FLG Cult Is Bane to Health, Life: People's Daily

People's Daily publishes a commentary Friday, urging Falun Gong followers to stop believing in and practicing the cult and seek medical attention at a hospital or a doctor when falling ill.

The commentary, titled "The Cult of Falun Gong is a Bane to Health and Life," denounces the evil instructions of the cult, which tells people not to see a doctor when they get ill.

Li Hongzhi, the cult leader, has stolen concepts from Buddhism to say that birth, aging, illness and death are all decided by " Yinyuan (Karma)." He told his followers that if they take medicine, it would not be able for them to cleanse their body and thus the illness could not be healed. "When you get over it, you become a superperson," Li said.

So far, over 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners have died in the country due to their refusal to go to the hospital to cure their illness, in an attempt to become a "superperson," according to the commentary.

The commentary cites a number of examples to prove that people must not believe in the cult but follow science.

Huang Liming, a retired female worker in Beijing, was a cancer patient and had her breasts removed, but she had been in stable condition when receiving regular check-ups following the instructions of medical experts.

In February 1997, she began to practice Falun Gong and then stopped taking her medicine. Her health deteriorated the next year. Before she breathed her last breath, the woman told her family members, "It is Falun Gong that has hindered the medical treatment for me."

In another example, Xiong Zhihua was the director of a local hospital in Taicang, Jiangsu Province. As a diabetes patient, Xiong's health had been stable until 1995, the year he became a part of the cult and accepted no more medical treatment, despite strong opposition from his family. The man died in 1998 due to the fact he did not accept medical treatment.

These facts have showed the danger of spiritual control over the followers by Falun Gong, the commentary says.

The newspaper goes on that it is the result of the relaxing of ideological education, including education of correct thinking and scientific knowledge as well as the tolerance of the spreading of feudalistic, fatuous, backward and corrupt ideas.

It urges people to learn lessons from the issue and continue to criticize the nature of Falun Gong as a cult, while making greater efforts to spread knowledge about science, culture and law. It also urges people to increase the ability to recognize the cult's propaganda, promote sports and cultural activities among the people, to improve their health.

The paper pledges to completely eradicate the cult of Falun Gong, in order to prevent the cult from further infringing the citizens and disturbing civilized and stable society, and to ensure the smooth proceeding of the reform, opening and socialist modernization drive.






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