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[[honour-suicides-in-chinese-history]]
====== Honour suicides in Chinese history (中国历史上的荣誉自杀, Qu Yuan, 屈原, Wu Zixu, 伍子胥)
As https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Suicide_in_China&oldid=992138770#History[mentioned on Wikipedia], China has a long history of suicide for altruistic/moral/honour reasons in Confucian tradition, some of which are still celebrated to this day.
The <<analects>> paragraph <<analects-translation-by-robert-eno-2015,15.9>> says:
____
The Master said, The gentleman who is resolute and ren does not seek to live on at the expense of ren, and there are times when he will sacrifice his life to complete ren.
____
<<mencius-book>> paragraph <<mencius-translation-by-robert-eno-2016,paragraph 6A.10>> says:
I love to eat fish; I also love to eat bear paws. If I can't have both, I will forego the fish and eat the bear paws. I love life; I also love right. If I can't have both, I will forego life and choose to do right. Life is truly something I love, it is just that there is something else I love more, and so I can't hold on to life by devious means. And death is truly something I hate, it is just that there is something I hate more than death, and so there are dangers I will not avoid.
If a man loves nothing more than life, then won't he use whatever means are required to hold onto it? If a man hates nothing more than death, then won't he use whatever means are required to avoid danger? Yet there are things men won't do in order to avoid danger and live, and from this we know that there are things men love more than life and hate more than death. It is not just worthy men who have such feelings, all men have them; worthies are simply those who do not lose them.
Notable historical figures who committed suicides are are still celebrated to this day include:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qu_Yuan[Qu Yuan] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/屈原[屈原], 340-278 BC), is celebrated in the <<dragon-boat-festival>>, the third most important festival in modern China.
He committed suicide by drowning himself in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miluo_River[Miluo River], modern Hubei Province, while holding a rock, after his country's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chu_(state)[Chu] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/楚国[楚国])) capital was taken by the Qin enemies during the <<warring-states-period>>.
He is a symbol of patriotism respected to this day.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zixu[Wu Zixu] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/伍子胥[伍子胥], ???-484 BC)
These sound exactly like examples that <<xi-dada>> would want his army to keep in mind: ultimate sacrifice for the motherland.
=== People from movement X are only in it for political power (X运动的人只是为了政治权力)
For every desire of the masses, there will be amoral representatives that will step to use that power.
Still, those representatives cannot gain power if there is no backing desire from society.
The only advantage of <<richer,democracy>>, is that those representatives have to pretend harder to do things for that group to retain their power.
Falun Gong believers obviously have the right to do politics, just like any other person, and Ciro greatly encourages this.
But Ciro does not like that Falun Gong tends to not call itself a political force, when it clearly is. But full disclosure is not a legal obligation, and many many media outlets don't really disclose their obvious political connections. See also: <<flg-transparent>>.
Falun Gong directly contacts Government officials, http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/a25124-European-Falun-Gong-Practitioners-held-an-Anti-torture-Exhibition-during-the-European-Union-Meeting-in-France.html#.XyHSa2OYWV4[demonstrates in front of government buildings] and <<flg-trump,supports Trump>>, how can that not be politics?!?! Just call it for what it is, and no one will be able to criticize you for it!
<<li-hongzhi>> directly says that FLG should not be involved in politics in <<flg-canon>>, e.g. https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/jjyz52.htm[]:
____
Never get involved in politics, nor interfere with state affairs'.
____
But at the same, he also greatly encourages <<falun-gong-media>>, which obviously a political influence method. As usual, everything in Falun Gong is explained in an indirect roundabout way.
Other related canon mentions https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2003/3/21/33575.html "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference":
____
Question: When elections were held in our district, there were people who went to help a few congressional candidates that supported Dafa. But some people thought we shouldn't get ourselves involved in politics, and that we shouldn't rely on ordinary people to do things for Dafa. Is that understanding correct?
Teacher: It's correct in principle, but for this specific matter you should look at it this way. If you say Dafa disciples can't get involved in ordinary society's politics, I wouldn't say that's 100% correct. What I told you was that Dafa doesn't get involved in politics. And a lot of our Dafa disciples work in politics, that's their job. So if there's a government election, should you take part in it? If you take part in it and cast your vote, well then you've gotten involved in politics. A Dafa disciple cultivating in the ordinary society means that you try your best to cultivate while conforming to the ordinary society, and then there won't be a problem. You, too, are a member of the ordinary society. And the existence of the ordinary society is necessary for Dafa, for the cosmos, and for sentient beings. We can only help maintain it and can't disrupt it. When you're supposed to vote, just go vote, that's not a problem. If you say that a certain Congressman is your personal friend, and you'd like to help him do something, then of course there might be things that involve elections and you'd be doing volunteer work—that doesn't matter. But our Dafa as a whole doesn't get involved in politics, and we can't do anything political in the name of Dafa. For Dafa disciples, validating the Fa should be the priority, though.
The last time there was an election in Taiwan, I had a veteran practitioner call the person in charge of the Taiwan Dafa Association and make it clear to the public that Dafa Associations take no stance on elections. If an individual practitioner wants to support someone, that's his personal business and it doesn't represent Dafa. There were Dafa disciples supporting both of the parties. The Falun Dafa Association has no political opinion regarding any party's election, and it doesn't get involved. As individual practitioners you can support whoever you'd like. That's how it works.
____
The last paragraph is really great, as it indicates how Li's communication works. His top tenants are known, and their word is as good as the master's.
https://en.falundafa.org/eng/lectures/20040412L.html[] also has some good quotes:
Question: During Taiwan's presidential election, some students' human attachments got stirred up. Was it a test arranged by the old forces? What's the right way for us to handle this?
Teacher: Even if the sky were to fall, a cultivator's righteous thoughts would stay unshaken--that is cultivation, and that is remarkable. (Applause) A cultivator is not attached to anything in this world. Dafa disciples' cultivation takes a different form today. In cultivation you do your best out in the world to conform to ordinary society, you have normal jobs in ordinary society, and you have your families, jobs, and all that--you are closely tied to society. With the Taiwan election, some students thought a certain person was pretty good and so they wanted to vote for him, while others thought a different person was pretty good and wanted to vote for that one. People have their own, different views, and there's nothing wrong with that. A person's own actions out in society don't represent Dafa. But you can't be attached to those things the way ordinary people are.
Whoever you vote for, I can't, as your Master, say that you're wrong, nor do I get involved in those things. That's because the path I ask you to take has you cultivate in ordinary society. Cultivators can only benefit a society. You cultivate in ordinary society but you don't steer human society in one direction or another.
So for each student, it's fine for you to vote as an individual for whomever you want. It's just that you can't be too attached. But through the persecution against Dafa disciples in Mainland China, Dafa disciples have seen through something, and so some are thinking, "Whoever is close to the evil that's persecuting us, I won't vote for him." (Applause) And as your Master I have no objection to that either. (Audience laughs, applauds) Those are the students' own thoughts, and as your Master I haven't told you who to vote for. Still less will I tell you to take any group action, and that's not allowed. (Audience laughs)
.https://youtu.be/ArfGyo6HQ_E?t=1175 Ciro really liked what https://www.holycross.edu/academics/programs/religious-studies/faculty/mathew-schmalz[Doctor Matthew N. Schmalz] said on this VICE documentary about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyung_Jin_Moon[Hyung Jin Moon]'s and his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_movement[Unification movement] ("the Moonies" split-off religion. "I think that any new religion needs a constituency. And especially for a group that is new, that is relatively small, making connections with other groups that might have similar commitments is something that can be quite productive if you are a leader of a new religion". As long as everyone plays the democracy game through democracy rules, peace tends to be maintained, and it is easier for multiple different beliefs to coexist. Falun Gong has obviously gone in this political direction, and that is a positive sign about the religion.
video::ArfGyo6HQ_E[youtube,height=400,width=600,t=1175]
[[flg-trump]]
==== Falun Gong supports Donald (Trump, 法轮功支持特朗普)
<<ciro-santilli>> believes without non-circumstantial evidence that the huge majority of Falun Gong believers strongly supports Trump.
Ciro feels that Falun Gong's support of Trump is a fundamental religious issue to the group.
Falun Gong seems to believe that Trump is perfect and that everything that he says is true and good. He is essentially a supernatural force of good, as well shown at: <<you-are-not-alone-by-tony-chen-music>>. And his opponents, e.g. Biden and the Left, are the opposite.
Like everything else concrete, it is not clear if <<li-hongzhi>> has directly supported this or not.
Ciro feels without proof however that it is extremely likely that he has given very clear private directives to his top tenants to support Trump, notably to the heads of the key <<falun-gong-media>> organizations.
And then this belief gets pumped endlessly through the Falun Gong media, which completely unilaterally praises and supports Trump and criticizes his opponents, so that all believers understand that this is Li Hongzhi's desire.
