DATE=11/4/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA / FALUN GONG (L-O)
NUMBER=2-255798
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: China's top official on religious affairs says
government attacks against Falun Gong are justified,
because the outlawed group poses a threat to the government
and ruling Communist Party. V-O-A correspondent Stephanie
Ho reports from Beijing, Chinese authorities compare Falun
Gong to cults around the world and say the crackdown will
not affect legal religious activities.
TEXT: The head of China's Religious Affairs
Administration, Ye Xiaowen, pointed to the Falun Gong
incident earlier this year that made the government sit up
and take notice of the group.
// YE CHINESE AND INTERPRETER ACT //
On 25th April 1999, he masterminded and organized the
unlawful gathering of more than 10-thousand people around
Zhongnanhai, the seat of the central government.
// END ACT //
Falun Gong is a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, meditation and
traditional breathing exercises. It was founded in 1992 by
Li Hongzhi, a former grain clerk in northeastern China, who
now lives in the United States. Mr. Li has prophesied
doomsday scenarios, saying he is the only one who can stop
the world from exploding.
The Religious Affairs Administration's Mr. Ye says there
have been more than 78 illegal Falun Gong demonstrations
since August 1996, prompting the government to finally take
action against it.
// YE CHINESE AND INTERPRETER ACT //
The Chinese government cannot sit back and do nothing about
Falun Gong.
// END ACT //
Mr. Ye repeatedly said Falun Gong's main offense is that Li
Hongzhi tells followers not to take medical treatment for
illnesses - which officials say has led to 14-hundred
deaths.
He says it took China's judicial authorities some time to
expose Falun Gong as a cult and adds that many critics say
the government should have acted sooner. He compares Li
Hongzhi and Falun Gong to Shoko Asahara and the Aum Shinri
Kyo cult in Japan and to David Koresh and the Branch
Davidians in the United States.
// YE CHINESE AND INTERPRETER ACT //
Only when you crack down on what is wrong can you encourage
what is right. Only by cracking down on cults can you
truly protect the freedom of religious belief.
// END ACT //
The official says Chinese people will still be allowed to
practice legal religious activities. He says the
government is confident its tactics of strictly punishing
Falun Gong leaders and re-educating followers will mean the
end of the group.
// YE CHINESE AND INTERPRETER ACT //
Falun Gong will vanish.
// END ACT //
Despite the government's optimism and determination,
equally determined Falun Gong followers say they will not
give it up.
Mr. Qu, a 34-year-old farmer who came to Beijing last week
from far northeastern Heilongjiang province, says he is
totally devoted to Falun Gong.
// QU CHINESE ACT - IN FULL, FADE OUT //
He says even if the government does not change its mind,
faithful Falun Gong followers will never change their
behavior because they just want to be good people.
Mr. Qu was one of the Falun Gong adherents who participated
in a secret and controversial news conference for foreign
reporters last week. Other Falun Gong followers this week
say he has been out of contact and his mobile telephone is
out of service. (SIGNED)
NEB/HO/FC
04-Nov-1999 03:20 AM EDT (04-Nov-1999 0820 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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