taken to their cause internationally, especially in Australia, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Britain. Practitioners engage in promotional activities aimed by handing out flyers in busy intersections, in the subway or at the mall, leaving Falun Gong literature in stores, libraries, laundries etc. Although some of the literature deal with Falun Gong's situation in China, other publications also include the Nine Commentaries of the Communist Party, a critical editorial of the Communist Party of China, which are distributed by practitioners in both DVD and book form. Falun Gong members also openly participate in activities such as marches, parades, and celebrations of Chinese culture.[32]. Response to these appeals have been mixed.[63][64]
Practitioners also utilize various parade venues around the world to publicize their group and its message. These have included large events such as the Independence Day Parade in Washington, D.C. to smaller events such as the Auckland New Zealand's Santa Parade. These parades also offer an opportunity for the group to disseminate promotional literature.[65] The response to Falun Gong involvements in some parades have also been mixed.[66][67]
Falun Gong has also been active in establishing university chapters, which offer free exercise and teaching sessions.[68][69][70][71][72][73]
Since 2006, a central part of the Falun Gong campaign focused on alleged organ harvesting from living practitioners. The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong, alongside Canadian parliamentarian David Kilgour and human rights lawyer David Matas, produced a report on the allegations.[74] The Christian Science Monitor considered the evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive, and criticized the Chinese government for a lack of openness in investigating the claims.[75] Likewise, U.N. special rapporteur Manfred Nowak, said the report "shows a coherent picture that causes concern."[76] The United States Congressional Research Service regarded the report as inconsistent with the findings of other investigations, and Chinese dissident Harry Wu also voiced doubts.[77] In November 2008, the United Nations Committee Against Torture noted that an increase in organ transplant operations coincided with “the beginning of the persecution of [Falun Gong practitioners]” and demanded an explanation. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied these allegations, saying that the report was based on "rumors and false allegations".[78]
Organizational Structure
Falun Gong denies having an organizational structure, and maintains that it is merely a spiritual group that practices a brand of qigong.[79] It does not have an organized membership system, and eschews the term 'membership'. As a result, estimates vary over the number of people practicing Falun Gong. Before the persecution, the government estimated 70 million, and after 2 million, in an effort to downplay the practice's significance.[80] between 2 million[81]. Falun Gong website clearwisdom.net claims over 100 million practitioners in 114 countries around the world.[5]
Institutionally, Falun Gong was a part of the Scientific Qigong Research Association until 1994 as the Falun Dafa Research Society, then applied to be listed as an organization under the National Minority Affairs Commission, to which it was denied. It subsequently applied to the China Buddhist Federation as a cultural organization to study Buddhism, and was also rejected. Its final attempt at registering under a Party-sanctioned organization was an application to the United Front Department as a "non-religious, academic organization", to which it was also rejected.[79] In early 1997, Falun Gong began pursuing a more decentralized and loose organizational structure, with its main bases in Beijing and Wuhan. Chinese state media claimed that at the time, the Beijing national office was led by Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and Yao Jie;[79] Li and Wang were members of the Communist Party.[82] Their communication with founder Li Hongzhi is unclear. In addition, regional offices diverged in their organizational structures. Each office generally maintained a "propaganda department", logistics department, and "doctrine" committee, or variations of those functions thereof, according to reports in state-run media after the persecution had begun.[79]
At the time of the movement's suppression in July 1999, Falun Gong websites claim that the movement had no "national organization", no regulations or by-laws, and that practitioners were free to join or leave at any time, and there were no membership rosters. The Chinese government, in contrast, claims that Falun Gong was a highly organized group, with 39 "main stations", 1,900 "guidance stations", and 28,263 practice sites nation-wide, overseeing a total of 2.1 million practitioners.[83] A number of "Falun Dafa Associations" now exist around the world, of which the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is one of the most prominent. Not all practitioners are members of an association.
