BEIJING - A 19-year-old member of the Falungong spiritual movement
committed suicide by dousing himself with alcohol and setting himself
on fire, state press reported yesterday.
Mr Luo Guili, a student in the Chinese provincial capital of Nanning,
Guangxi province, died on July 2 after his self-immolation protest
a day earlier, the China Daily reported.
This follows the suicide bid by five followers of the group in January
on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, in which two people died.
There was another reported self-immolation suicide in Beijing in
March.
China's central government has made draconian efforts to wipe out
the group, which it banned two years ago as an 'evil cult'.
Self-immolation
is regarded in China as an extreme form of protest and seen as a last
resort to oppose the crackdown despite Falungong teachings opposing
suicide.
'It
is just another fabrication. We are opposed to all form of killing
including suicide, because committing suicide is a sin,' said Falungong
spokesman Sophie Xiao in Hongkong.
'How
come these so-called suicides never happen outside China?' she asked,
adding that Beijing was inventing suicides by Falungong members to
cover up the deaths of more than 250 practitioners who have died in
detention since the crackdown began in July 1999.--AFP
JULY 25, 2001
By David Hsieh
STRAITS TIMES CHINA BUREAU
BEIJING - Having captured the bid to host the 2008 Olympics, the
Chinese authorities have now raised the decibel level in their fight
against the Falungong.
The current campaign is being waged in the official press, on central
television as well as in the form of exhibitions sponsored by the
highest echelons of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the State.
The latest exhibit, titled Oppose Cults, Uphold Civilisation, at
the Military Museum began two days after the successful Olympics bid
and will run until the end of the month.
In
the two years since the banning of the radical Falungong qigong sect,
the Chinese authorities have adopted a carrot-and-stick approach towards
diehard Falungong followers.
Meting out lengthy prison sentences to the ringleaders, the crackdowns
have been swift and harsh.
The
Falungong network outside of China claims there were 250 deaths due
to police brutality, more than half occurring in the past six months.
The attempted mass suicide by hanging (using torn bed-sheets) at
the Wanjia laojiao (re-education through labour) institution in Harbin
on June 20 claimed three lives.
While Beijing security officials declined to comment on the death
toll outside the capital, they did confirm three suicides in custody
in Beijing.
They also validated foreign claims that about 10,000 Falungong followers
have been sent to laojiao or laogai (reform through labour) institutions
throughout the country.
That
is about one-fifth the number of practitioners who have been arrested
and/or detained for short periods, said Falungong groups abroad. In
Beijing, nearly 2,000 practitioners have been sent down for laojiao
or laogai for terms ranging from six months to three years.
Beijing security officials applaud the system for its high success
rate in converting cult followers, claiming a recidivism rate of only
10-15 per cent.
But they denied the use of torture and widespread violence against
internees as alleged by Falungong groups.
'In
my opinion, violence is ineffective against the Falungong because
we are dealing with beliefs,' a security official stated, adding that
instances of violence occurred most often during the initial arrest.
Since violence has proven ineffective, the watchword is now 'education'
in dealing with the 'brainwashed'.
For those Falungong followers who have not committed any offences
under the civil and penal codes, 'study groups' or 'conversion classes'
have been organised by various units to great effect.
In Beijing, dozens of such classes have been formed in the comfort
of guest houses or hotels and they are usually located near laojiao
institutions.
Groups of as many as 100 are kept completely segregated for up to
three weeks at a time accompanied day and night by 'tutors', many
of whom are recruited from the ranks of the recently-converted.
Conversion rates at such classes are said to be even higher than
at the laojiao institutions.
In these classes, the authorities treat Falungong followers with
kid gloves, ever vigilant they may resort to suicide or some other
desperate act. 'Treat them as a parent would a child' and 'Treat them
like a doctor towards his patient' have become the guiding slogans.
A responsibility system is in place for heads of government departments
across the country.
Falungong
groups claim that over 600 followers have been sent to mental institutions.
For the authorities, it is often very difficult to commit practitioners
because relatives are reluctant to sign release forms.
In China, there is a strong stigma against committing loved ones
to institutions even if they are seriously ill.
A Falungong sympathiser, speaking under conditions of anonymity,
accused the authorities of sinister deeds.
He said: 'The CCP is using drugs against us. On TV, some practitioners
are repenting like zombies. They have also sacked people from their
jobs without benefits.'
But he admitted that his movement is on the defensive and has been
driven underground.
He commented: 'On the surface, the network has been broken. But,
it has always been a loose network.
'Everyone practises secretly at home.'
He disclosed that, apart from the few who are able to communicate
with brethren abroad via the Internet, practitioners mainly pass messages
by word of mouth, never using the Internet or telephone.
Prominent cult fighter Sima Nan estimates that some 10,000 diehards
are still active in the mainland underground.
While declaring the Falungong to be a spent force nationally, a Beijing
security official acknowledged that the authorities are fighting a
protracted war.
'It will take some time to eradicate the remaining diehards but their
organisation defies conventional definition,' he said.
'While we cannot eliminate them fully, they are no longer able to
amount any major campaigns.'
The security officer emphasised that de-programming and publicity
against cult practices, coupled with the promotion of ethics and morality
along with scientific knowledge, are the key to refilling the spiritual
vacuum experienced by Falungong practitioners.
He reaffirmed that the laojiao system and the conversion classes
were effective means to deal with cults.
Mr Sima asserts that most important is the use of the law against
cults.
Earlier
this month, the China Anti-Cult Association, in conjunction with the
China Law Society, held a national symposium of leading anti-cult
and legal experts to propose that a law be made in China based on
the anti-cult 'About-Picard law' passed two months ago in France.
