overseas media on Falun Gong

The suicide tragedy of five Falun Gong practitioners last Tuesday has proven to be a profound lesson for those who are still obsessed with the cult and have illusions about the ringleader Li Hongzhi, remarked students and teachers of major universities in Beijing.

Students and teachers from the Renmin University of China were shocked on Tuesday as they watched the China Central Television news programmes which featured the suicide event.

Five Falun Gong practitioners, including a 12-year-old girl and a 19-year-old college student, soaked themselves in gasoline and set themselves on fire on the eve of China's lunar New Year in Tian'anmen Square. One of the five died on the spot, and the four others were seriously injured.

Chen Guo, a 19-year-old girl who studied traditional Chinese music in the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, suffered burns to 80 per cent of her body.

"The facts show that Falun Gong deprives human beings of their love of life," said Gao Xiangyang, deputy secretary of the committee of the Communist Youth League at the university.

Li Renfang, a fourth-grade undergraduate at Tsinghua University, said: "I feel great pity for the 19-year-old girl, who is a victim of Falun Gong. Her bright future has been ruined even if she does survive."

The suicide attempt has brought a sad mood to the country, where people had been celebrating the week-long Spring Festival holiday.

Wang Baohua, a Beijing taxi driver, said he felt very angry about the suicide attempts.

"Falun Gong tried to ruin the happy mood of the Spring Festival, the biggest holiday in China," Wang said.

"Why did they choose New Year's Eve, why did they choose Tian'anmen Square? Apparently, it was organized and well planned."

Guo Huanjun, a worker at the Beijing Zhonghai Construction Co, said: "I wonder why Li Hongzhi didn't drink gasoline and set fire to himself in order to reach heaven."

The suicide tragedy also shocked Shanghai residents.

Hu Chengwu from the Jing'ansi neighourhood said several families living in his apartment building sent e-mail messages to overseas relatives to inform them of the odious acts of the cult, according to Shanghai-based Liberation Daily.

The Falun Gong has disavowed any connection to the suicide attempts.

However, the suicides appear to be the sect followers' most radical act. It comes three weeks after Li Hongzhi, who lives in the United States and is revered as "master" by his followers, suggested that more vigorous protests were justified.

Just a few weeks ago, 1,000 Falun Gong followers held a conference in Hong Kong.

"Hong Kong Falun Gong has taken off its mask of 'no participation in politics, no action against the government and no involvement in any political forces' and directed their attacks at the central government," the China News Agency quoted a spokesman from the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong as saying

(China Daily by Wang Ying)