DATE=8/3/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-FALUN GONG (CQ)
NUMBER=5-43992
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The past two decades of economic reform in
China has led to a new emphasis on the value of
monetary wealth in contemporary Chinese society. V-O-
As Stephanie Ho reports from Beijing, as a result,
groups like the recently banned quasi-religious sect,
Falun Gong, have rapidly gained in popularity among
Chinese people looking to fill the spiritual vacuum.
Text: The battle for the hearts and minds of China's
one-point-two billion people is in full swing.
Official Chinese media say the country's ongoing
struggle against the Falun Gong organization is an
ideological and political battle, which impacts the
fundamental Communist doctrine. State-run news
agencies say these endangered Communist faiths include
Marxism and atheism - which are being held up as
incorporating a scientific -- and therefore, more
rational -- world view.
Falun Gong is one of many spiritual sects that has
gained popularity in China over the past decade. It
blends meditation, Buddhist mysticism and traditional
breathing exercises, known as Qigong (chee-gong). In
the weeks leading up to Beijing's ban on the group
last month, officials decried the upsurge in
superstitious beliefs - such as a belief in ghosts,
witchcraft and supernatural abilities. Authorities
were quoted as saying these superstitions often
disguise themselves as traditional culture.
The Chinese government's decision to ban Falun Gong
has been a hot topic for conversation in Beijing.
State run media repeatedly broadcast attacks against
Falun Gong, while newspapers carry critical reports
about the group on their front pages.
// CCTV sound - fade in, est, fade out //
As a result of the blanket media coverage, many
ordinary Chinese now say they did not know Falun Gong
could be so bad. Not only is the Chinese government
blaming the group for spreading superstition and
disturbing public order, it is also accusing the sect
of causing the deaths of more than 700 people.
Chinese authorities say most of Falun Gong's millions
of followers were duped. The day after Beijing
declared the group illegal, Civil Affairs Vice-
Minister, Li Baoku, announced a plan to re-educate
Falun Gong members -- a group of mostly middle-aged
men and women that includes government officials and
Communist Party members.
// Li and interpreter act //
And we believe that through our efforts to educate,
persuade and guide, most of the practitioners of Falun
Gong will get to know the truth of the matter and they
will draw a clear line between themselves and the
Falun Gong group and they will no longer practice
Falun Gong.
// end act //
Methods of persuasion for followers include compulsory
viewing of government-produced anti-Falun Gong
propaganda videos and signing confessions promising
never to practice Falun Gong again.
Orville Schell, the dean of the University of
California at Berkeley Journalism School, says the
Chinese government is risking turning an apolitical
religious group into a potentially volatile and
extremely destabilizing opposition movement. In an
article for Salon, an internet magazine, Mr. Schell
says there are several reasons Falun Gong poses an
ominous threat to the ruling Communist party.
He says the Communist Revolution destroyed traditional
Confucian values. And the economic reforms spearheaded
by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping have led to an
erosion of Marxist ideology. Therefore, he says,
Chinese are susceptible to any group that seems to
offer basic answers to questions about the meaning of
life.
Mr. Schell adds that Falun Gong has deeply traditional
roots, so it cannot be branded an inappropriate
foreign import. He says the most important aspect,
though, could be psychological. Chinese history is
full of cult uprisings against unjust authority.
Chinese people interpret this to mean that the ruling
dynasty has lost its legitimacy, or mandate from
heaven.
Meantime, the main issue for the government is whether
the group has what Beijing says are ulterior motives.
From his home in New York, Falun Gong founder Li
Hongzhi has repeatedly claimed that his group is not
political. This very issue is one that Falun Gong
members inside China are still grappling with.
One American student in his 20's joined Falun Gong in
the United States and came to China because he wanted
to learn more about it. He says since the ban,
though, opinions within the group have been split as
to which is the best way to proceed. Some feel that
now that the sect has come under open attack,
protesting is a valid option. But the American
student says other members acknowledge that such acts
do have unwanted political overtones. He says these
people would rather continue practicing Falun Gong
privately at home, and wait, hopefully, for - as he
put it - the tide to go back out. (signed)
NEB/HO/GC/PLM
03-Aug-1999 03:02 AM LOC (03-Aug-1999 0702 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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