overseas media on Falun Gong

"I want to shout at Li Hongzhi that he is a shark and should stop tricking and deceiving people now," said Wang Jindong, a former Falun Gong follower.

Wang played a leading role in the suicidal burnings carried out by a group of Falun Gong followers in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square on January 23, 2001. The incident left two dead and three badly burnt. On May 17, 2001, Wang was sentenced to 15 years in jail for premeditated murder.

In a Xinhua interview, Wang recalled that after he became a Falun Gong follower in 1996, he was obsessed with the cult and caused harm to his family and others.

According to Wang, the government and medical staff tried hard to heal his burns even though he had remained a stubborn cult believer until the end of last year.

He said the prison staff had been considerate and caring and tried hard to help him, providing him with nutritious food and fruit juicy, although he refused medical treatment at the time.

Wang's wife He Haihua and daughter Wang Juan, who are also former Falun Gong followers and stayed sometime in the change- through-work institution, also helped persuade him to come to himself.

Gradually Wang became aware of his guilt and repented the suicidal burning in Tian'anmen Square. In his diary, Wang began to write about the regret he felt about what he did and his resentment against Li Hongzhi, the cult leader.

"Why did I once pursue so strenuously things that resulted in suicide and murder?" he questioned in his diary, "If this is the ' Nirvana' that Falun Gong followers are looking for, then I would rather stop doing so."

On December 26, last year, Wang declared his decision to break from the cult in writing. Later, he further condemned the cult leader in articles and speeches.

Wang told Xinhua that he is writing a book entitled "The Cult of Falun Gong", to expose Li Hongzhi's true nature.

Wang Juan, his daughter, made a speech exposing the crimes of Falun Gong at the UN human rights conference in Geneva on April 9 this year.