Highlight Rule of Law and Punish Cult: People's Daily 　　Rule of law should be highlighted and the Falun Gong cult should be severely punished, a commentary being published in Sunday's People's Daily says. 　　China's top legislature, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, adopted a decision in Beijing Saturday on banning and punishing cults such as Falun Gong, the leading newspaper says. 　　Courts, prosecutors, police and administrative judicial organs must be on full alert against cult activities and deal with them rigorously in accordance with the law, the paper urges. 　　According to judicial explanations released by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate Saturday, cult leaders may also be prosecuted for murder, intentional bodily harm, rape, rape of the under-aged, fraud or endangering national security if such atrocities are found to have been perpetrated. 　　The decision and the explanations are of vital importance to the country's stability and the ongoing reform and opening up, the paper says. 　　Cults are a global problem faced by many governments in the world. Falun Gong, headed by Li Hongzhi, is by nature a cult which has caused injuries and deaths. 　　The central government stressed that it would follow rule of law when it started the campaign against Falun Gong last July. The two new documents fully reflect that idea. 　　It should be ensured that the laws are strictly observed, enforcement of laws is strict and violations of the law must be investigated and dealt with accordingly. 　　The commentary also stresses that practitioners who were unaware of the cult's true purpose should be handled differently from organizers and leaders, to ensure that only a handful of criminals are punished. 　　The key to guaranteeing rule of law is to improve all citizens' understanding of the law and knowledge of science, so that they are aware cults are not religions. 　　The nationwide campaign against Falun Gong should be continued until the cult is eliminated, the paper urges. Opinion 1999-10-31 Page1 Full Story in Chinese