overseas media on Falun Gong

The People's Daily, China's leading newspaper, is scheduled to carry a byline article Monday exposing the evil nature of Falun Gong and the swindle by cult leader Li Hongzhi.

The article says that holding the banner of "truth, benevolence, and forbearance", Falun Gong uses deceitful tricks and bumbling exercises as a disguise for its brainwashing mental control of its practitioners.

Since the ringleader concocted the so-called Falun Gong doctrine in 1992, there have been acts as brutal as its practitioners' self-burning in Tian'anmen Square on January 23 on the eve of the Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year. The tragedy has fatally exposed the true nature of Falun Gong, the article says.

It further cites Li's confidence tricks in which self- nominated with the title "master", Li Hongzhi tried to deify himself by falsifying his birthday to share the same date of birth with Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. He even used Buddhism terms to polish his own doctrines.

The rest of his fake stories were even more ridiculous. For example, Li boasted of his magical power of being able to turn a snake into a human figure and his doctrine containing all science categories as diverse as astronomy, geography, history, chemistry, physics, astrophysics and philosophy.

Under his command, some 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered around the Zhongnanhai Compound, office site of China's top leaders, to protest against the media's exposure of Falun Gong 's pseudoscientific nature in April 1999.

After the Central Government banned the cult in July of 1999, Li Hongzhi, who had fled and submitted to his western anti-China masters, came to a more open stage in directing his followers to undermine the Chinese Government, the article says.

The article says that some diehard followers conveyed their exiled master's idea by saying that the "mo gen" (the Devil's root) is located at the ancient city gate tower of Tian'anmen Square. They tricked devout practitioners by saying that if they want to achieve an upper level of enlightenment to go into another world, they have to go to Tian'anmen and ask for rights.

After receiving the message, a crazy Falun Gong follower armed with explosives went to the square, and was ready to ignite himself on April 5, 2000. His deadly attempt was foiled by patrolling police.

While fanning anti-China flames abroad, Li sent another letter to push his followers back into malignant protest endeavors. In the letter "Beyond Endurance", Li dropped all disguise of benevolence, which fills pages of his doctrine. He urged his followers to abandon their hesitation, and make sacrifices for their belief in Falun Gong.

Influenced by their mothers, 19-year-old Chen Guo and 12-year- old Liu Siying followed their evil master's order, and set their own bodies ablaze in Tian'anmen Square.

The person behind the tragedy is exactly the same person who advocated "truth, benevolence, and forbearance", the article says.

The article finally cautions readers that the fight against the cult will be complicated, keen-edged and long. The Chinese Government will fight the war to the end in a bid to safeguard the reform and opening-up, the socialist modernization drive and the hard-won social stability.

(Xinhua)