Edit: around 2021-05-15, this got published on <<minghui>>: https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2021/5/18/大纪元新唐人媒体法会讲法-425888.html[]. It is not on <<flg-canon,falundafa.org>> yet, but is extremely likely to be uploaded later and can already be consiered canon. The title is "Fa Teachings at the <<epoch-times>>/<<ntdtv>> media meeting", and it contains the first, unumbiguous support of Trump done in Canon. Although such support took a long time to come out publicly in canon, <<flg-transparent,which ciro-santilli condems>>, it was a huge positive step forward towards transparency, as it makes Falun Gong's pre-exising but unannounced religious support for Donald trump publicly official. The key quote on Google Translate is:
____
Everyone knows that the former president of the United States could not be re-elected, and he was taken down by improper means. I only talk about this phenomenon. Isn't it a manifestation of the current state of society? Everyone knows that the former president wants to talk about traditions and restore traditions. What he has to do is to change the moral quality of people and society in a better direction, and to restore society to a better social state. Is he going against the current heavenly principle? Because God's law is not working. Is he against the trend of this society? He is going against the current, and he wants to suffocate the current. If it's a country, maybe he can do it; what about the entire human society, it's too difficult. So, if the entire universe is like this, can it be intercepted? Unstoppable. So, those gods who took him down and those bad gods in the old universe were as timid as they had stolen things in their hearts. They knew what he was doing was good. Do not you know? all know. Although those gods are corrupt, at least he still understands these things
____
which therefore clearly says Trump is a manifestation of supernatural forces of good, and also clearly says that the 2020 American election was in fact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempts_to_overturn_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election[stolen by the Democrats as per Donald Trump's accusations].
It could have been even more direct, but <<ciro-santilli>> considers this more than direct enough. A Brazillian saying comes to mind: "Para bom entendedor, meia palavra basta" (For the Connoisseur/Expert, half a word is enough). This was notably used as part of an relentless advertisement campain when Ciro was young (certainly too young to drink) for the overly-long-named beer brand https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brasil_Kirin[Schincariol], suggesting that you could just call is "schin", e.g. to order it at a bar. Sample ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS-UWr1RIQU[]. Anyways, back to Falun Gong, when it is the word of <<li-hongzhi,Living God himself>>, even a quarter-word is enough I guess.
Prior to that, the most direct public suggestion we can find that Li Hongzhi directly supported Trump was in 2020-11-08 https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/20/11/8/n12534746.htm when the <<epoch-times>> published a poem by <<li-hongzhi>> which Ciro believes is clearly directly supporting Trump, since it was released just after Trump was announced to have lost the presidential elections, amidst claims of electoral fraud under investigation, which Falun Gong media fully and completely supported. The official translation can be found in <<flg-canon>> https://en.falundafa.org/eng/articles/20201108A.html[]:
In this majestic universe, the communist devil is making trouble +
Fraud and corruption are harming a great nation +
All the machinations make people only more despondent +
When will justice be upheld and our conscience restored? +
To be completely fair, Trump has been vocal about China's threat way before <<covid,COVID>>, and correctly so in Ciro's opinion, and therefore is a much needed ally of the Falun Gong movement, and to anyone that opposes China's threat, like Ciro does.
Furthermore, Ciro does believe that there might be a Democrat bias to media, and that certainly <<hate-speech,social media like Twitter should never ever censor any political statements as it has done for Trump>>.
And of course, so long as those pro-Trump campaigns respect the laws of the country, Falun Gong is free to do it and must not be interfered with. As if other major American media didn't have political agendas: <<usa-based-media-bias>>.
This is exactly the same, in fact, as to how <<flg-religion,religious affiliation>> has a huge impact in how the average American votes: https://theconversation.com/how-strong-a-role-does-religion-play-in-us-elections-133224[].
It seems that Trump's immigration policies have turned Asian Americans towards the democrat opposition however as of 2019: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/13/18308137/asian-american-voters-immigration-democrats-donald-trump[].
One saving point of the republicans for Asians is the opposition to university quotas instance, which many Asians feel blocks their high performing kids from top schools for less deserving students. This is suggested for example at: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/02/yang-asian-americans-affirmative-action/605917/ "Opposition to affirmative action was pulling Asians toward the GOP. Then Yang's campaign began to gather momentum."
* NBC News claims that the <<epoch-times>> has donated to Trump propaganda: $1.5 million https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-qanon-impending-judgment-day-behind-facebook-fueled-rise-epoch-n1044121
* after the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election[2020 United States presidential election], <<falun-gong-media>> such as <<epoch-times>> was one of the very few medias to not immediately dismiss https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election[Trump's accusations of electoral fraud], as baseless e.g. on 2020-12-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20201212014230/https://www.theepochtimes.com/ the front page read "Election outcome unclear amid legal challenges", at which point most had been shot down. And earlier their editorial had clarified https://web.archive.org/web/20201107223813/https://www.theepochtimes.com/[] "Why The Epoch Times Won't Call the Presidential Race Until All Challenges Are Resolved".
** 2020-12-16 consider this sample <<ntdtv>> screenshot of the latest videos published at the time: https://archive.vn/Sxn8m[], where it can be seen that about 80-90% of the videos are supporting Trump's electoral fraud claims.
+
While Ciro agrees that reporting such events impartially is important and has merit, the fact that so few medias took the lawsuits seriously at all is still indicative of their strong Trump support.
+
Ciro is also extremely opposed to censorship of such viewpoints, as done by YouTube, as mentioned at <<fake-news>>, when they started taking down any videos that upheld the electoral fraud viewpoint.
* <<me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017>> says how after his conversion to Falun Gong:
+
____
My social beliefs had transformed from those typical of a left-leaning family to take on a very conservative hue.
____
Other election/politics related <<flg-canon>> mentions https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2019/6/2/177872.html[Fa Teaching at the 2019 New York Fa Conference]:
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Question: Misleading news is everywhere in this Internet age, and it's often hard to tell real news from fake. In the upcoming Taiwan and U.S. general elections in 2020, will fake news cloud people's judgment?
Master: Degenerate things are common in this troubled world, and it's hard to accomplish good things. That's how things are in a troubled world. Many people didn't expect Trump to be elected in the last U.S. election, but he was. Some people believe that things are supposed to go a certain way, but then they turn out otherwise. I have always said that divine beings are in control of human affairs, and that it is they who have the say. But if I speak too much about it or get into the specifics, it might negatively impact our saving people, so I won't go into it.
____
As usual, Hongzhi beats round the bush, as per <<different-levels-of-truth>>. Ciro feels it <<flg-transparent,would be better for Falun Gong if he just publicly said that believers must support Trump>>.
One wonders how Falun Gong views Trump's ideology of "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Access_Hollywood_tape[grabbing them by the pussy]". But sure, that was in 2005, he must have converted to Good since.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-election_lawsuits_related_to_the_2020_United_States_presidential_election
* 2020-11-2020 https://www.ft.com/content/20b114b5-5419-493b-9923-a918a2527931 "Lawsuit tracker: Donald Trump's legal battle runs into repeated dead ends" gives the precise names of several of the cases
* 2021-01-05 https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-lawsuits-election-results-2020-11 "Trump and Republican officials have won zero out of at least 42 lawsuits they've filed since Election Day" gives an update on several of the cases at that date
* 2021-03-31 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-trump-statue-idUSKBN2BN0RU "Be at peace, meditate, Trump Buddha statue designer tells former president" shows Trump Buddha statues by Hong Jinshi. This could be a huge hit with the Falun Gong community!!!
[[you-are-not-alone-by-tony-chen-music]]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaWjFeo0BgU You Are Not Alone by Tony Chen Music (陳東音樂, 2020) is a timeless classic devotional Trump support song. by Tony who https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AZ-jCiXCpI[is a Falun Gong believer]. This is consistent with Ciro's understanding of FLG's view of the world, where <<falun-gong-believes-that-the-ccp-is-literally-a-manifestation-of-real-devils>> ("I see the true light - You are the Chosen One to fight the Red Demon") and therefore Trump is the manifestation of a supernatural force oof Good. The Chinese version is even more open about Trump's God-like status: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZrVbX8jV_o[], and contains perls such as (official translation) "I see hope - you are the Chosen One to save the world" and "Trump, Trump, you are not alone! Gods and Buddhas are here with you!". The extensive use of Trump's slogan "Make America great again" is also in line with Falun Gong's belief that the world was Good before, but has become Evil today. <<epoch-times>> made a https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/18/2/1/n10105396.htm[profile of Tony in 2018].
video::WaWjFeo0BgU[youtube,height=400,width=600]
=== Does Ciro Santilli believe in the allegations of human rights violations done to Falun Gong believers?
Besides the obvious prohibition of their most fundamental belief, so e.g. being tortured.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CedVnJOgwg4 "Undercover video reveals brutal treatment of Falun Gong prisoners inside Chinese labor camps" by "FOX 11 Los Angeles" published May 21, 2019. Names mentioned: Fuquan Yin,
[[flg-organ-harvesting]]
==== Does Ciro Santilli believe in the allegations of organ harvesting made by Falun Gong believers?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_harvesting_from_Falun_Gong_practitioners_in_China
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/對中國共產黨摘取法輪功學員及良心犯器官的指控
In short: Ciro believes that it has happened to many people.
It is obviously very hard to prove and quantify it definitely, much like it was hard to prove the Holocaust: bodies were cremated, and bribes were paid.
Even if we had a video showing the whole process, showing the whole money flow from the donor to the prison guard, it would still be hard to quantify it, so I do have some room for doubt in this opinion.
But consider the following, which is based on what Ciro has heard.
Even Chinese officials have admitted that in the past, if the body of the executed person is not claimed by family, then the organs can be extracted even without the consent of the prisoner:
* 2014-12-04 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-30324440 "China to stop harvesting executed prisoners' organs"
* https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/07/china-still-using-executed-prisoners-organs-transplants-vatican
* https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-the-face-of-criticism-china-has-been-cleaning-up-its-organ-transplant-industry/2017/09/14/d689444e-e1a2-11e6-a419-eefe8eff0835_story.html
Perhaps now that they claim that there is a large voluntary organ donor database, then this has stopped or been reduced, but let's focus on that period when the extractions were widely done.
