Why is the Chinese
Government Persecuting Falun Gong?
The Short Answer...
Most analysts and China watchers have identified four factors that
have lead to the unwarranted crackdown on Falun Gong in China:
1. Supression of Beliefs in the Chinese
Communist State is Widespread.
The Chinese Communist Party has, since it
first took power in 1949, consistantly supressed spiritual and religious
beliefs among the people. Officially atheist, the Chinese Communist government
has forced many in China, including Catholics, Christians and other religions
that are not 'registered' with the State to practice their beliefs in hiding
and on the run.
2. Resentment from China's then-top leader,
Jiang Zemin.
Fearing that Falun Gong's widespread
popularity was overshadowing his own legacy, Jiang Zemin ordered the
traditional Chinese practice "eradicated." According to a 1999 Washington Post
article, "Communist Party sources said that the standing committee of the
Politburo did not unanimously endorse the crackdown and that Jiang alone
decided that Falun Gong must be eliminated" in order to solidify his power
base. As China scholar Andrew Nathan notes, "[Ultimately, Communism is] a
system built on monopoly of power and [Falun Gong] is something essential,
which can't be compromised."
3. The popularity of the practice: Falun Gong
practitioners outnumbered the Chinese Communist Party.
Falun Gong was first introduced to the public
on May 13, 1992. By the end of 1998, by the Chinese government's own estimate,
there were 70 - 100 million people in China who had taken up the practice.
Falun Gong had become "the largest voluntary organization in China, larger even
than the Communist party." (U.S. News and World Report February 1999 issue)
4. Party officials scapegoat Falun Gong to
gain politically
As economic and technological developments
have become top priorities for China as a nation, many government officials who
specialize in political propaganda and ideological battles will engender
political unrest to provide them with a "cause" to gain political power. Falun
Gong was made a scapegoat for this purpose. The propaganda was released through
government-run media to defame Falun Gong and its founder from June 1996, and
escalated to the mobilization of police and the use of physical violence in
Tianjin on April 23, 1999. The development and escalation of the Falun Gong
persecution actually happened over a period of three or four years.
As CNN's
Willy Lam reported a Communist Party veteran providing his analysis:
"By unleashing a Mao-style movement [against Falun Gong], Jiang is
forcing senior cadres to pledge allegiance to his line. This will
boost Jiang's authority-and may give him enough momentum to enable
him to dictate events at the pivotal 16th Communist Party congress
next year."
The
April 25th Papers
Read
"the April 25th Papers" - a detailed study of the peaceful gathering
of 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing on April 25, 1999, by
the people who were there...
The
Truth Behind the April 25 Incident
For more information, please visit
http://faluninfo.net/
