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BBC Chinese: China’s Official List of Evil Cults Does Not Include Falun Gong

BBC Chinese recently reported that many Chinese netizens were surprised by the fact that Falun Gong is not in the official list of “evil cults” when, since 1999, the media has told everybody in China that Falun Gong was being persecuted because it is an “evil cult.” In the past few weeks, a wide range of key Chinese news agencies reported on the illegal activities related to “evil cults.” However, in the list that the media published, neither the Ministry of Public Safety nor the State Council had Falun Gong on their official list of “evil cults.” This triggered a large discussion online and many people, including lawyers, asked why the biggest so-called “evil cult,” Falun Gong, is not even on the list. For fifteen years, the popular spiritual movement (also known as Falun Dafa) has suffered the most brutal crack-down in China because it was named a so-called “evil cult.” Court rulings in China have frequently referenced Falun Gong as an evil cult. Some netizens suggested that the government “was just unable to wipe out Falun Gong and that Falun Gong had not really hurt society.” [Editor’s note: Falun Gong is a spiritual movement promoting the belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Hundreds of thousands are believed to practice Falun Gong freely and legally outside of China in over 70 countries.]
Source: BBC Chinese, June 3, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/06/140603_china_cult_list_falungong.shtml