From this, even though China does not publish execution statistics, we can imagine that a large part of the organs come from prisoners sentenced to death.
Then, consider that a <<flg-important,70 million>> person religion was banned, leading to a huge influx of prisoners from that religion.
FLG followers are just de-facto criminals like any other, and so extracting their organs is also de-facto legal.
Also, people from that religion don't drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs, and their organs are of good quality.
Furthermore, FLG prisoners continue to not bow down to the government even in prison, e.g. by doing their <<flg-religion,Falun Gong meditation>>, which makes them clearly identifiable and dangerous to the system.
Finally, add to that mix the <<corruption,huge level of corruption found in dictatorships>>.
Don't you think, then, that it is extremely likely that it has happened many times that such people have been selected to be executed earlier than others on average, due to the monetary value of their organs?
* https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6 (https://web.archive.org/web/20191118135832/https://bmcmedethics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12910-019-0406-6[archive]) "Analysis of official deceased organ donation data casts doubt on the credibility of China's organ transplant reform" by Matthew P. Robertson, Raymond L. Hinde and Jacob Lavee published at "BMC Medical Ethics" which is part of Springer Nature in 14 November 2019
* The Slaughter: Mass Killings, Organ Harvesting, and China's Secret Solution to Its Dissident Problem, by Ethan Gutmann, 2014
** <https://www.amazon.com/Slaughter-Killings-Harvesting-Solution-Dissident/dp/161614940X>
** <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethan_Gutmann#The_Slaughter:_Mass_Killings,_Organ_Harvesting,_and_China's_Secret_Solution_to_Its_Dissident_Problem>
* 2020-11-29 (not of prisoners) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-55097424 "Chinese doctors jailed for illegal organ harvesting"
This is a mock tribunal, i.e. one without any power of law, and was of course initially lobbied/organized brought up by FLG: https://endtransplantabuse.org/
However, Ciro Santilli believes that none of the lawyers/jury members are Falun Gong believers, and that they are trying to honestly decide if there is enough evidence or not for organ harvesting in China.
Whether you believe in their partiality or not, I highly recommend watching some of what the witnesses, which I find very convincing and informative:
* https://youtu.be/oW3IaaXWE8s?t=7225 Swedish man who spent several years in prison in China
A notable precursor to mock tribunals is the link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Tribunal[Russel Tribunal].
* Dr. Enver Tothi, has spoken openly about his organ harvesting activities in the 1990s in several tribunals in Europe
** 2020 https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/surgeon-who-harvested-organs-slaughtered-21040274 "Surgeon who harvested organs of slaughtered dissident now London Uber driver"
** 2019 in EU parliament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-9n897jIo
** 2017 Him speaking in : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXKMw4slHY at Ireland's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXKMw4slHY[House of the Oireachtas]
[[things-ciro-santilli-dislikes-about-falun-gong]]
=== Things Ciro Santilli dislikes about Falun Gong (三西猴不喜欢法轮功的事情)
But also as explaining why I don't think it justifies the ban.
This section also gives me more credibility as a balanced critic >:-)
* <<flg-religion,Falun Gong downplays the fact that they are a religion>>
==== Falun Gong downplays the fact that it is highly organized (法轮功淡化了它高度组织化的事实)
Many FLG practitioners claim that they are not at all organized, or that they have no political interest, and I truly believe that they mean it.
But it is obvious from the size of the <<falun-gong-media>>, namely:
* <<ntdtv>>
* <<epoch-times>> newspaper
* <<shen-yun>> dance troupe
that in practice they do have are a highly organized hierarchical structure, and very likely with <<li-hongzhi,LHZ>> at the very top, e.g.:
* Shen Yun's 2018 libretto says that their Artistic Director and founder is "D.F." (likely an abbreviation for Da Fa, which is an abbreviation for Falun Gong Dafa, which is a full name of Falun Gong), with a picture of LHZ on top. It also amusingly says that D.F. is a "Distinguished Professor of Music and Dance at Fei Tian College in New York", which is likely where many of Shen Yun's dancers are trained, and therefore controlled by himself to a large extent. It's Falun Gong's dance-only-for-now https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University[BYU].
* LHZ mentions NDTV, Epoch Times and Shen Yun extensively on his <<flg-canon>>. TODO link to source, this based on unintentionally overhearing to my family members reading it.
Furthermore, Falun Gong practitioners directly lobby foreign governments to take action against human rights abuses in China, e.g.:
* https://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+MOTION+P7-RC-2013-0562+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN
* https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-court-cisco-must-be-held-accountable-aiding-chinas-human-rights-abuses
Like any other religion, they have all the right to take those actions, and it is definitely in their best interest, and perhaps in the best interest of the whole world, that they do so.
The only thing that annoys me is their lack of self perception on this matter: the large majority of Western people would definitely classify them as an organized political force after having observed their activities. When they say otherwise, they are hurting their own credibility.
===== Falun Gong media is not transparent about its affiliation (法轮功媒体对其隶属关系不透明)
Agreed, and it is a point that hurts more than helps their cause.
This is very clearly put as well at "Front groups" of the <<orange-papers>>.
But the media is not legally obliged to state their affiliation.
And if that were the case, then we should force _all_ newspapers to start taking polls of how many employees follow which religion and support which political party, and then put that in their print.
But <<xinhua>> is learning well from this, e.g. <<new-china-tv>>.
==== Falun Gong dislikes several other groups like homosexuals and some other religions (法轮功不喜欢其他几个群体,如同性恋者和其他一些宗教)
Like most <<flg-religion,old religions>>, related: <<hate-speech>>.
<<flg-canon,Canon quote>> from https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980904L.html[]:
____
Question: Why is homosexuality considered immoral?
Teacher: Think about it, everyone: Is homosexuality human behavior? Heaven created man and woman. What was the purpose? To procreate future generations. A man being with a man, or a woman with a woman - it doesn't take much thought to know whether that's right or wrong. When minor things are done incorrectly, a person is said to be wrong. When major things are done incorrectly, it's a case of people no longer having the moral code of human beings, and then they are unworthy of being human.
____
<<ciro-santilli>> strongly disagrees with that view, because it is the type of thing that makes people feel bad for characteristics that they have, but cannot change.
Also, it is very hard to pass any kind of law that forces people not to be racist/discriminatory, because there is always the lingering question: what if they are right about a particular point?
Because clearly everyone has innate characteristics that make them better suited for certain activities than others, we when we select candidates for a job, we are basically discriminating amongst candidates.
Also any such law can have the opposite effect, acting as a justification for further hate.
You and I dislike certain personality traits without any logical reason.
Democracy dislikes dictators, and it is not necessarily rational.
<<li-hongzhi>> clearly classifies races as a metaphysical concept e.g. on <<flg-canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19990502L.html[]:
____
Strictly speaking, Indians, Egyptians, Persians, the yellow race, the white race, and the black race are the six major races of the present Earth. All the other ones are mixed races.
____
Mixed race people seem to have some metaphysical defect/peculiarity, https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/1997L.html[]:
___
Question: What did you say last time that a person of mixed race has lost?
Teacher: He has lost the body that comes from the top down through to here. Let me put it this way: People of the yellow race have people of the yellow race up there, and people of the white race have people of the white race up there. He's lost this thread.
___
____
Question: Can a person of mixed race succeed in cultivation?
Teacher: Whether someone can cultivate and whether he can succeed in cultivation are all up to the person himself. If a person of mixed race can persist in cultivation, he can reach Consummation just the same. When he succeeds in cultivation his Primordial Spirit will return to wherever he came from.
____
==== Falun Gong believers are less likely to take necessary medication (法轮功信徒不太可能服用必要的药物)
Based on what <<ciro-santilli>> saw and heard, he does believe, without any clear statistical evidence, that it is very likely that it hs happened to in many cases that some Falun Gong believers refused to take modern medications and died of diseases that could be otherwise cured.
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* what matters are statistics. Maybe FLG people live longer than non FLG in average. But we will never have statistics because of censorship: https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/27529/have-many-falun-gong-practitioners-forgone-medical-treatment-and-died-of-treatab
* maybe people should be link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_legislation[allowed to choose how they want to die], and not to take medication if they don't want to
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As the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_and_Recreation[Parks and Recreation] caricaturally liberal character https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Swanson[Ron Swanson] puts it https://youtu.be/_UlNnETAZeI?t=48[about the United States]:
+
____
The whole point of this country is if you wanna eat garbage, balloon up to six hundred pounds and die of a heart attack at forty three, you can! You are free to do so. To me that's beautiful.
____
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<<freedom-with-a-capital-f>> also comes to mind.
* maybe the number of people killed during persecution vastly outnumbers those who died because they would not take medication
* several <<flg-religion,religions>>, including <<christianity>> have miraculous cure claims. My impression is that claims were mostly notable in the old times apparently, likely because people noticed that Christians were still dying of all kinds of diseases like everyone else, no matter how devout!
* maybe the main reason why communists banned Falun Gong is the political threat it posed, but that a ban was unjustified given the situation. Christian crosses are being taken down as of 2016, have they stopped taking their medications as well? See also <<rule-of-law>>.