Media branches and PR strategies
Falun Gong practitioners have also set up international media organizations to promote their cause and criticize policies of the Communist Party of China. These include The Epoch Times newspaper, NTDTV, Sound of Hope radio station. Maria H. Chang of the University of Nevada, says these organisations seem to be "[treated as] front organisations to influence public opinion via a concerted information-PR-propaganda campaign". She argues that, like the Chinese state, Falun Gong has to create organisations that are publicly unaffiliated with it for the organization to survive.[84]
Together these organizations also promote the Chinese New Year Spectacular, performed by the FG affiliated Shen Yun Performing Arts troupe.[51][85] In addition, Falun Gong has a considerable presence on the Internet,[47] with websites such as clearwisdom.net, faluninfo.net, mingui, pureinsight etc., which they use not only to spread Li's teachings, but also to publicise the plight of practitioners with graphic testimonials.[51]
While Chinese media have launched an unrelenting assault on Falun Gong since 1999, Falun Gong's response through its various media organizations has earned the practice considerable public relations clout in the West. In North America and Europe, where Falun Gong maintains a strong presence, media obtain much of their information about the spiritual group through Faluninfo.net, although Kavan says it comes from a "public relations firm" for Falun Gong managed by Gail Rachlin, who Kavan considers to be "Li’s inner circle."[86] Kavan also compared Falun Gong practitioners' media strategies with those of the Chinese Communist Party: common traits she found included intolerance of criticism, issuing blanket denials when accused, exaggerating and sensationalizing claims, and deflecting blame by charging the other of the same offense.[86] In 2009, in response to a practitioner raising related concerns, Li Hongzhi said to the practitioners who staff New Tang Dynasty Television "Don’t be like the propaganda tools of the wicked Party. It’s not right to depart from the truth when you describe events in hopes of achieving some effect... Don’t knowingly bend the truth. You will lose credibility."[87]
Falun Gong have set up groups CIPFG and WOIPFG to lobby foreign governments/legislators, human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who now expressed their concerns over allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in China. They have also urged the United Nations and international governments to intervene and bring an end to the ongoing persecution.[88][89] Friends of Falun Gong USA is a non-profit corporation domiciled in New Jersey which raises funds for FLG causes.[90]
Public Debate
Litigation
Falun Gong practitioners in the United States routinely file cases in U.S. federal courts against Chinese leaders once they step upon foreign soil. According to International Advocates for Justice, Falun Gong has filed the largest number of human rights lawsuits in the 21st century and the charges are among the most severe international crimes defined by international criminal laws.[91][92]
The 'cult' debate
Some debate exists over whether Falun Gong should be classified as a "cult", and this classification is more common in some social contexts than in others.[93] Since the 1999 ban the Chinese government has repeatedly classified them as a xiejiao, which means "evil cult" in English[1][94][95], claiming that Falun Gong's "malicious concepts" led to "physical and mental injuries."[96] The characterization of Falun Gong as a cult, however, is dismissed by leading researchers in the field. David Ownby argues that "The entire issue of the supposed cultic nature of Falun Gong was a red herring from the beginning, cleverly exploited by the Chinese state to blunt the appeal of Falun gong and the effectiveness of the group’s activities outside of China."[32] Ian Johnson also rejects the label, writing that it "put Falun Gong on the defensive, forcing it to prove its innocence, and cloaked the government's crackdown with the legitimacy of the West's anticult movement."[16] Practitioners of Falun Gong say they are engaged in merely a "spiritual discipline." According to the United States, State Department, whether or not a group is classified as a cult depends on the Chinese authorities and is "based on no discernible criteria other than the Government’s desire to maintain control."[97]
Western media's response was initially similar to that of the anti-cult movement.[98] However, media eventually started using less loaded terms to describe the movement.[99] The perspectives of western media of Falun Gong play a large role in shaping the public's perceptions of the practice and sets the stage for scholarly debate, according to Adam Frank.[98] Soon after Zhongnanhai, "China hands," those in the media industry with training in Chinese language and history, made the connection between Falun Gong and the Taiping Rebellion and Boxer Uprising. This may have been related to the Western press's long history of representing China as "exotic," according to Frank.[98] Journalists in China who used the cult label would be ensured continued media access, according to Gutmann.[100]
