The Ban on Falun Gong and the After-Shocks

René V.L. Wadlow

(Published in Transnational Perspectives, a journal of world politics and social issues.  This article is part of the author's 4 August 1999 presentation to the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights. René V. L. Wadlow is a permanent representative of United Nations, editor of Transnational Perspectives, and formerly Professor and Director of Research of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies of the University of Geneva.)

The banning of the spiritual movement Falun Gong on 22 July 1999 by the Government of China merits close attention by all interested in the currents of change in China. Unlike the Tibetan schools of Buddhism which are practiced largely by Tibetans and are thus inevitably associated with drives for Tibetan autonomy or independence, the Falun Gong is practiced primarily by majority Han Chinese and is not particularly associated with a geographic section of the country.

The arrests of practitioners right after the 22 July ban, the widespread destruction of books and audio-visual material, the pressure put on governments such as those in Thailand and Japan where there are Falun Gong practitioners indicate high degree of government planning before the ban. As with past campaigns against dissident thought. Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957); Great Leap Forward (1958-1960); Cultural Revolution (1966-1976); Campaign to Eliminate Spiritual Pollution (1983-1984); there are now public confessions of errors by Party members who practiced Falun Gong and re-education sessions for government civil servants. Pressure is being put on people to stop Falun Gong practice through threats to work, education, pensions, housing etc.

It was in April when over 10,000 practitioners of Falun Gong gathered to request registration of the movement outside the compound at Zhongnanhai in Beijing, where many government leaders live, that Falun Gong drew wide attention to itself. It would seem that such a large assembly of people without advance police knowledge provoked government concern. Some in the government and party saw Falun Gong as danger to the ideological monopoly which they wish to conserve.

Thus, by the middle of June 1999, the police and security forces had developed plans for widespread arrests and repression. By 22 July, all was in place, there was a government decree banning the movement. Widespread arrests of leaders in many different provinces indicated the well-laid plans for repression.

There is a danger that repression will become more widespread and arbitrary. There is danger that Public Security Department forces will strike out arbitrarily at people doing meditation exercises or holding spiritual beliefs concerning reincarnation, spirits, cycles of human evolution etc. The more a belief system is diffused, the closer it is to traditional folk beliefs often called superstitions by government ideologues, the more arbitrary the repression can be. There are already many reports of police brutality in breaking up meeting s of practitioners, usually meeting in public parks.

Thus I raised, as an NGO representative, the banning of Falun Gong and the subsequent arrests of practitioners in the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities on 4 August, the first possible occasion for a full presentation to a UN human rights body after the 22 July ban. Such a public presentation helps set in motion the UN mechanisms for defense of human rights such as the Special Rapporteur on religious liberty and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. I called upon the Sub-Commission to help the Government of the People’s Republic of China to advance freedom of belief and respect for the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. I said, "It is our duty help the Peoples Republic of China to avoid another ideological campaign which not only violates international norms on freedom of the belief but is also socially damaging.

"China faces very real problems of unemployment due to economic restructuring; real problems due to rural to urban population movements, real problems due to population pressure upon the resources of food, water, housing etc. There are also real problems in the ideological philosophical sphere as Marxist explanations of society and history are inadequate, but there is no other dominant ideology or philosophy taking its place.

"We can sympathize with Chinese intellectuals and administrators trying to meet all these problems at the same time. But we must say clearly that repression of spiritual movements will not provide solutions for these problems. Freedom of belief and exchange of ideas are essential to human progress.

"Thus we in human rights community have a duty to uphold the norms set out in the universally-recognized Declarations and Covenants. We also have a duty to help the governments and people of States to find proper solutions when, through fear and bad advice, they take short-sighted measures which are harmful and destructive of social harmony. The banning and repression of Falun Gong/Falun Dafa is such a short-sighted and destructive measure. We are sure that the Sub-Commission will take strong and appropriate action to help the Peoples Republic of China to advance freedom of belief by lifting the ban on Falun Gong/Falun Dafa.

In reply to my statement, also on 4 August, the Chinese Ambassador Qiao Zonghuai said to the Sub-Commission "The Chinese government has always attached importance to protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and adopted forceful measures to improve the enjoyment of civil, political, economic social and cultural rights by the people. The Chinese government, according to law, protects the citizen’s or any organization to spread fallacies, hoodwink and hurt people, incite and create disturbances and jeopardize social stability.

