The history of China's Falungong Cult

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Falun Dafa
A dialog on the H-Asia list, 30 October 1998. The origins and character of the Falun Dafa/Falungong movement.
The Falun Gong Sect
A dialog on H-Asia, 10 May 1999. Online resources.
Falun gong
By Iwo Amelung, 12 May 1999. Briefly, on the importance of Internet for the Falungong.
Crackdown shows Communist Party cracks
Asia Times, 24 July 1999. Crackdown was intended as an assertion of state control, but regional analysts say it may well be projecting Communist Party weaknesses more than anything else. The collapse of the ideological basis for communist rule in the rush towards a free-market economy has left a spiritual void, drawing to its ranks the disenchanted, the unemployed and other people.
China's new spiritual uprising
Is the Falun Gong sect a real threat to the regime or simply a phantom menace? By Orville Schell, 27 July 1999. A western perspective, critical of government policy.
Falun Gong
China News Digest, 30 July 30 1999. Court to Handle Case Against Falungong Leaders; Communist Party Starts Purge of Members With Falungong Ties.
Regarding the warrant for Li Hongzhi
By Jian-Zhong Lin, 4 August 1999. Reason for attack on Li Hongzhi is that the Falun Gong Society is unregistered and thus illegal, that Falun Gong groups paralyze public agencies with sit-ins that require permits, and the flood of law suits filed against Li by the families which have lost members who died from practicing Falun Gong.
Buddhist Group Exposed Falungong Sect Last Year
By Mary Kwang, Straits Times, 5 November 1999. Prominent Chinese Christian leaders support for their government's action against Falungong. Also, China's Buddhist Association had exposed Falungong as a sect last year, long before the Chinese government banned it.
Police strike openly at Falungong protester
By Mary Kwang, The Straits Times, 23 July 2000. Earlier police attempted to hide their actions, but now pounce on protesters and drag them openly to waiting buses. Many of the protestors by their dress and accent, appeared to be from outside Beijing. A year ago the government rounded up key cult leaders and outlawed the sect. US-based Li Hongzhi, the sect's founder, communicated via Internet to his followers to have them confront the government.
China sets up anti-Falungong group
The Straits Times, 24 December 2000. The China Anti-Cult Association held its first-ever seminar this weekend, gathering around 100 Chinese politicians, legal experts, scientists and religious leaders in a round table discussion condemning the Falungong.
Falun Gong Suicides Fuel New Round of Media Campaign
China News Digest, 2 February 2001. Chinese state media launched a new campaign against the Falun Gong sect with grim pictures of the five suicides in Tiananmen Square, in order to stir up public disgust. Negative publicity resulting grom the crackdown on the cult and China's 2008 Olymbics bid.
‘Evil Cult’ Raises Political Temperatur
By Ken Kamoche, The Daily Nation, 18 February 2001. In China the role of religion has been somewhat subdued, but in the last couple of years, China woke up to the reality of Falun Gong. Its followers claim it is only qi gong breathing exercises, but the authorities see it rather as an evil cult. It's growth was triggered by an expose of its being pseudo-science, and it became the vehicle of political dissent.
‘Gentle approach may work better’ on Falungong
By Larry Teo, The Straits Times, 26 February 2001. An anti-cult symposium held in Singapore. Falungong blamed for many deaths. The struggle against cults is a global concern. The people of China need to think independently to see the cult lies. The many advocates of moderate handling of the Falungong did not come up with specific recommendations.
How Cult Plotted to Sue Chinese Official: Report
Xinhua, 11 October 2001. A Chinese official visiting the US is summoned to a US court for human rights violations in death of a cultist arrested in China. The headquarters of the cult in the U.S. directed, via the Internet, their followers in China to plot the indictment.
Control Over Tiananmen Square Tightened After Foreigners' Protests
China News Digest, 18 February 2002. Connection between the cult and the political intervention of Westerners. Such foreign staged protests screened in anticipation of US President Bush's visit.
Falun Gong Members Interrupts TV Program With Sect Footage
China News Digest, 8 March 2002. Falunong members hijack television programming in Changchun to run footage of its US-based leader Li Hongzhi, and a film accusing the Chinese government of staging the suicide of its members in Tiananmen last year. The [terrorists, Bush would surely insist] arrested [brief].