As I exited the Hung Hom Train Station in Kowloon, Hong Kong on June 11, 2009, I was immediately greeted by a banner stating "Falun Dafa Is Good."
Could it be?
Though Falun Gong had surfaced in conversations since 2001 (the second time I lived in China) it had been just as long since I had really seen any sort of promotion, defense, or propaganda about what mainland Chinese refer to as a cult.
Falun openly protesting in Hong Kong, June 2009... on July 20, 1999, the Chinese government bans the practice of Falun Gong (法轮功, fǎlún gōng), also known as Falun Dafa (法轮大法, fǎlún dàfǎ). Falun literally translates as "Law [of the] Wheel".
But what is Falun Gong? Is it a religion? a cult? a meta-physical exercise?
Three principles: Truth. Compassion. Tolerance. But it seems nobody really knows, or at least few agree upon its definition to any degree, even those at wikipedia.
8 years ago...
... during a previous stay in China in 2001, a local friend of mine relayed a Falun Gong story:
His friend was married to a woman who became involved in Falun Gong. One day, she disappeared, and that was in 1998. For three years, the family had not heard from her.
Did she disappear by choice? They didn't know. Did the government take her? They couldn't be certain. Had they heard from her? Not once.
Amidst uncertainty, the family had not gone looking for her. Of course they were worried about her. They were unsure, however, whether her disappearance was willful or forced. If indeed it was the government who had detained her [or worse], the family certainly didn't want to be associated with her or Falun Gong. Knowing did not warrant the risk.
And so they stayed silent.
burned alive
It was during the Spring Festival of 2001 that I visited my friend and his family in Southern China.
The making of dumplings is still the central activity during the holidays, as is, in recent years, a flickering television set.
The date was January 23, 2001. Suddenly a news flash flickered across the television screen. The making of dumplings halted.
Tiananmen Square. Fire. Security guards. Victims.
I saw a completely charred face, recognizable only by three small holes - two eyes, and the latter, a mouth. "Ma ma.... ma ma..." Emergency crews paused for a camera to capture a 12-year old girl calling out for her mother, before she was loaded onto an ambulance.
The story on the TV went as such... "Mother and daughter. Tiananmen Square. Self-immolation with gasoline." Xinhua News reported that the girl was told that she would see heaven if she did as she was instructed, but instead, she ended up in the hospital, only to die 2 months later.
That is what was reported here, on TV. Some say it was staged by the government to gather credibility in its stance against Falun Gong. A deeper look stirs much controversy about the authenticity of this footage; watch video footage and analysis here.
mystery...
... surrounds Falun Gong. The lack of religion in China in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution tells me that there is a strong spiritual void, the nature of which will always be filled by those who feel a calling for something more.
Where there is not the way, the will is found.
When anything goes underground because of a government ban, the spread of incorrect information spreads even faster and with greater conviction. I question that a ban is successful of the opposite.
What is pruned at the branches will flourish at its roots.
For practicing members, a government ban is only to strengthen the desire to practice. For those unfamiliar with the practice, they may be likely to stay farther away, but more so out of fear of persecution than out of lack of curiosity.
torture
Nearing the train station 2 days later, I again was greeted by graphic images of torture of Falun Gong followers, purportedly at the hands of the Chinese government:
purported torture of Falun Gong followers
more purported torture of Falun Gong followers
even more purported torture of Falun Gong followersShhh. Nobody is talking today.
Still in mainland China, religion and politics are two topics that most of my Han (ethnicity) friends and acquaintances are either unwilling to or uninterested in discussing openly, at least with me (other topics include Tibet and Taiwan). The hangover of not being able to freely discuss matters of importance ever lingers from the Cultural Revolution.
It is not possible to trust the government's hard line statement, it is not possible to trust the follower's blanketed mission, it is not possible to trust the foreign media's distant bias.
Note: Access to Blogger is still blocked within China. Without access to a much appreciated VPN (proxy), I would be unable to write such a post and publish it to my blog from within mainland China. Thus, I am blessed and grateful to be sharing.
Awesome read, I wasn't able to view that self-immolation footage, but I will be keeping an eye out for it. Interestingly, self-immolation has a long history in Chinese religion, namely in Buddhism, which the Party purportedly endorses. It's ironic that they try to portray it as the insane activity of some small cult, as if there weren't a precedent in place within the mainstream. - will
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