Falun Gong is a Dangerous Cult

Do Not Support Falun Gong!

英国学者：法轮功是有政治野心的危险邪教

Many Chinese people oppose the Falun Gong and I shall explain why. In the above picture (taken in May, 2008) an 80 year old Chinese person in New York berates a group of Falun Gong protestors stating that they should be ashamed of themselves, stop attacking their ancestral country, and learn about true Chinese culture! This is because the Falun Gong movement is a dangerous, politically motivated ‘cult’ that recruits gullible Chinese and Western people in its attempt to usurp the legitimate government of the mainland of China. In the Chinese language, Falun Gong is written ‘法轮功’. This translates as:

1) 法 – fa3 = law, method, Dharma.

2) 轮 – lun2 = wheel, evolve, rotate.

3) 功 – gong1 = work, merit, practice.

When used together by this particular movement, Falun Gong means ‘Dharma Wheel Practice’. Another descriptive term might be that of ‘chakra’ – a wheel of spiritual power found in both Hinduism and Buddhism. However, Falun Gong is not Confucian, Daoist, or Buddhist, and it certainly does not practice traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts, or legitimate Daoist self-cultivation techniques. This is because the Falun Gong is the modern invention of one Li Hongzhi (李洪志), a disgruntled former office clerk from mainland China. He never finished his education, and certainly has no higher education degree. He spent time in the People’s Liberation Army, when young, but people who knew him – either in the military or in civilian life, state that they never saw him meet with any martial arts or qigong masters. This contradicts the official Falun Gong biography of their founder – which claims that Li has a distinguished pedigree of eminent Buddhist and Daoist masters. Today, no such masters in China have ever come forward stating that Li Hongzhi was the disciple to whom they transmitted their respective lineages. Despite this glaring gap in Li’s biography, the Falun Gong movement simply counters this fact by stating the mainland is lying. This is a strange accusation to make, as even Westerners who have travelled to China have been recorded as receiving transmission within both Daoist and Buddhist teachings.

From the early 1990’s onward, Li – looking for a way to get rich and gain political power – started travelling around schools, factories, and other establishments, peddling his newly made-up system of pseudo-spirituality and healthcare. Until 1999, he had total freedom of movement, but the allegations of psychological and physical abuse started to build-up. The government acted in 1999 – the government moved to curtail his activities in the mainland. This did not bother Li, as he and his family had emigrated to the USA in 1996 to live a life of unusual luxury, bought with the money they were collecting from Falun Gong followers. At this time, the rhetoric Li was using started to change from a vague and mysterious spirituality (that only he was qualified to understand), to that of politically attacking the Chinese government. He followed this up by forcing his young followers still in China to openly conflict with the authorities (by breaking the law), and then immolating themselves in public. All this happened whilst the US government provided 24hr protection for Li and his family – who continued to call upon Falun Gong followers to attack China at every turn – whilst he lived in opulence thousands of miles away.

Around 2000, I was contacted in London by an academic who was Chinese, and a member of the Falun Gong. We exchanged emails for about six months before I finally discovered the truth about the movement. At that time our (Hakka Chinese) family martial arts school in Sutton had attracted some media interest from mainland China, as it was an example of traditional Chinese martial arts (and qigong) travelling to the West and being preserved there. The Falun Gong practitioner stated to me that the evil mainland government had destroyed all traditional practices – and that ‘Master Li’ was being persecuted for trying to preserve traditional Daoist exercises. He then said that I, my family, and our students should join the Falun Gong, and that we could confirm our commitment by paying 10% of our monthly income directly to them. When I explained our ‘traditional’ Chinese martial and qigong practices – this Falun Gong representative stated that what we were practicing was ‘wrong’ because it was against the will of ‘Master Li’, and that only true qi flows through his words. When I pointed-out that he had previously stated that it was the Chinese government who was attacking tradition, and now he had admitted that it was in fact the policy of the Falun Gong to ridicule and deny the efficacy of the traditional Chinese cultural health practices – he cut-off our communication altogether.

My communication with mainland China, (as well as Chinese people living in, or visiting the UK) are extensive. Indeed, my family is Anglo-Chinese and we practice Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and I am in continuous contact with the modern Daoist master in Beijing named Zhao Ming Wang. I can state that the Falun Gong is an insignificant and highly peripheral movement in China (where it is now banned), and in the world community (where its politicised practice is encouraged by the Western enemies of China). It is a nonsense that everyone should steer away from and not embrace. It is a fraudulent teaching that only leads to pain and suffering. You only have to meet members of it to see their cult-like behaviour, dead-eyes, and hate filled practice. In the last year in Gerrard Street, (the home of London’s Chinatown), the Falun Gong have been allowed to protest every Saturday by setting-up billboards calling for the over-throw of the Chinese government, whilst their operatives either sit and pretend to meditate, or collect signatures for non-existent petitions. They are allowed to do this because the UK Government is opposed to Communist China. This is easy to ascertain, as it is illegal in the UK for any group to call for the over-throw of any other sovereign State, and yet the Falun Gong do this with impunity. I wonder how the British State would react if an Islamic group peacefully gathered in a public space and called for the over-throw of the USA? I suspect in this latter case there would be imprisonments without trial. Chinese people outside of China, and Westerners should not support the Falun Gong, simply because it is anti-Communist. It is a very dangerous cult built upon the ego of a very poorly educated individual. I suggest that lives are saved by exposing the lies of the Falun Gong.