DATE=1/31/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHINA-EXERCISE GROUP (L-O)
NUMBER=2-258610
BYLINE=STEPHANIE HO
DATELINE=BEIJING
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The Chinese government is cracking down on
another meditation sect - calling it evil. And as V-O-
A's Stephanie Ho in Beijing reports the government
continues its supression of against the Falun Gong
spiritual movement.
TEXT: The newest group to come under fire from the
Chinese government is Zhong Gong - an offshoot of
qigong. The traditional health practice uses
breathing exercises and meditation to channel unseen
forces into the body, which is said to promote health
and bring followers supernatural powers.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center of Human Rights
and Democratic Movement in China says authorities have
already shut down more than 100 Zhong Gong study
centers around the country since November.
The Information Center's Frank Lu says Beijing,
initially supported groups like Zhong Gong - which was
founded in 1988 and espoused traditional Chinese
culture.
/// LU CHINESE ACT - IN FULL, FADE OUT ///
Mr. Lu says Zhong Gong is now alarming to the
Communist Party because of its size, its organization
and because it has a great deal of money. He says
Zhong Gong has about 10-million followers in more than
20 provinces. Reports say authorities have already
confiscated more than six million dollars worth of
assets.
One official at China's State Council said she had not
even heard of Zhong Gong. Another official took
questions on the issue, but had no immediate response.
The Associated Press quotes a Chinese government
official as confirming that Zhong Gong has been
branded an evil cult. The official also confirmed
that a crackdown against the group has been ordered,
but not publicized.
Another well-known qigong group, Falun Gong, shot to
notoriety when more than 10-thousand followers
surrounded the Zhongnanhai Central leadership compound
in Beijing last April. The Chinese government saw
Falun Gong as a threat to Communist Party authority
and banned the group in July. Since then, it has
ordered police checks on other popular qigong sects
and their often charismatic leaders.
Last month, a court in central Zhejiang province
sentenced a leading Zhong Gong member to two years in
jail for illegally practicing medicine. This was the
first indication the crackdown had expanded.
The Information Center's Frank Lu says he thinks the
campaign will continue, and that it will not be long
before several other qigong groups find themselves on
the wrong side of the law. (signed)
NEB/HO/FC/JO
31-Jan-2000 05:50 AM EDT (31-Jan-2000 1050 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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