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Olympic Bid Official Denounces Falun Gong Cult
The Falun Gong cult should not get in the way of Beijing's bid efforts to host the 2008 Olympic Games, Vice Mayor of Beijing Liu Jingmin said Thursday.
Liu, also vice president of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bid Committee (BOBICO), made the remark at a press conference at the annual meeting of the 11th Municipal People's Congress of Beijing.
In response to a question, Liu said the appearance of Falun Gong and the Chinese government's handling of the Falun Gong cult according to law has nothing to do with Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympics.
He said that many countries where a cult showed its ugly face have succeeded in hosting the Olympic Games. For example, the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games was not affected by police punishment of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult in Japan.
In another case, more than 80 people were burned to death and buildings were torched in a mass suicide as the US government used heavy weapons to stop the Branch Davidian cult in 1993.
However, Liu said the incident did not affect the United States hosting of the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996.
He said that the essence of the Olympic Ideal is the assurance of humanity and the justification of life. On the contrary, he said that Falun Gong manifests the distortion of humanity and contempt of life.
He said that Beijing's Olympic bid is aimed at promoting the Olympic Ideal and encourage Chinese people to adopt a healthy, positive philosophy of life, and therefore should be supported by all people around the world.
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