Ten years outside the law: How China still fears Falun Gong

Evil cult or spiritual sect? The Falun Gong is the most persecuted group in China, even though 10 years have passed since thousands of its activists stunned the leadership by quietly surrounding its headquarters in the heart of Beijing for a day and then melting away.

The demonstration was unprecedented. Seemingly out of nowhere 10,000 people appeared who stood silently for hours before walking away into the night, leaving barely a scrap of rubbish behind them. They read and they meditated. Their aim was to demand justice for fellow believers detained or harassed by police.

The size, discipline and organisation they demonstrated struck fear into the hearts of a leadership extremely wary of groups that could threaten its authority.

Two months later the government labelled the Falun Gong an “evil cult” and banned it, arresting its leaders and launching a campaign to forcibly reconvert its tens of millions of practitioners and obliterate it from the face of China.

Yuan Dynasty (Mongol Empire) was overthrown by elements of White Lotus Cult and Ming Jiao(Machichaenism,) ushering in Ming Dynasty. White Lotus Cult again came into prominence in late 18th century to early 19th century, waging a long rebellion(White Lotus Rebellion) againt Qing Court, eventually defeated(16 million people killed,) but not before draining imperial treasury and setting Qing Dynasty into permanent downward spiral.

In mid-19th century, Taiping Rebellion, a revolt by a home-grown sect modeled after Christianity, cost 20~30 million people before it was crushed.

At the end of 19th Century, Boxers, a strain of White Lotus Cult(some dispute this, but this is also a quasi-religious sect,) mounted their own rebellion principally against the West.

During the early 20th Century, Mao's communists managed to appropriate Messianic element of the above tradition religious movements, and succeeded in taking power, and has held onto power until today.

Then Falun Gong came along about a decade ago, and grew rapidly outside communists' control. This scared Chicom to death. They know fully well that many dynasties are destroyed by the rebellion by this kind of religious sect outside government's control. It usually attracts people disaffected by ruling power.

The ensuing ruthless suppression of Falun Gond has driven it underground but it is not dead. This kind of thing can easily grow back if the ruling power weakens. That is why Chicom fears them even now.

It is quite likely that, if Chinese communist regime falls, some religious sect would provide a pivotal role. It will move average Chinese. Democracy movement can tag along with it, but it may not become the nucleus.

Man will ultimately worship someone (Kim Jong 2, etc.) and or something - pleasure, possessions, power/prestige. Communism lives for the latter, and thus is insecure, seeing anythng that threatens singular allegiance to the State as a threat to be crushed.

China sees born again Christians as the largest “threat,” and threat it is, but not to good, but to evil, and so China cruelly oppresses it (as do Buddhists, etc.), though its weapons are not carnal but spiritual. Nor is any country that operates out of true Christian ethos a threat to peace and the souls and lives of men, though those who exalt themselves above the Bible are.

Perhaps, but i think that unlikely anytime soon. But as China is an increasing power, what ethos it operates out of is of increasing concern. But it may be that now that the conditions are more conducive to the spiritual condition of Christian than here.

BTW, a correction to last sentence of my post should read, Nor is any country that operates out of true Christian ethos an unjust threat to peace and the souls and lives of men,...

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