Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 191
In regards to this issue, a recent report published by a department within the Communist
Party‘s Central Committee gives a surprisingly frank description of the present social unrest
in China and its potential for increase,46 as well as a suggested list of countermeasures.
What was not mentioned on the list, and should be added, is vigilance on the part of the
government to prevent incidences of abuse or torture of detainees as they move within
China‘s legal system, and prevention of government policy being used implicitly or explicitly
by local officials as excuses for mistreatment of those detained.
Falun Gong – Self-Definition and Beyond
The FLG defines itself as a movement whose teachings promote good health and moral
living. The teachings are found in the books and FLG website statements of its teacher and
founder, Li Hongzhi. It is a non-political, non-violent movement that is fighting for its right
to practice FLG within China and to have the ban lifted. Because of the ban, the movement‘s
struggle has been identified with the issue of human rights in China: the right to freedom of
belief, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and, more specifically, freedom of religion.
The FLG story is one of a group of people suffering as it tenaciously fights for its rights. It is
the story of a pacifistic movement fighting a despotic regime. This is the public self-
definition presented by the FLG.
Yet this story is also the story of FLG practitioners trying to reach Consummation, of
defending the Fa and eliminating all evil from the universe. To date, there has been very
little discussion or analysis of Li‘s teachings and I will do so in the next section.
The Evolution of FLG Teachings Since the Ban
Communication and Information. After the ban was placed on the FLG in July 1999, Li
Hongzhi went into seclusion for nine months, when he neither appeared in public, gave
interviews, nor spoke to his followers. In May 2000 he broke his silence and made a
statement on the FLG website Minghui (also known as Clearwisdom), a website which
became the official website of FLG and an important tool in the struggle.47 On the one hand,
Li teaches his followers that they must read only his books regarding their inner life, that is,
religion, spirituality, qigong, cultivation, and so on. And on the other hand, in terms of what
is happening in the outer world, they are told to get their information only from the FLG
website. The site was sanctioned by Li as his means of communicating with his followers,
and it was designated as the only source of information that the practitioners could trust or
believe. Everything placed on the website is pre-approved. Because of this, the website has
come to play an important role in communicating ‗correct understanding‘ as well as
providing additional teaching literature in the form of articles written by FLG members.
When a news article is posted to the website it is edited to exclude opinions contrary to the
FLG view, statements by or reference to the Chinese government‘s position and any use of
the word ‗cult‘ or ‗sect‘. Followers are thereby limited in their information to a single source
with a constantly reinforced viewpoint. Practitioners are warned not to read the ‗bad things‘
that the ‗evil people‘ say about the FLG (therefore they are edited out of anything placed on
the FLG website), and they are not supposed to repeat anything they hear from other
sources, for to do so would only strengthen the evil.48 This limited information and strong
dualistic thinking may make it difficult for practitioners to either accept that others may not
agree with them, or to give validity to the alternative view of others.
The FLG management has expressed a similar tendency towards information in dealing with
the Western press. In an April 2001 posting, a practitioner described a FLG press conference
where the Western press was allowed in but the Chinese press forbidden. He described this
act as suffocating the evil and helping to create ‗some positive media‘. He then goes on:
‗We missed a chance to change the hearts of the Western media with our compassion. We
could have told them that China‘s media would interfere with them getting their questions
In regards to this issue, a recent report published by a department within the Communist
Party‘s Central Committee gives a surprisingly frank description of the present social unrest
in China and its potential for increase,46 as well as a suggested list of countermeasures.
What was not mentioned on the list, and should be added, is vigilance on the part of the
government to prevent incidences of abuse or torture of detainees as they move within
China‘s legal system, and prevention of government policy being used implicitly or explicitly
by local officials as excuses for mistreatment of those detained.
Falun Gong – Self-Definition and Beyond
The FLG defines itself as a movement whose teachings promote good health and moral
living. The teachings are found in the books and FLG website statements of its teacher and
founder, Li Hongzhi. It is a non-political, non-violent movement that is fighting for its right
to practice FLG within China and to have the ban lifted. Because of the ban, the movement‘s
struggle has been identified with the issue of human rights in China: the right to freedom of
belief, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and, more specifically, freedom of religion.
The FLG story is one of a group of people suffering as it tenaciously fights for its rights. It is
the story of a pacifistic movement fighting a despotic regime. This is the public self-
definition presented by the FLG.
Yet this story is also the story of FLG practitioners trying to reach Consummation, of
defending the Fa and eliminating all evil from the universe. To date, there has been very
little discussion or analysis of Li‘s teachings and I will do so in the next section.
The Evolution of FLG Teachings Since the Ban
Communication and Information. After the ban was placed on the FLG in July 1999, Li
Hongzhi went into seclusion for nine months, when he neither appeared in public, gave
interviews, nor spoke to his followers. In May 2000 he broke his silence and made a
statement on the FLG website Minghui (also known as Clearwisdom), a website which
became the official website of FLG and an important tool in the struggle.47 On the one hand,
Li teaches his followers that they must read only his books regarding their inner life, that is,
religion, spirituality, qigong, cultivation, and so on. And on the other hand, in terms of what
is happening in the outer world, they are told to get their information only from the FLG
website. The site was sanctioned by Li as his means of communicating with his followers,
and it was designated as the only source of information that the practitioners could trust or
believe. Everything placed on the website is pre-approved. Because of this, the website has
come to play an important role in communicating ‗correct understanding‘ as well as
providing additional teaching literature in the form of articles written by FLG members.
When a news article is posted to the website it is edited to exclude opinions contrary to the
FLG view, statements by or reference to the Chinese government‘s position and any use of
the word ‗cult‘ or ‗sect‘. Followers are thereby limited in their information to a single source
with a constantly reinforced viewpoint. Practitioners are warned not to read the ‗bad things‘
that the ‗evil people‘ say about the FLG (therefore they are edited out of anything placed on
the FLG website), and they are not supposed to repeat anything they hear from other
sources, for to do so would only strengthen the evil.48 This limited information and strong
dualistic thinking may make it difficult for practitioners to either accept that others may not
agree with them, or to give validity to the alternative view of others.
The FLG management has expressed a similar tendency towards information in dealing with
the Western press. In an April 2001 posting, a practitioner described a FLG press conference
where the Western press was allowed in but the Chinese press forbidden. He described this
act as suffocating the evil and helping to create ‗some positive media‘. He then goes on:
‗We missed a chance to change the hearts of the Western media with our compassion. We
could have told them that China‘s media would interfere with them getting their questions
