While the Chinese people continue to express their anger at the
          Falun Gong cult after a suicide attempt - with one actual death - by
          seven cult followers in Tian'anmen Square on January 23, some of the
          Western media have come up with a ridiculous perspective on the
          event.

          On the one hand, they have depicted Falun Gong either as a
          "spiritual movement" or a "quasi-religious group," turning a blind
          eye to the fact that the group has all the features of a cult.
          They have also tried to make people think that China is using the
          tragedy to whip up public hatred towards Falun Gong.
          For example, the headlines of two stories by Reuters, on January 31
          and February 1, read "China mobilizes masses to denounce Falun Gong"
          and "China whips up public outrage against Falun Gong." The January
          31 issue of the Sydney Morning Herald carried an article labelled
          "State vilifies 'evil cult' after self-immolations."

          These stories seem to imply that China's new round of public attack
          on Falun Gong is a mere political showpiece. I believe anyone with
          any common sense will be sympathetic towards the lives ruined by the
          brutal acts displayed in Tian'anmen Square. Five of the seven people
          set fire to themselves, with one of them, a woman, dead, and the
          other four badly burned.

          People will surely be angry about Falun Gong, which is to blame for
          driving these people onto the road of no return.

          Those who have been filmed or who appear in newspaper stories airing
          their anger towards Falun Gong are acting out of their own free
          will.

          The ongoing massive condemnation of the cult once again highlights
          the Chinese people's strong sense of righteousness and drives home
          the message that in Chinese society, evil will never triumph.
          I have a strong revulsion about Falun Gong not only because of its
          absurd teachings but also because the illegal organization has
          seized almost every opportunity to stir up social instability.
          This is proof that the cult is politically motivated.

          The immolation of the five followers in Beijing, the latest crime
          committed by the cult and its ringleader, Li Hongzhi, was carefully
          organized and designed to exert pressure on the Chinese Government
          and wreak social havoc.

          For one thing, the timing and the site of the self-burnings speak
          for themselves. The Chinese have always looked upon the eve of
          Spring Festival as a joyful occasion for family reunions, and
          Tian'anmen Square as a solemn and sacred place because it was there
          that Chairman Mao Zedong declared the founding of the People's
          Republic on October 1, 1949.

          When the news of the suicide attempts broke, many Chinese were still
          immersed in festival happiness. Apart from feeling sad about the
          tragedy, I believe many now have a clearer understanding of the
          cult's anti-society and anti-humanity nature.

          Liu Baorong, one of the cult members who set themselves on fire,
          said that she did it under the influence of Li's "scripture," which
          taught her to "transcend worldly life and death," "go beyond
          forbearance" and "attain absolute completion," according to a Xinhua
          story.

          To such devoted followers, I cannot help asking why Li, the
          self-crowned "god" of the universe, cannot spare a tiny bit of his
          amazing powers to revive the dead woman and relieve the burns of
          those who suffered?

          A perplexed reader of People's Daily wrote to the newspaper asking
          angrily "why doesn't Li just set an example of how to obtain
          salvation by burning himself instead of sacrificing the innocent
          lives of his devoted followers?"

          Yet, the omnipotent "master" who has been preaching "truthfulness,
          benevolence and forbearance" to his followers is now residing in his
          comfortable American home, looking on as those who were burned
          suffer in hospital. All four who were injured are now physically
          disabled.

          It is even more lamentable that these people were coldly rejected by
          their own "master" whom they look upon as the "god." The cult
          "spokesmen" in the United States and Hong Kong, Zhang Er'ping and
          Jian Hongzhang, denied any connection between the tragedy and Falun
          Gong, saying it was a "frame and malicious charge" that the Chinese
          Government forced on the cult.

          It is clear that this suicidal act was just another attempt by the
          cult to revive its dying embers, and Li, its ringleader, does not
          hesitate to work for his own political ends at the expense of the
          lives of innocent followers.

          The questionable stance some Western media have taken when covering
          the news may confuse people around the world when they make a
          judgment about Falun Gong.

          In fact, ever since China banned Falun Gong in July 1999, some of
          the Western media has constantly said that the cult is a peaceful
          meditation group. It seems that their deep-rooted bias towards China
          is making mischief as always, which again blurs their ability to
          distinguish right from wrong.

          By siding with the cult, they pretend not to see the fact that too
          many followers of Falun Gong have been deprived of their right to
          think independently or even to live a normal life. The cult has
          caused the death of more than 1,600 followers who have either
          committed suicide or refused to treat their illnesses.
          To help those who report on the cult, I want to share with them the
          following two e-mails I read in www.amazon.com.
          The first was sent by someone in the Netherlands on January 27,
          2001:

          "... Since Falun Gong is so good, shouldn't members be concentrating
          on getting more followers in N. America since it's headquarters is
          in New York? One can go to Chinatown on weekends to see Falun Gong
          practitioners distributing leaflets focusing on China rather than
          trying to make new converts.

          "Are they saying that the Chinese are the only ones that need to be
          saved or the only ones who can benefit from it? Religion and good
          practices should make no distinction...''

          The second e-mail was also sent by the same person, "SL," on January
          28, 2001:  "...The moment Falun Gong takes off in converting more of other
          races, especially Caucasians, in America or Britain, will Waco be
          revisited?

          "This time around, the Western media have not played up the virtues
          of Falun Gong as was the case for the Dalai Lama, but only
          concentrated on the 'civil liberties/freedom of worship' issue. The
          reason becomes apparent because they had learned from the Dalai Lama
          experience, as explained below.

          "Was it last year or the year before last that the Dalai Lama had a
          big following at his hideout in the south of the US which shocked
          the authorities? The authorities never expected their own people to
          believe in the state's propaganda and lies, much less make a
          'pilgrimage' (I believe the figure was 40,000 people) to the DL
          (Dalai Lama). Before long attacks against the DL were also cleverly
          staged: e.g. Murdoch's open complaints against the DL's globe
          trotting tours and his wearing 'Gucci shoes,' much to the distress
          of DL's followers. He however forgot to mention that the DL had been
          financed by the CIA since the 1960s, then to the tune of US$2
          million a year (LA Times). What are the US dollars now?..."