* maybe many of those people would also have died soon even if they had taken medication
* maybe not all Falun Gong believers thought that it was wise to stop taking medication. But their religion was banned anyway. Who can agree and follow all the innumerable prescriptions of any religious or legal system? See also: <<flg-thoughtcrime>>.
* all the following also reduce people's lifespan:
+
--
** riding motorcycles vs. cars/buses
** smoking
** moving to a poor country to do charity there
** eating fast food
--
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Forbidding them also has huge humanitarian costs (more expensive vehicles, creation of a black market, ...). So why not forbid them as well?
Especially In the beginning, Falun Gong did put a lot of emphasis on its health benefits, just <<zhong-gong,like all the other contemporaneous Qi Gong practices>>, and it is likely that especially many in the first generation of believers do believe it more than others.
For example, the main initial public announcement of Falun Gong was at a <<history-of-falun-gong,Health Exposition in Beijing>>.
In <<flg-canon>> itself, this is not super explicit and emphasised as far as Ciro can see. Zhuan Falun https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/zfl_74.htm[] has a chapter entitled "On the Issue of Healing Illnesses", that contains:
____
Let us talk about the most common illnesses, like tumors, infections or osteoproliferation etc., found in the human body. In another space, a very deep space, there lies an evil intelligent entity.
____
and the general very beaty-around-the-bush suggestion that if you do master Falun Gong fully, you will be healthy. But with the usual disclaimer that "you have to become a master", and since "there are no graduates", no one is ever a master for sure, and as usual "you don't get the promised goodies", as as mentioned at: <<orange-papers>>.
https://www.falundafa.org/book/eng/mgjf.htm contains some more direct quotes that suggest that you can take medicine, but you have to try and bear the pain first, and if you can't, it's a sign that you haven't practiced Falun Gong well enough:
____
So when you take medicine now you're killing this sickness or the virus at the surface. Medicine can truly kill viruses at the surface. Yet a practitioner's gong[7] is automatically destroying viruses and karma. But as soon as medicine kills the surface virus that has seeped over from other dimensions, the virus—karma—over on the other side will know, since everything is alive, and it will stop coming over. Then you feel that you've recovered because you took the medicine. But let me tell you that it nonetheless accumulates over there. Life after life human beings are accumulating this stuff. When the accumulation reaches a certain extent, the person becomes incurable and when he dies he's totally destroyed. He loses his life—forever loses his life. That's how horrifying it is. So here I've explained to you the relationship. It's not that people aren't allowed to take medicine. When an everyday person gets sick he definitely needs medical treatment.
But how do we cultivators deal with it? Aren't we purifying your body? Like the annual rings of a tree, there is karma at the very core, and at every layer, life after life, of your body. When you practice cultivation, I keep pushing this karma outward from the center; I push, and push, and push, and push until I completely push the karma out for you. And not all of this can go through the surface of our bodies. You wouldn't be able to bear it if all of it were to go through the surface of your body. Only a portion of it comes out through the surface. But you still feel that you're suddenly getting sick, you find it terribly uncomfortable and painful, can't bear it, regard yourself as an everyday person, and go take medicine. Then you can go ahead and take medicine, as we've never said that everyday people can't take medicine. We only say that your enlightenment quality isn't up to par and that you didn't pass this test well.
____
Ciro does however believe that newer generations believe in this much less, notably because the first believer generation is all basically old or dead, and soon will be entirely dead. This might also have been de-emphasised to reduce the bullshit aspects and help the international spread of Falun Gong. Not even Falun Gong believers are that blind. And this perfectly mimics the beginning of Christianism, where the first generations gave much more emphasis to miraculous cures.
<<me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017>> has an anecdote on this, which Ciro feels sounds believable:
[[me-and-li-tumor]]
____
I think it was Lynn's* death that finally made me realise it was time to leave. I'd seen the writing on the wall about a year prior when I saw her at a yearly "Fa conference" for believers of Falun Gong, otherwise known as Falun Dafa, to exchange experiences and grow spiritually together. An executive assistant at a Queensland valuation firm, I'd gotten to know her over the years in various events as a warm and level-headed lady who had time for everyone. But I'd noticed she had developed a bulge on the side of her head and I was trying not to look at it when I talked to her. I saw, or at least I believed I saw, some pain in her smile. She was probably questioning herself over and over again what "attachments" she hadn't let go of that were causing this sickness to spread through her body and endanger her life. I wanted to tell her to just go to a hospital, although I wasn't at this stage resolute enough in my gradual return to logic. Another part of me feared that by looking at it I was acknowledging it — something you don't do with illnesses in Falun Gong because Master Li Hongzhi teaches that his pupils don't get illnesses. He can cure you but only if you don't have any loopholes in your belief in him and his teachings. Some people with solid beliefs can actually die due to others around them having flaws in their thinking, Li says. Just thinking the wrong way is perilous when you're a Falun Gong practitioner.
I later heard through the grapevine of Lynn's death. The cancer went into her brain and she passed away in extreme pain, probably believing to the end that it was her fault she was in this awful predicament. In a way, I guess it was.
____
and more interesting anecdotes follow, see source.
And Ciro has felt this first hand with his <<wife,mother-in-law>>. Whenever she has a health worry, first she tries to hide it. But then she casually mentions it without much thought because she speaks all the time the poor lady, may she be blessed. And then, when Ciro says: OK, let's try and treat it, even for trivial things that might have simple treatments, she immediately smiles a compassionate smile of "I'm a Falun Gong believer, I don't need that". This makes Ciro really mad. He tries to not show it, because he thinks people should be able to choose how they die. But Li promises the powers of <<flg-cross-dimensional-vision,remote, cross dimensional and past/future vision>> to some believers, and yet, blinds some of them to the obvious fact that they are aging, and, slowly but surely, their own bodies are starting to fail, like everyone else's will at one point.
It is also interesting to note how the Chinese government itself supported Falun Gong and <<zhong-gong,other Qi Gong practices>> for their health benefits, which is why they grew so large in the first place. <<li-hongzhi>> was even <<history-of-falun-gong,awarded prizes and recognized as a Qi Gong master by state backed organizations in 1992 and 1993>>. And the CCP still has a tendency to support certain non-scientific traditional practices: <<support-for-non-scientific-traditional-practices>>.
[[freedom-with-a-capital-f]]
.https://youtu.be/kIpaDW3RwtY?t=244 one random thing ex-KGB spy undercover in the USA Jack Barsky mentioned in this BuzzFeed Multiplayer interview stuck to his mind: "The one thing that you have here, that I believe cannot be found anywhere else in the world is called Freedom, with a capital F". If people want to die in a certain way, or believe that some bullshit will cure them, they should be allowed. Natural selection will take care of the rest.
video::kIpaDW3RwtY[youtube,height=400,width=600,start=244]
See also: <<honour-suicides-in-chinese-history>>.
[[falun-gongs-view-of-epidemics]]
===== Falun Gong's view of epidemics
<<li-hongzhi>> has said in <<flg-canon,canon>> things that lead certain believers (including e.g. <<wife,Ciro's mother in law>>) to believe that because they are good Falun Gong believers, that they are more safe from disease from evil people.
For example, in the 2003 "Fa conference" at the time of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Severe_acute_respiratory_syndrome[SARS] he https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/20030420L.html[said]:
____
You must have seen the epidemic that's come along in China now, right? Hasn't a huge epidemic arrived? To put it in human terms, it's Heaven punishing people. What it's targeting, we Dafa disciples know full well: it's targeting those who don't deserve to be saved, who are impossible to save while Dafa disciples clarify the truth, and who aren't useful to the evil rotten spirits. This is the first round of cleansing. Heaven is punishing the evil, yet China is still lying to cover up the number of deaths, and I'll tell you, it's huge, and it hasn't peaked yet.
____
Such beliefs have of course carried over directly to <<covid,COVID-19>>.
An amazing quote from https://en.minghui.org/html/articles/2020/3/20/183715.html[]:
Pandemics and plagues are part of a divine plan and inevitable in the course of history.
____
Epidemics are also likely moments where religious grow due to more people being more desperate and looking for solace that cannot be found in this shitty world.
It is indeed tempting to believe that the virus magically kills only the Evil. What reality could be so fucked up where the innocent suffocate to their death? And yet, here we are.
[[falun-gong-liturgical-calendar]]
==== Falun Gong liturgical calendar (法轮功教会年历)
Exactly like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_year[other religions], Falun Gong has some important dates that are celebrated to keep believers engaged. Those are:
* May 13th: <<li-hongzhi>>'s claimed birthday, although the Chinese government and some scholars disagree with that date, which suspicioiusly seems to coincide with the Buddha's birthdate
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Also known as "Dafa Day".
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The international Falun Gong conference, usually called just "Fa Conference" (法会), also happens around that date in New York, the state where Li Hongzhi lives in <<dragon-springs>> for the same reason, e.g. in 2019 it was on May 17 https://www.ntd.com/over-10000-share-stories-of-self-improvement-at-falun-dafa-conference_331440.html
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There are other more local Fa conferences held throughout the year however also.
[[li-hongzhi]]
==== Li Hongzhi (李洪志, LHZ, Falun Gong prophet)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/李洪志
Li Hongzhi is the creator of <<falun-gong>>: link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi[].
Falun Gong people call him "master" (师父), which is a common traditional term used to respectfully address experienced teachers in a disciple (弟子)/teacher relation, e.g. Kung Fu or other crafts.