In scholarship calling Falun Gong a "cult" depends on how the term is defined and many scholars refrain from using the label for various reasons. However, following the stance taken by the Chinese government, western anti-cult groups[16] and associated scholars like Margaret Singer[101] have considered Falun Gong a cult based upon on their perception that the group is authoritarian and practitioners are influenced by forms of psychological coercion.[102][103] Journalism professor Heather Kavan, also states that Falun Gong has cult-like traits, such as a manipulative leader and doctrine [86]
Most social scientists and scholars of religion reject "brainwashing" theories[104] and do not subscribe to the definition of "cult" used by Singer. For example, Cheris Shun-ching Chan considers cults to be new religious movements that focus on the individual experience of the encounter with the sacred rather than collective worship; that cults are less demanding of their members and more tolerant of other religions than sects are; that have a strong charismatic leadership and that they lack clear boundaries of membership. Chan claims that Falun Gong is neither a cult nor a sect, but a new religious movement with Cult-like characteristics.[105] Other scholars avoid the term "cult" altogether because "of the confusion between the historic meaning of the term and current pejorative use"[106][107] These scholars prefer terms like "spiritual movement" or "new religious movement" to avoid the negative connotations of "cult" or to avoid mis-categorizing those which do not fit mainstream definitions.[98] Others see political ramifications in the term: Edelman and Richardson argue that, over the years, the CCP has become sensitive to criticism of its human rights record and in this context the anti-cult movement have been "useful tools," helping create the illusion that the rule-of-law has been upheld: "By applying the label and embracing theories that posit passive followers under the mental control of a dangerous leader, the government can aggressively destroy the group, all the while claiming to be protecting religious freedom."[108]
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[Cults characterized by] an idolised charismatic leader who exploits people by letting them believe he – and it usually is a 'he' – is God's mouthpiece; mind control techniques; an apocalyptic world view used to manipulate members; exclusivity ('only our religion can save people'); alienation from society; and a view of members as superior to the rest of humanity.
{{cite journal}}
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{{cite book}}
: Unknown parameter|editors=
ignored (|editor=
suggested) (help) - ^ Lewis, James R. 2004 The Oxford handbook of new religious movements, Oxford University Press US, 2004, ISBN 0195149866
- ^ Don Lattin, Falun Gong Derided as Authoritarian Sect by Anti-Cult Experts in Seattle, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 April 2000.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon (10 December 1999). "Brainwashing and the Cults: The Rise and Fall of a Theory". CESNUR: Center for Studies on New Religions. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
Since the late 1980s, though a significant public belief in cult-brainwashing remains, the academic community-including scholars from psychology, sociology, and religious studies-have shared an almost unanimous consensus that the coercive persuasion/brainwashing thesis proposed by Margaret Singer and her colleagues in the 1980s is without scientific merit.
- ^ Chan, Cheris Shun-ching (2004). The Falun Gong in China: A Sociological Perspective. The China Quarterly, 179 , pp 665-683
- ^ Bainbridge, William Sims 1997 The sociology of religious movements, Routledge, 1997, page 24, ISBN 0415912024
- ^ Richardson, James T. (1993). "Definitions of Cult: From Sociological-Technical to Popular-Negative". Review of Religious Research. 34, No. 4: 348–356.
- ^ Edelman and Richardson, Imposed Limitations on Freedom of Religion in China and the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine: A Legal Analysis of the Crackdown on Falun Gong and other "Evil Cults", Journal of Church and State, Spring 2005, Vol. 47 Issue 2, p265-267
Further reading
- David Ownby, Falun Gong and the Future of China (Oxford University Press, 2008) ISBN 978-0-19-532905-6
- Maria Hsia Chang, Falun Gong: The End of Days (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2004) ISBN 0-300-10227-5
- Li Hongzhi, Falun Gong (Law Wheel qigong) (1993)
- Li Hongzhi, Zhuan Falun (English translation 2000)
- Danny Schechter, Falun Gong's Challenge to China (Akashic Books, 2000) hardback ISBN 1-888451-13-0, paperback ISBN 1-888451-27-0
External links
Sites run by Falun Gong practitioners
Critical sites
- Condemn Falun Gong Cult — a series of anti-Falun Gong articles of the state-run Xinhua news agency
- Falungong Part 1: From Sport to Suicide, Francesco Sisci, Asia Times, 27 January 2001
Other sites
- Articles by Ian Johnson (Pulitzer Prize winner), Wall Street Journal (2001)
- Falun Gong: Cult or Culture?, Produced by Chris Bullock, Radio National, 22 April 2001
- press archives, Center for Studies on New Religions
- Spiritual Society or Evil Cult?
- Falun Gong portal, Time