www.globeandmail.com News Books Careers Mutual Funds Stocks ROB Magazine Technology
Home  |  Business  |  National  |  International  |  Sports  |  Features  |  Forums  |  Subscribe

The Globe and Mail
Friday, Nov. 05
leaf

7 Day Search

Tips - Other Options
space
The Millennium in Antarctica Contest space
Contents
bulletReport on Business
bulletNational
bulletInternational
bulletSports
bulletFeatures
bulletGlobe Review
bulletComment
bulletFocus & Books
bulletAutomotive new
bulletClassifieds
bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletFood & Dining new
bulletTravel
bulletHealth
bulletScience
bulletTechnology
News Index
bulletAutomotive new
bulletBirths & Deaths
bulletClassifieds
 Automotive
 Business MarketPlace
 Careers
 National Personals
 Real Estate Rentals
 Real Estate Sales
 Services and Merchandise

bulletComment
 Editorials
 Editorial Cartoon
 Letters to the Editor
 Send letter to the Editor

bulletFeatures
 Amazing Facts
 Century of the Millennium
 Essay
 Family Matters series new
 Lives Lived
 Millennium 100
 Social Studies
bullet Focus & Books
 Book news
 Book reviews
 Focus Columns

bulletFood & Dining new
bulletGlobe Review
 Art
 Books
 Broadcast Week
 Fashion & Design
 Film
 Music
 Television
 Theatre
 TV Listings

bulletHealth
bulletInternational
 Columns
bulletNational
 Columns
 Discussion Forums
 Report

bulletReport on Business
   - Staff Biographies
 Annual Reports
 Managing
 Money & Markets
 ROB Top 1000
 Small Business
 Smart Numbers
 Special Reports
 1999 Federal Budget

bulletScience
bulletSports
   - Staff Biographies
 Basketball
 Baseball
 Football
 Golf
 Hockey
 Other Sports

bulletTechnology
bulletTravel
Magazines
bulletROBmagazine.com
Special Interest
bulletCommunication Solutions new
bulletIT Management
bulletMillennium Series
 
Search Results

China cocks the trigger of rebellion

MARCUS GEE

Wednesday, November 3, 1999

Could a martial-arts master who claims he can cure cancer with a jolt from his fingertips bring down the government of the world's most populous nation?

A year ago, that question would have seemed laughable. Li Hongzhi was the eccentric leader of a growing spiritual movement called Falun Gong that combined Buddhist and Taoist beliefs with faith healing and traditional Chinese exercise. A former trumpeter and government grain clerk, he claimed that believers could improve their moral and physical well-being by channelling positive energy to the Falun, a wheel-like miniature of the universe found in the abdomen. Hundreds of his followers could be seen practising the slow-motion exercise in city parks at sunrise and sunset, hands held in front of their bellies to "spin the wheel of energy."

Most countries would have dismissed Mr. Li as a harmless crank and let him alone. China's deeply insecure Communist leaders denounced him as a dangerous charlatan and threw a group of his followers in jail. In protest, 10,000 Falun Gong members gathered in the centre of Beijing and surrounded the massive compound where China's leaders live. Shocked, the government banned the sect, rounded up believers in 30 cities, destroyed two million Falun Gong tapes and texts and issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Li, who now lives in New York.

That was a serious mistake. Overnight, Falun Gong was transformed from an apolitical self-improvement group into an underground protest movement that could threaten the very survival of the Communist regime.

The past few weeks have shown just how serious the threat has become. Determined to resist the government ban, hundreds and perhaps thousands of Falun Gong members have filtered quietly into Beijing, hiding with local sympathizers to avoid arrest. Every day last week, groups of them made their way to the heart of the capital, Tiananmen Square, to protest against the ban on their sect. Every day, the police hauled them away.

Like a modern-day Inquisition, the government denounced Falun Gong as "devil cult." Police rounded up more of its followers and the rubber-stamp parliament proclaimed a tough new anti-cult law, setting the state for witch-hunting show trials of arrested Falun Gong leaders.

But stamping out Falun Gong will not be easy. It has millions of members in China and around the world (Mr. Li claims 100 million, the government says two million) and they are extremely well organized. In Beijing last week, they were communicating with the media and each other by E-mail, mobile phone and pager. Any group that can bring 10,000 people to the rigidly guarded centre of Beijing undetected is a force to be reckoned with.

What makes the group most formidable is its spiritual and moral appeal. Though Mr. Li obviously is a bit of a nut -- he says aliens reside on Earth and claims he can make himself invisible -- his call for a return to virtue and compassion strikes a chord in a country riddled with corruption and inequality. Mr. Li offers an unforgiving critique of rootless modern Chinese society. At a time when many people feel adrift, he promises to give life some meaning again.

This is not the first time that folk religion has challenged state power in China. Nearly 2,000 years ago, a travelling magician said he had found a way to cure disease by administering a drink of ordinary water over which a sacred incantation had been said. Peasants rushed to his banner and quickly became a revolutionary movement known as the Yellow Turbans. Hundreds of years later, a secret Buddhist group known as the White Lotus Society challenged the Mongol regime of Kublai Khan. And at the end of the 19th century, the fervent mystics known as the Boxers staged their famous rebellion.

Such uprisings tend to take place in times of disquiet and discontent. Now is just such a time. Though the country appears stable and the regime strong, China is a place of seething tensions. Millions of workers have been thrown out of work by semi-capitalist economic reforms. Most Chinese long ago stopped believing in China's official state religion, communism. The country lacks a strong leader, such as Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping, to give it direction.

The government has tried every trick in the book against Mr. Li and his followers. It called them traitors inspired by foreign ideas -- a foolish thing to say about a homegrown movement with deep roots in Chinese tradition. It said they were stealing state secrets, another old chestnut. Finally, it tried to paint them as dangerous political dissidents who could subvert the state.

That was not true when it was said, but it might become so. By branding Falun Gong believers as heretics and forcing them into opposition, China may have cocked the trigger of another folk rebellion against the state.


E-mail: mgee@globeandmail.ca

 
Noteworthy
What does a family gain/lose if the mother works?
This week's Family Matters discussion. Ends November 12, 1999.

globemegawheels
Find dealers, buy or sell RVs to SUVs, and list your auto ad for FREE.

Discussion Forums
bulletMillennium Money
Does Paul Martin's economic plan indicate a financial readiness for the 21st Century?

bulletAthletic Advantages
Should the Ottawa Senators receive a tax break?

bulletAboriginal Manifesto
Public reactions and government responses to Mi'kmaq fishing and Native logging in BC demonstrate the depth of anti-Indian prejudice in this country. True or false?

bulletCareers
"Everybody says that there is an IT shortage in Canada, but having recently graduated ... I am still unemployed." Share your story!

bulletMutual Funds
A national airline. What is all the fuss about?

bulletTechnology
Show me the E-money! Would you trade in your coin for a smart card?

Help & Contact Us
Back to the top of this page
Copyright © 1999 Globe Information Services