A Chinese New Year's Eve suicide attempt by followers of the Falun
          Gong cult has prompted calls from people for harsher measures to
          deal with the cult.

          The incident took place on January 23, when seven members of the
          cult, including a 12-year-old girl, set themselves on fire on
          Tian'anmen Square. One died and four were seriously injured.
          Leaders from five major religions in China have expressed their
          indignation about the crimes committed by the evil cult.
          The Tian'anmen Square incident demonstrates the Falun Gong's
          anti-social and anti-human nature, turning a blind eye to human
          rights and human life, Chinese religious leaders said on Wednesday.
          Michael Fu Tieshan, chairman of the China Catholic Patriotic
          Association, was angered by the appalling incident.
          He said it proves that the Falun Gong is not a religion, but an
          out-and-out evil cult, noting that Li Hongzhi intended to damage
          social stability and the auspicious atmosphere of the Spring
          Festival regardless of the cost of the lives of his followers.
          Fu's viewpoints were echoed by other religious leaders.
          Hoodwinked by the malicious fallacies of Li Hongzhi, founder of the
          Falun Gong cult, five practitioners, including a 12-year-old girl
          and her mother, soaked themselves in gasoline and set themselves on
          fire at around 2:40 pm on the eve of China's Lunar New Year. Another
          two failed to ignite themselves and were stopped by police. The
          mother died on the spot and four others were injured. Police rushed
          to their rescue and immediately sent the injured to the local
          hospital.

          Yanjue, a Buddhist master from the Guangji Temple in Beijing,
          believes the case is yet another lesson for the ignorant Falun Gong
          practitioners.

          Akhund Ma Yunfu, vice-chairman of the Islamic Association of China,
          pointed out that the cult is the same as other evil sects in America
          and Africa, and that cracking down on them is vital to protect human
          rights.

          Priest Shi Zesheng, vice-chairman of the Three-Self Patriotic
          Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches of China, said that
          while organizing the incident, the leaders of the Falun Gong cult
          denied their involvement with it. The incident has again proved that
          the cult is a malign tumour in society, he said, calling on the
          general public to remove it.

          On Wednesday, Chinese scientists described the recent suicide
          incident as an obsessive and shocking action which revealed the
          "anti-humanity, anti-society and anti-science" nature of the cult.
          Lu Yongxiang, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),
          said he was shocked and outraged and said the cult had shown its
          true colours as a cult that confronted the people and the government
          at the expense of the lives and families of its own members, while
          advocating truthfulness, goodness and endurance. He predicted the
          fight against the cult will be a long one. Cults will be eliminated
          only when science is deeply rooted in the mind of the broad masses,
          he said, adding that the CAS, China's leading research organization,
          will continue to try its best to popularize science in the future.
          Nuclear Scientist He Zuoxiu, who began to denounce the Falun Gong
          cult in April 1999, said the terrifying suicide attempt of the seven
          cult members represents the typical blinding action of all world
          cults. He and many other scientists felt sorry for and sympathized
          with the fate of two beautiful girls badly burnt in the event. He
          said the cult has been rapidly politicizing itself and very few
          cults in the world have been so politicized as them.
          "I've received lots of letters and leaflets from the cult, many of
          which viciously attacked top leaders of the Chinese Government,"
          said He. He and some other scientists called for greater efforts to
          educate cult members and toughen measures against the very few
          extremists.

          Teachers at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing have
          convened to condemn the Falun Gong cult, who bewitched the
          conservatory's sophomore Chen Guo to try and kill herself with the
          other six on January 23.

          Chen, 19, specializes in playing the traditional Chinese instrument
          pipa at the conservatory.

          Liu Xiangyan, headmaster of the primary school affiliated to the
          Central Conservatory of Music, recalled Chen Guo started her music
          education at the school when she was 11 years old. The pretty girl
          was from Kaifeng, Central China's Henan Province. After successfully
          competing with thousands of applicants nationwide, she got into the
          prestigious school two years ago, Liu said.

          Jiang Zhichao, one of the heads of the department, said the school
          discovered in 1999 that Chen was a Falun Gong practitioner. At the
          help from the school, Chen promised she would stop joining in the
          cult's activities.

          But her mother, also a member of the cult, affected her again during
          the winter holiday, Jiang said.