"The activities of Falun Gong organizations and its head Li Hongzhi, which was banned by Chinese government not long ago, have caused harms to society in many respects similar to those of the Davidian Cult in United States, the Aum Doomsday Cult in Japan and the People’s Temple in some other countries. The decision by the relevant departments of China for the interests of the mass Chinese people is based on ample facts and in strict accordance with Chinese law. It has obtained support from all quarters in the society and been welcomed by the Chinese people. It is in full conformity with the provisions of international instruments on human rights and also a common practice by any responsible states, governments in the world."

Ambassador Qiao’s effort to relate the Falun Gong to two Western Christian movements, the Branch Davidians and the People’s Temple are unconvincing as both these movements reflected in an extreme way, currents of USA religious life. Similarities and differences with Aum would have been closer to reality, as China and Japan share certain cultural elements, if Ambassador Qiao were really interested in the sociology of religious movements.

The sociological reality- and what worries some in the leadership of the government and party is that Falun Gong is very Chinese movement reflecting both traditional Chinese practices and meeting needs of Chinese people.

Falun Gong has its roots in the rich history and practice of Taoism in China. Taoism has been part of the all-pervading culture of the Chinese people, manifested in many folk practices but also in painting, poetry and philosophy. Taoists often do not consider Taoism as a religion but rather as a method to return to the original way (Tao). Rigid organization can be a hindrance. "The doors and windows built into a house fulfill their function by being void." is an aphorism attributed to the Taoist sage, Lao-tzu. Thus Taoism in China has never had an over-all religious organizational structure, though at times in the past, there were some large monasteries and societies based on Taoist thought. Taoism is a way of seeking harmony with nature, practiced in everyday life, a preference for being inconspicuous, undemanding and uncombative. Taoists have a breath of vision to submit gracefully to adverse circumstances when submit they must.

In China, there has never been a rigid wall of separation between Taoist and Buddhist ideas and practices. Thus the emphasis on Compassion (Shan) in the Falun Gong draws upon this central virtue of Buddhism. Likewise there is a Buddhist emphasis on attitudes to avoid, those which may interfere with wholesome morality and are thus a hindrance to higher states of consciousness such as greed, malevolence and anger.

Falun Gong created in 1992, made Taoist techniques of meditation, exercises an yoga available to large number of people through lectures, workshops, publications and audio video cassettes. It was, however, largely by word of mouth and example that the movement developed. These techniques met widespread needs, and thus the movement spread quickly to all parts of China and englobed people from all walks of life.

When it was first introduced to the public in 1992, Falun Gong was registered with the Qigong Research Association of China. Qigong, also drawing upon Taoist techniques of exercise and breathing, is popular in China although the exercises are now often done for reasons of good health and are separated from their moral foundations. As the Falun Gong goal is to guide people to higher dimensions of consciousness, and knowing that power gained form the exercises can be dangerous if not done in a firm framework of spiritual and moral values, the founder Li Hongzhi withdrew Falun Gong from the Qigong Research Association of China. It would seem that the Chinese government, worried about the growing popularity of the movement then refused to allow it to be registered under any other category. This means that the Falun Gong had no legal protection and no legal status in Chinese society, - situation that practitioners peacefully and patiently tried to rectify so that they could follow the spiritual system of their choice safely and without interference.

The government of the Peoples Republic of China seems to have felt that the practice of Falun Gong leading to harmony, joy and vitality were particularly needed in the USA and so facilitated the departure in 1995 of the founder Li Hongzhi to the USA where the now lives and teaches. However, the Falun Gong is based on the practice of each individual, and the movement continued to grow despite the departure of Li Hongzhi.

The July 1999 arrests of practitioners and the constant attacks against Falun Gong in the press and on television are reflections of the Chinese leaders keen sense of history. Spiritual movements and sects organized into secret societies have played an important part in the upheavals that racked imperial China. The Boxer rebellion marked the shift from the 19^th to the 20^th century. Now, when the year 2000 marks the major shift from the Piscean Period to the Age to Aquarius, the Chinese leaders see the Falun Gong as a Chinese current of this worldwide movement. The Chinese government leaders understand the signs of the advent of the Age of Aquarius but are too linked to the old structures built upon Marxist class struggle to welcome this change.

Falun Gong practitioners have always kept their protests non-violent- the most common form being the practice of meditation in the Yoga lotus position in front of government offices or the media which attacked them. Non-violence is one of the chief principles of Taoism, but the Chinese martial arts (even if defensive in intent) grew out of Taoist techniques. Thus there is always a possibility of violence. We must work so that cooler heads in China may win out and this campaign against spiritual movements be called off.