However they also believe that he has many many God-like powers and is comparable figures such as Jesus and Buddha himself.
Notably they believe that he has superpowers, and that everything that he says is the absolute truth of the universe, see also: <<flg-religion>>.
The term "master" is also used for example in the fictional film The Master (2012), which is likely inspired in <<flg-religion,Scientology>>.
<<ciro-santilli>> however prefers to call him <<flg-religion,prophet>>, since he feels LHZ is indistinguishable from <<flg-religion,any other religion>>. Guru/<<flg-cult,cult leader>> could also apply.
It's funny that even though Falun Gong only came up recently in the 80's, we still know relatively little about Li. One is kind of reminded of Jesus! See also <<li-hongzhis-family>> and <<li-hongzhis-hagiography>>.
One should note however that this is partly by design: at some point in the 90's, Li relatively stepped away from public view. This is because once you reach a critical mass of followers, it is better to let them to the preaching for you, while you hide your obvious human defects in a corner. See also comments at <<vissarion>>.
* 1999-06-12 AP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_onSZlvWSQ USA: "CHINA: FALUN DAFA CULT POSES NO THREAT CLAIMS FOUNDER" Li Hongzhi talks to media in New York
.<<li-hongzhi>> is Falun Gong's prophet/cult leader/living God. He's a cute North-Westerner 东北人 like <<wife,Ciro's wife>>. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi.jpg[height=400]
.<<li-hongzhi>> practicing one of his exercises with one of his cute prophet outfits in an extremely nice Chinese https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_garden[rock garden] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/假山/8466165[假山园林]), see also: <<does-ciro-santilli-hate-china,stone garden>>. TODO exact location and date. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Li_Hongzhi_Falun_Gong.jpg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_stone_garden.jpg[height=600]
[[li-hongzhi-blue-halo]]
.<<li-hongzhi,Li>> in front of a light blue background (similar to <<xi-jinping-portrait-blue,CCP official portraits>>) with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)[halo] suggestion around his head. https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/11/5/12/n3254555.htm[Lower quality version] on <<epoch-times>>. https://www.epochweekly.com/144/7046pg.htm[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_blue.jpg[height=400]
[[li-hongzhi-lotus]]
.<<li-hongzhi,Li>> going https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Saiyan[Super Saiyan] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/超级赛亚人/6974315[超级赛亚人]) while casually sitting on a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_lotus_in_religious_art[giant Lotus flower] with a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(religious_iconography)[halo] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/圓光[圆光]) on his head. Text at bottom: 法轮修炼大法-李洪志 (TODO confirm 3rd and 4th characters, transates something like Falun Practices Dafa - Li Hongzhi). http://photo.minghui.org/images/master_li_pics/E_fx_1.htm[Source] on <<minghui>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_lotus.jpg[height=600]
.<<li-hongzhi>> really turning into a proper Buddha, including https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha[physical signs] such as the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushnisha[Ushnisha] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/肉髻[肉髻]) on the head and the https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha&oldid=972021136#The_80_secondary_characteristics["ears as longs as lotus petals"]. He also has a super powerful https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aureola[Aureola]. On the top right corner we see an <<ntdtv>> watermark. On the bottom left we see a few Western Catholic and Roman looking divinities, representing Falun Gong's syncretic beliefs. The subtitle on center bottom reads in traditional Chinese: "真的有这样光辉形象" (there truly is such a glorious image) https://www.bannedbook.org/bnews/tculture/xiulian/20190123/1068931.html[Source] on <<bannedbook>>.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_Buddha.jpg[height=400]
.Side by side comparison of <<li-hongzhi>> vs https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Super_Saiyan[Super Saiyan] (https://baike.baidu.com/item/超级赛亚人/6974315[超级赛亚人]) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goku[Goku] from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball[Dragon Ball] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/孙悟空_(七龙珠)[孙悟空_(七龙珠)]). There is more than just visual similarity to this comparison, since Goku is based on Sun Wukong from <<journey-to-the-west>>: they have the exact same name in Japanese/Chinese, Goku is monkey like with a tail and https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Great_Ape[giant monkey form], has both have an extending stick weapon (https://dragonball.fandom.com/wiki/Power_Pole[The Power Pole, 如意棒], full Chinese name https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/如意金箍棒[如意金箍棒], lit. "as [large as] one wants Golden stick). Notably, the orange color of Goku's clothing is likely inspired from Buddhism, and so are their https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aureola[Aureolas]. <<ciro-santilli>> watched Dragon Ball Z this when he was 10 years old.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_vs_Goku_Super_Saiyan.jpg[height=600]
.Dubstep <<li-hongzhi,Li>> can <<flg-religion,liangong (练功)>> at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubstep[dubstep] speed. https://giphy.com/gifs/dubstep-gifs-dubstepgifs-xUOwFY1prqgUdPuFvW[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_dubstep.webp[height=400]
.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7JK576nxm0 音乐视频:《师尊的手》<<falun-gong>> music video "The master's hand" contains some a bit of good old time <<li-hongzhi>> footage.
video::_7JK576nxm0[youtube,height=400,width=600]
[[falun-gong-is-dangerous-because-li-hongzhi-has-too-much-power-over-followers]]
===== Falun Gong is dangerous because Li Hongzhi has too much power over followers (法轮功是危险的,因为李洪志对追随者的权力太大)
Ciro agrees that there is danger in every religion, and especially new religions.
However the same point can be made about political parties and in particular the CCP and its chairman.
Couldn't a charismatic leader chairman gain more and more power (like Xi seems to be doing), and eventually start a war and kill millions? Or just kill some minority who is not happy about the situation.
Similarly, any charismatic leader of a pro-democracy movement could become the leader of a terrorist organization.
If you ever want democracy, you will have to learn to accept the beliefs of others, and only punish them when they actually break a law.
Finally, LHZ was born in 1951, so he will die in 20 years, unless FLG is true and a miracle happens, and then this argument will become invalid.
From what Ciro hears, LHZ has always maintained that he is the only source of truth on FLG (see also "The Guru is always right"), and therefore, so his death will very likely remove any danger once and for all.
Furthermore, it also seems to Ciro that FLG is clearly anti-violence and self-harm, so Ciro wonder how many would follow a contradictory order such as killing or suicide? We have had no hint of any incitation to violence so far.
It is also interesting to look into the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown case. When the suicide order came, most people wanted out! Without physically controlling the followers, I don't think you can make them do much.
Related: <<flg-stability>>.
[[li-hongzhis-hagiography]]
===== Li Hongzhi's hagiography (李洪志的圣徒传记)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Hongzhi mentions that there are two versions of the biography:
* An unofficial biography appeared in the first of Li's major publications, <<flg-canon,Zhongguo Falun Gong>>, supposedly authored by journalist Zhu Huiguang (朱慧光).
The full text appears to be at available at: http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=130### (God bless <<taiwan,Taiwanese>> piracy, link:++https://web.archive.org/web/20200805093333/http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=130###++[archive])
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<<benjamin-penny-the-life-and-times-of-li-hongzhi-2003>> gives the full title of the section + a translation (originally in pinyin, but why?!?! :-)):
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____
法輪旋轉新天地-記李洪志先生和他創立的法輪功 +
"The wheel of the law revolves the new cosmos - on Li Hongzhi and the Falun Gong he founded".
____
* A second, official spiritual biography appeared in early editions of <<flg-canon,Falun Gong's primary text, Zhuan Falun>>.
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It is shorter than the first, and is marked as authored by the "Falun Dafa Research Society's President" (法轮功研究会会长).
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The Wiki quotes <<benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012>>.
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Penny says that it was removed in 1999 (presumably to remove some more glaring magical bullshit help with internationalization).
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A possible Chinese copy might be found at: http://qingqing.freebbs.tw/viewthread.php?tid=165### inside a 1994 version of Zhuan Falun.
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The section is entitled "中国法轮功创始人、法轮功研究会会长 李洪志先生小传", so literally tranlated as a "profile" (小传) rather than a full biography. The index marks it as 附 (addendum), and it comes at the end of the book.
[[what-will-happen-to-falun-gong-when-li-honzhi-dies]]
===== What will happen to Falun Gong when Li Honzhi dies? (李洪志死后,法轮功会怎样?)
https://www.quora.com/What-will-happen-to-Li-Hongzhi-the-founder-of-Falun-Gong-when-he-is-not-in-this-world-anymore/answer/Ciro-Santilli
[[let-s-make-a-mini-series-about-li-hongzhi-s-life]]
===== Let's make a mini series about Li Hongzhi's life (让我们制作一个关于李洪志生平的迷你系列)
Ciro can't help but to imagine how Falun Gong came about in detail.
Someone should write a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Temptation_of_Christ_(novel)["The Last Temptation of Christ"].
This deserves an American miniseries like Chernobyl.
It would manage to piss off both FLG and the CCP, which would be amazing. It is a shame that it is so difficult to find good historical information between the infinite barrages of CCP and FLG propaganda.
* Li was an ordinary dude who could liked to play the trumpet, which partially explains his focus on <<falun-gong-media,Shen Yun>> and Falun Gong musical street parades
* Li first heard about Qi Gong, and went to practice it under some dude. Then how he saw other people were so into it, and decided to take this opportunity to make a career out of it during the 80's
* how he met his wife and had a daughter
* how he started to notice how people were feeling things during the exercise classes, and started suggesting more and more metaphysics to these first disciples
* Li could also have some metaphysical moment, like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW20LbwAmng but at the same time, he must tell his followers some lies which he does not believe
* how followers started telling others things and "experience sharing" where the cycle of belief stats to take off
* a clear demonstration of how "A group of early adopters in Changchun became disenchanted after Li forbade his followers from charging fees for the practice at the end of 1994" showing dissent within the cult
* and finally, the immigration and crackdown, and how he put his fingers on those things, and the creation of media, this could be the last episode
* Episode 1: pre Qi Gong, shows Childhood, workplaces, early motivations. Ends with first contact with a Qi Gong lesson
* Episode 2: early Falun Gong. Opens an academy. Starts without metaphysics, but grows into it. Show him knowingly lying, but also seething magic things. The first followers, and top lieutenants. Makes some management mistake, but gets away with it. Could end in a metaphysical scene, or 13 May 1992 initial public lesson. Maybe a scene of Li's visit to <<thailand>> in 1983 (photo from CCP media found on Google).
* Episode 3: later Falun Gong in China. It grows, show in Chinese news. Power struggles, problems with early lieutenants, and new lieutenants come up. Many people practice on streets. Battle against <<zhong-gong>>. Near 1996, something tips Li off to the fact that the CCP is going to crack down on them, and so he announces that he will be spreading abroad full time. Check out if this was before or after the first Anti FLG newspaper article in 1996-06-17.
* Episode 4: preaching outside of China and emigration. American permanent residence in 1998. Watches crackdown on television. International Falun Gong media. Show him at Falun Gong New York <<dragon-springs,"Dragon Springs">> complex
Or maybe, never mind that boring post 1992 stuff which is already highly public, instead we could focus only on the more interesting pre-1992 events, and finish in 1992.
So per-early FLG up to 1992, with childhood flashbacks.
* personal insight of the master
* the love of a follower
* external view of their shortcomings
Parts of the series could be filmed in <<taiwan>> maybe?
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Wild_Country (2017) about https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajneesh[]. Ciro feels that Falun Gong believers would not be as open with external questioners.
+
But who knows. Episode 3 shows how Rajneesh implemented <<careful-control-of-your-image>>: Sheela was the front-person, and had meetings with him every evening.
* The Master (2012)
[[xi-hongzhi-and-li-jinping]]
====== Xi Hongzhi and Li Jinping (习洪志和李近平)
In an alternate reality, Xi Hongzhi, not to be confused with <<xi-jinping>>, is an obscure peasant trying to save his kingdom from oppression.
And Li Jinping, not to be confused with <<li-hongzhi>>, is an evil Qi Gong who uses his powers to rule over his kingdom ruthlessly, ridding it of non-believers.
This meme would be offensive to both <<ccp>> and <<falun-gong>> believers.
We are entering Encyclopedia Dramatica territory here.
[[li-hongzhis-family]]
===== Li Hongzhi's family (李洪志的家庭)
Jesus appeared to value chastity. He was born from a virgin. No sex around him at all.
But Li doesn't need that. He's a God, right, he can both be an Enlightened God part time and still have a normal family part time.
Once thing Ciro approves about Li's approach to his family is that he seems to have stated (TODO source) that none of them are Gods like him.
Wife's name: Li Rui (李瑞 according to CCP). Report saying that a follower bought a house and registered it on Li Rui's name as a gift, but Li later returned the gift back: https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB94140245836194819 TODO house address.
* daughter: Li Meige (李美歌) claims born 1982-06 on <<kaiwind>> http://www.kaiwind.com/anticult/kfgc/201311/05/t20131105_1188845.shtml says that she performs in <<shen-yun>> under the name "Christina Li" and even won awards. This Falun Gong sources confirm that a "Christina Li" was a Shen Yun lead dancer as of 2011, but does not confirm that she is the daughter of Li Hongzhi: https://www.theepochtimes.com/where-are-the-ancient-arts-of-china-part-4_1491935.html If this is true, talk about <<different-levels-of-truth>>! The article also claims that she has had other pseudonyms, including: "Annie Li" and "Li Jingjing" (李晶晶). Here are web archives of the now broken of course Shen Yun pages Kaiwand links to as evidence of her constant name changing (but no mention of her father):
** https://web.archive.org/web/20140727034323/http://dance.ntdtv.com/ct/archive/
** https://web.archive.org/web/20121211022246/zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/biography/view/WG3gbBQudOg
** possibly CCP sources report that Meige married in 2017, likely near the Falun Gong Day (13th May): e.g. http://www.saibeifeng.com/kfyd/201705/16/t20170516_5219554.shtml says many felicitation posts were posted on <<falun-gong-media,minghui>>, so this is likely widely known within the Falun Gong community, but the idiots who wrote that page don't know how to link to sources. Ciro could not find the groom's name.
* brothers and sisters, all younger:
** Li Jun (李君) older younger sister
** Li Ping (李平) younger younger sister
*** <<china-daily>> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-10/17/content_15825454.htm mentions that Li Jiguang (李继光), the second husband of one of Li Pingy died in 2012
*** Notably, Li Ping's alleged husband Sun Senlun (Natawut Smittipong, 孙森伦) is a Chinese-Thai, and allegedly wrote an account of Li Hongzhi's family in the 1980's: <<diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family>>
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The book also claims that they had two children Sun Baoyuan (孙宝圆) and Sun Baoman (孙宝满), which Li later managed to rename Li Baoyuan (李宝圆) and Li Baoman (李宝满).
+
<<shen-yun>> had dancers called with those exact same Chinese character names between 2009 and 2020, so it is very likely that it is them:
+
**** Li Baoyuan: https://zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/view/article/e/tQIEajYbB_s/李宝圆.html
**** Li Baoman: https://zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/view/article/e/Aw5bu_PdeNI/李宝满.html
** Li Hui (AKA Li Donghui) younger brother
* father: Li Dan
* mother: Lu Shuzhen. http://wap.uuhomepage.com/StaticWapPages/20161013/20161013062741097.html claims that she died on 2016-08-24 in New York. TODO find a decent report.
There are also claims that Li's birth name was Li Lai (李來).
* <<benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012>> gives further family members (some of them are based only on CCP sources however):
* https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/news/bbmz49.html[] claims to contain the biography of Li Hongzhi's family (likely all according to CCP sources), including several good pictures: The photo given there for Li Jun appears on this apparently FLG source without mention of the name: https://www.epochweekly.com/b5/103/5805.htm
.Li Hongzhi with his wife Li Rui and daughter Li Meige presumably in the late 80's with fishing ships in a shipyard in the background. TODO location. Likely from CCP sources, in many places with <<chinese-government-media,kaiwnd>> watermarks. http://www.toppk.net/art/2016/3/9/art_7328_304365.html[Anti-FLG source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Hongzhi_with_wife_and_daughter.jpg[height=400]
.Photo of Christina Li from Shen Yun, which the CCP claims to be Li Meige, daughter of Li Hongzhi. That page also claims that she was awarded Bronze in the 2009 and 2010 NDT Chinese Dance Competition. https://web.archive.org/web/20121211022246/zh-cn.shenyunperformingarts.org/artists/biography/view/WG3gbBQudOg[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Li_Meige_Shenyun.jpg[height=400]
[[diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family]]
===== Diaries of being in Thailand with Li Hongzhi's family (我与李洪志一家在泰国的日子——法轮功教主妹夫的自述)
An alleged account of Li Hongzhi's family in the 1980's written by his brother-in-law Sun Senlun (Natawut Smittipong, 孙森伦), who married Li Ping.
ISBN 9789996590252: https://www.cp1897.com.hk/product_info.php?BookId=9789996590252[]
This is reproduced likely without copyright on many CCP sources, e.g.: http://lihongzhidaqidi.blogspot.com/2013_09_27_archive.html which links to <<kaiwind>>'s HTML reproduction.
The <<kaiwind>> links are all dead now, but they are all still visible under: https://web.archive.org/web/20191230124120/http://lihongzhidaqidi.blogspot.com/2013_09_27_archive.html
It is a good reading if you take everything with a grain of salt, does sound quite believable.
https://web.archive.org/web/20191230151939/http://news.kaiwind.com/features/s/201309/27/t20130927_1121750.shtml claims that Li lived in Sun's house in Thailand from May 1991 to March 1992. And that he was baffled when Li started telling the miraculous events of his <<li-hongzhis-hagiography,hagiography>> in the 1992 public talks, how could his wife never told him about any of those amazingly important life events before that point?
TODO find original publishing location and date.
This appears to be an interview with Sun Senlun about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Js0OyNwYw5A (watermarked <<kaiwind>> on top)
Semi weirdly though, https://www.cesnur.org/2001/falun_jan10.htm claims that Senlun was a coordinator of Falun Gong in Thailand as of 2001.
https://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2020/1/16/原北京师大研究生陶渊在浙江第四监狱遭受的迫害-399012.html[] from 2020 by <<minghui>> claims the book slanders Li Hongzhi's family, and that the CCP forced prisoners to read it.
===== Dragon Springs (龙泉, Falun Gong's headquarters in New York State)
Li Hongzhi's Falun Gong complex in New York state countryside, where he lives, and organizes <<shen-yun>>.
Started in the 2000's in New York State with money donated by believers.
* http://www.dragonsprings.org/
* https://www.businessinsider.com/dragon-springs-falun-gong-upstate-new-york-compound-photos-2019-9
* 1999 https://apnews.com/420a741ec19c4db3993d408747874b2d "Falun Gong US compound's neighbors fret over expansion plans"
<<china-daily>> http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-10/17/content_15825454.htm claims that <<li-hongzhi>>'s appartment in 2012 was the number 136-08 on 59th avenue, Flushing, NY. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/seeking-master-li-1.221547 confirms Flushing. Also mentions key 1999 lieutenant Erping Zhang, https://www.c-span.org/person/?erpingzhang[] confirms with photo.
[[qigong-fever]]
=== Qigong fever (气功热 , 1980's)
* https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/26268612 特异功能、法功灭火、铝锅传功……80年代的气功热究竟有多疯狂? (How crazy was the Qi Gong boom after all?) on <<zhihu>>
[[zhong-gong]]
==== Zhong Gong (中功, 中华养生益智功, Qigong religion)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhong_Gong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中华养生益智功
A very similar religion to <<falun-gong>>, that also emerged during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qigong_fever[Qigong fever] (气功热) of the '80s and '90s.
Zhong Gong was the second most sucessful Qigong Boom religion after Falun Gong.
The similarity of their imagery as seen from propaganda videos is striking. To <<ciro-santilli>>, this makes Zhong Gong a perfect example of why <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong,FLG metaphysics is bullshit>>: it is obvious that both Zhong Gong and Falun Gong and many others were just random dudes who took advantage of the Qigong fever to create their religions.
Interestingly, like <<li-hongzhi>> who is from <<jilin>>, Hongbao is also from the Northeast of China (<<heilongjiang>>), there must be a reason why those Qi Gong movements come from that region.
Unlike Falun Gong however, Zhong Gong failed to branch the franchise out of China, and basically died out. Hongbao also died in a car crash in 2006 which didn't help. Li Hongzhi however played smarter, and started branching abroad full force in 1996, he likely predicted that the crackdown was inevitale.
Wikipedia says it reached 34 million followers in China.
Hongbao also has a more spicy history it seems, with sexual allegations and open political goals <<flg-political,unlike Li Hongzhi, who hid his goals better>>. Well played, Li, well played.
<<li-hongzhi>> maintains in <<flg-canon,canon>> that Falun Gong is of course extremely different from all of those other extremely similar Qi Gong religions. Zhong Gong is likely not mentioned by name, but it is also likely one of the main targets. E.g. in 1998 <<flg-canon,canon>> https://falundafa.org/eng/eng/lectures/19980329L.html[]:
____
Dafa can't be obtained lightly. For example, the diversity of cults and the number of false qigongs are large these days, and they lead people astray. Many people who are capable of cultivating get sucked into them, and some of them engage in suicide - it's a mess.
____
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX72zfEP_zs googd Zhong Gong playlist
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYH8Y_1UmrY&t=1445 Zhong Gong people "experience sharing". It truly is exactly like Falun Gong.
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2GxSJK9c-A this appears to be positive mainstream media coverage of Zhong Gong
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ziluy_AlEI video of Hongbao giving a lecture dated 1994 and commented "Qiling kylin Tianhua culture"
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQKCtPSfdR4 video dated January 21st, 2007 of Monks praying after his death
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvJSzeY7Chw contains a bunch of what appear to be extremely low quality Zhong Gong propaganda videos. It is very similar to Falun Gong's of course.
The embassy spokesman says Chinese officials have ample evidence of sect leader Zhang Hongbao's involvement in crimes such as rape and murder.
.Zhang Honbao, creator of <<zhong-gong>>, sitting on a giant flying lotus reaching Enlightenment with a halo. It looks <<li-hongzhi-lotus,exactly like Falun Gong imagery>>. But of course, Zhong Gong is just a "completely unrelated and inferior sect" according to <<li-hongzhi>>. TODO transcribe. https://blog.boxun.com/hero/201102/tianhuaren/1_1.shtml[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_Gong_lotus.jpg[height=400]
[[zhong-gong-blue]]
.The blue background, the halos, the praying hands, the master Zhang Hongbao flying above. It is just exactly like <<flg-blue,Falun Gong imagery>>. https://www.chinacourt.org/article/detail/2018/08/id/3475129.shtml[Source] (<<chinese-government-media>>)
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_gong_blue.jpg[height=400]
[[flg-blue]]
.Hungarian <<falun-gong>> propaganda image with woman meditating in with blue sky background for comparison with <<zhong-gong-blue,similar Zhong Gong imagery>>. https://hu.faluninfo.eu/[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Falun_Gong_sky_leaflet.jpg[height=400]
.Side by side comparison between <<zhong-gong>> on the left, and <<falun-gong>> on the right. In <<ciro-santilli>>'s opinion, nothing highlights better that both are fake than the fact that they are clearly part of the same historical movement of the Qigong Boom, while at the same time affirming that the other one is fake or inferior.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Zhong_Gong_vs_Falun_Gong_lotus.jpg[height=500]
[[zhang-hongbao]]
===== Zhang Hongbao (张宏堡)
Ciro Santilli
committed
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Hongbao
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/张宏堡
Prophet of <<zhong-gong>>, just like <<li-hongzhi>> is the prophet of <<falun-gong>>.
[[xiang-gong]]
==== Xiang Gong (香功, 中国芳香智悟气功, Qigong religion)
This was possibly the third most popular Qi Gong of the <<qigong-fever>> after <<falun-gong>> and <<zhong-gong>>. It is mentioned for example at <<the-falungong-phenomenon-by-hu-ping-2003>>.
* Fragrant Gong
* China Fragrang Wisdom Comprehension Gong
It is however so obscure that there isn't even a wikipedia page for it anymore!
The prophet's name was Tian Ruisheng (田瑞生). He's the old due at: https://www.sohu.com/a/270132785_100279655 with little badges on his coat. He can be seen lecturing for example at: https://youtu.be/ItAUwGWSXuI?t=167
* https://taijiclub.live/2020/05/09/xiang-gong-the-fragrant-mind-awakening-qigong/ Xiang Gong: The Fragrant Mind Awakening Qigong (2020) Interesting quote:
Basically, the origin of this qigong comes from Master Tian Ruisheng. Master Tian Ruisheng was taught this as a ill young boy by a traveling buddhist monk. He was told to practice it every day and not reveal it until 50 years later. He diligently practiced and eventually taught it after 50 years. It quickly became a popular qigong in China.
This is exactly the type of "Creation Story" that <<li-hongzhi>> invented. Notably, it is not something he just made up to take advantage of the obvious <<qigong-fever>>. No, it is something that he developped his entire life, and only started teaching at that point due to a coincidence!
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This is notably highlighted in <<diaries-of-being-in-thailand-with-li-hongzhi-s-family>>. Li's sister just casualy never mentioned to her husband that her brother had been having mystical training for several years, until he finally announced it in the early days of <<falun-gong>>.
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In Tian's case however, he is truly really old. This is possibly a major reason why he didn't get as big as Falun Gong. It is terribly discriminatory, but who wants to look at an old ugly dude? Especially when he's likely teaching stuff that is supposed to cure diseases. <<li-hongzhi>> and
* https://www.beliefnet.com/news/2000/05/chinese-crackdown-goes-beyond-falun-gong.aspx Chinese Crackdown Goes Beyond Falun Gong (2000) mentions <<zhong-gong>> and <<xiang-gong>>. Says it is from AP News, but I can't find the original. But the language does look "AP-like".
China's entirely state-run media and the government have trumpeted the crackdown on Falun Gong. Thousands of practitioners have been detained since it was outlawed in July in the campaign against what the government says is an evil cult.
But authorities refuse to talk about the clampdown on other qi gong organizations, and state media have all but ignored it. So far the campaign has affected at least five groups, practitioners, government sources and human rights organizations say.
____
+
The other groups, even smaller, are mentioned in the article next:
+
** Cibei Gong (慈悲功, Compassion Gong). Possible Chinese name mentioned at: http://www.chinanews.com/2001-02-22/26/72398.html 武汉侦破“法轮功”的变种慈悲功 (Wuhan investigates Falun Gong variant Cibei Gong) from a <<pro-chinese-government-media>>. The word for variant is the same as for "mutation", which brings funnily <<covid>> to mind.
** Guo Gong (国功, Country Gong). Not even the patriotic name was able to prevent crackdown!
** Bodhi Gong. TODO fins Chinese.
+
https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be1e20.html also mentions some of them.
* on <<zhihu>>:
** https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/76604171 香功是什么?为什么国家要禁止习练香功? (What is Xiang Gong? Why did the country [China] forbit practicing Xiang Gong?) by 吴庆元. Mentions the <<flg-medication>> argument, but it is from a pro-Qi Gong writter in general.
** https://www.zhihu.com/question/24006657 香功是邪教吗? (Is Xiang Gong an Evil Cult?)
* https://www.sohu.com/a/270132785_100279655 我们回顾一下80/90年代所谓的"大师" (Looking back at the so-called "Masters" of the 80s/90s) on <<sohu>>
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Zcgk15kkc Treinamento Perfumado Nível 1 (Xianggong) completo (Complete Xiang Gong training, level 1 complete) by Maria Lucia Lee (2017)
This is the YouTube channel of a Brazillian Xianggong parcticionner.
This reminded <<ciro-santilli>> of a Qigong/Taichi course he went to for a few months when he was a young teenager in Santos, Brazil, attended almost exclusively by older ladies.
+
Some people, even outside China, like "mystic stuff", and may start a mystic stuff practice, more or less affiliated to a certain current of mysticism.
+
Especially since people know nothing about any of the currents, partly due to the language barrier, it often becomes a larger more dilluted current os mysticisms.
+
The same likely applied to that course Ciro attended, but at the time he was clueless and didn't really classify his teacher's influences.
+
Ciro must say however, that some of the exercises were good, and have become a permanent part of Ciro's https://cirosantilli.com/cirodance[Cirodance].
+
The only thing Ciro rejects completely is the metaphysical bullshit: <<does-ciro-santilli-believe-in-or-practice-falun-gong>>.
+
Though if something has a lot of metaphysical bullshit, it makes it hard for Ciro to practice it without thinking about the metaphysics.
+
Maria speaks perfect Portuguese, and given the name Lee she must be a second or later generation immigrant. She's likely from Sao Paulo. Here's a video of her in the 70's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaPlwdb5iIw when she was likely in her late 30's, already as a Qigong teacher.
+
Mystical movements like that likely had a decent following in Brazil, especially in the 70's linked to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippie[Hippies] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/嬉皮士[嬉皮士]). Ciro's mother mentioned some related stories of her friends.
+
At https://www.instagram.com/p/COOnUMwHD_Q/ for example
[[falun-gong-bibliography]]
=== Falun Gong bibliography (法轮功参考书目)
* https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-Chinese-government-against-Falun-Gong on <<quora>>
* https://www.zhihu.com/question/23988890 at <<zhihu>>
* https://www.orange-papers further developed at: <<flg-cult>>
==== The Falungong Phenomenon by Hu Ping (2003)
https://s3.amazonaws.com/berkley-center/040127HuFalunGongPhenomenon.pdf
Published on the China Rights Forum from <<hric>>.
[[me-and-li-by-ben-hurley-2017]]
==== Me and Li by Ben Hurley (2017)
https://medium.com/@Ben_D_Hurley/-10677166298b "Me and Li" by Ben Hurley published on October 23, 2017.
This post by a former believer gives what <<ciro-santilli>> feels is a realistic account that matches Ciro's observations.
Interesting quotes:
* <<me-and-li-tumor>>
Most would find they had little in common with non-practitioners ("ordinary people" in Falun Gong parlance) but would maintain cordial relations with friends and family nonetheless, and think of various ways to explain the edge off some of Falun Gong's less palatable teachings about aliens, how heaven views gay people, the inferiority of other religions and Master Li's role in saving the universe.
[[history-of-falun-gong]]
==== History of Falun Gong 法轮功历史
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Falun_Gong
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/法輪功歷史
A few non-religious non-CCP resources can be found at:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Falun_Gong
* Sun Senjun's accounts from the 1980's, see: <<li-hongzhis-family>>
but those are very rare, because where else would the information come form, right?
* 1989: initial private beta courses. TODO key interesting moment.
* 1992-05-13: initial public lecture at the 1992 International Health Exposition in Beijing, and opening main academy on No. 5 Middle School in Changchun, <<jilin>> (capital).
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TODO what did he talk about on that Beijing day. This day still celebrated in 2020 as https://en.minghui.org/cc/36/["Falun Dafa Day"], in which the major international "<<orange-papers,Experience Sharing>> Conference" happens in New York.
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He apparently also taught at Chaoyang Park in Changchun: https://goo.gl/maps/BFwKs2xr48AMUAbx8
[[benjamin-penny-the-life-and-times-of-li-hongzhi-2003]]
===== The Life and times of Li Hongzhi by Benjamin Penny (2003)
Free to read at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20059033
[[benjamin-penny-the-religion-of-falun-gong-2012]]
===== The Religion of Falun Gong by Benjamin Penny (2012)
A freely downloadable paper with a subset of the book: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/20059033.pdf
The author: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Penny is an Australian researcher, https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/penny-bdc
The commies are not a fan. But as someone once told me: the commies are not a fan of a bunch of things!
As mentioned at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_China there are only a few state approved churches under total CCP control, and the others are forbidden. For example one of them is called the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Patriotic_Catholic_Association[Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association]! God and CCP on the same sentence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XII[Pope Pius XII] excommunicated people from that organization who were appointing new Bishops!
* 2021-04-01 from <<rfa>> https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/christians-camps-04012021081013.html "Chinese Christians Held in Secretive Brainwashing Camps: Sources", due to report of victim under the pseudonyum Li Yuese (李约瑟) from Sichuan. No strong corroboration however unfortunately. Chinese article 2021-03-11 https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/ql2-03312021045450.html
* 2018-12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzWApdCNdik "100 Christians detained in China crackdown" published by CNN
* 2016 https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/27/world/asia/china-zhejiang-christians-pastor-crosses.html pastor 14 years jail
* 2015 https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/christians-in-china-feel-full-force-of-authorities-repression/2015/12/23/7dd0ec5a-a736-11e5-b596-113f59ee069a_story.html
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2018-09 cartoon showing Jesus and the Apostles in the Last Supper being arrested by CCP guards. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/china-crackddown-Christianity-cartoon-09072018150421.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Last_Supper_arrest.jpeg[height=400]
.Cartoon by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Hongtu[Zhang Hongtu] (张宏图) showing <<mao-zedong>> and other communist officials at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Supper[Last Supper] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/最后的晚餐[最后的晚餐]) instead of Jesus and the Apostles. https://musicandculture.blogspot.com/2010/03/massive-last-supper-parodies-post.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Last_Supper_Mao.jpg[height=400]
.Permission papers filled to the brim with government <<seal,stamps>> required for the Taihu Catholic Church (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/華莊天主堂[太湖天主堂]) from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuxi[Wuxi] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/无锡市[无锡市]) to hold their annual Christmas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Réveillon[Reveillon] reunion. This is the <<ccp,CCP>>'s version freedom of religion and freedom of assembly. Also mentioned at: https://bitterwinter.org/christmas-was-not-allowed-but-brought-china-a-lot-of-money/ from <<bitter-winter>>. https://twitter.com/ZhangZhulin/status/1342211279633719296[Source]. TODO original social media post from the church.
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Taihu_church_Christmas_reveillon_permission_2020.jpg[height=500]
[[lampstand-church-demolition]]
.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Lampstand_Church[Golden Lampstand Church] (https://www.dw.com/zh/山西临汾金灯台教堂被强拆/a-42114625[金灯台教堂]) church in <<shanxi>> being demolished in January 2018. https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-authorities-demolish-christian-mega-church-in-crackdown-2018-1[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Church_demolition.jpg[height=400]
[[life-of-brian-nazi-jew]]
.https://youtu.be/wthHB3iTC7M?t=556 Nazi Jew deleted scene from <<life-of-brian-1979>>. If you want to stop <<christianity>>, don't put them in jail like the <<dictatorship,dictators>>. Do it the same way you stop dictators: with <<funny,comedy>>. Otherwise, the dictators remain in power, and <<intolerance,next person in jail, will be you>>. <<the-secret-life-of-brian-2007>> is a good documentary about it.
video::wthHB3iTC7M[youtube,width=600,height=400,start=556]
.https://youtu.be/tRr_1U9EvWI "How China uses intimidation, negotiation to bring Christians under its control" by CBC News: The National (2018). Talks about the Pope's deal with the CCP. Shows some good footage of a house church with a guard in front of the door.
video::tRr_1U9EvWI[youtube,width=600,height=400,start=556]
[[ccp-vatican-deal]]
=== CCP-Vatican deal (中共-梵蒂冈协议, 2018)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–Holy_See_relations
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China–Holy_See_relations#September_2018_Holy_See–China_Agreement
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中華人民共和國與梵蒂岡關係
____
In January 2018, the Church was close to negotiating a deal with China that allows China to have more control over the underground churches and allows the Vatican to have more control over the appointment of bishops. While this did not amount to the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, this was seen as a huge step towards formal recognition.[21] However, Joseph Zen Ze-kiun regarded the warming of diplomatic relationships as selling out the Catholic Church in China, as the process involves the resignation of several bishops of the underground church.
* 2020-09-17 https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/17/china-francis-vatican/ China Is Already Breaking Its Vatican Deal
* 2020-11-24 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/24/pope-says-for-first-time-that-chinas-uighurs-are-persecuted "Pope says for first time that China's Uighurs are 'persecuted'"
.<<rebel-pepper>> 2018-09 cartoon showing the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis[Pope Francis] (https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/方濟各_(教宗)[方济各教宗]) with a Christian cross containing the Hammer and Sickle communist symbol, in reference to one of the accords that the Vatican struck with the Chinese government. https://www.rfa.org/english/cartoons/vatican-china-cartoon-09282018102133.html[Source].
image::{china-dictatorship-media-base}/Pope_CCP_deal.jpeg[height=400]
[[eastern-lightning]]
=== Eastern Lightning 全能神教會 (1991-)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Lightning
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/全能神教會
A persecuted Christian sect that believes that some Chinese woman is Jesus.
[[kaifeng-jews]]
== Kaifeng Jews (开封犹太人)
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaifeng_Jews#Recent_repression
* https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/开封犹太人
Even with such tiny community, the <<ccp>> is still trying to pretende they never existed.
Yes, gay people are also <<evil-west,discriminated to different degrees in Western countries>>, and even legally prohibited notably in the Islamic world.