I have recently read some things that is hard to believe is actually going on in this day and age. Yes I know the world is really a cruel place, but this is something I really want to believe doesn’t happen. What I am referring to is the Chinese government torturing people to force them to give up a ‘belief system’, this system seems to be similar to ‘tia chi’, sort of a martial arts / self centering exercise called Falun Gong.
I know the word torcher has been thrown around a lot lately and had been watered down, but this seems to be the real thing, causing intense pain, massive injury, lasting years and sometimes (often?) death. All apparently for a belief system that the Chinese Gov’t doesn’t approve of.
What is going on there? It this really happening as I understand it? If so why does the Chinese Gov’t have such a problem with Falun Gong? Why is this not wide spread news? Why is the international community not pressuring China to stop this? What is Falun Gong exactly?
I am hoping some of you know what is going on and can fill me in, but for those who don’t, here is are some links to get you started:
The conventional wisdom is that the Chinese government, being authoritarian, is suspicious to the point of fear of any kind of ideology that it think threatens its own power. The suppression of Falun Gong is of a piece with its suppression of more conventional religions and of democratic activism. The international community, namely the more powerful governments, give lip service to the general problem of China’s human rights record (they were using torture long before Falun Gong was founded, ya know), but its status as a huge market and a huge, cheap labor pool tend to prevent anything more than that.
I’m pretty sure it hasn’t been. Torture, on the other hand, has been a common topic for debate lately.
And this is the first you’ve heard of the Chinese government torturing its citizens? Fifteen years ago, they were running them over in the streets with tanks. Why did you think they’d be any more gentle behind closed doors?
As for Falun Gong, I thought it was a semi-Christian sect. At any rate, the Chinese gov. is dead set against any religion that might draw worship away from the State. While officially atheistic, the level of devotion and blind faith they expect from their citizens, and the way they treat those who don’t offer it, is largely indistinguishable from your average theocracy. Except instead of Christ, or Mohammed, they’ve got Mao.
I think Elvislives has it right. On the other hand, my exposure to Falun Gong has included the observation that it is overtly opposed to the communist government of China. Whether this came about in response to the actions of that Government is another question. It is not presently a mere religious movement, if it ever was.
Suppressing opposition by using torture? That’s what military dictatorships do.
Falun Gong is a Chinese religious group that mixes Buddhist and Taoist beliefs (and incidentally, believes what I consider to be some strange things, like that illness is caused by immorality, and that the world’s going to end soon). The exercises you mention are ways that Falun Gong practiioners try to manipulate energy forces they believe are inside their body. (Having misaligned energy, they say, can also cause disease). The Chinese government considers it a dangerous cult.
There are many instances in Chinese history of religious movements that evolved into political rebellions. Not that that justifies the government’s treatment of Falun Gong, but it does help us appreciate their POV.
There was a lot of pressure about 5 years ago, but from what I can tell it died down after the founder took off to Taiwan with his money and people lost interest in Falun Gong.
So, I guess that’s the kind of thing the CCP leadership is thinking of, when they decide whether to tolerate or repress a sect like Falun Gong. To Westerners a cult of T’ai-Chi-practicing mystics looks not only harmless but silly. The Chinese might well see it differently.
Same here. I searched i my dictionnary without success.
Apart from that, I don’t really remember what this cult is about, but when I read about it some years ago, their beliefs appeared extremely weird to me. Nothing to do with christianism, in any case.
And yes, torture is used in China, but they atoned for this by buying from us 150 airbus A 380 two days ago, so, all is well and good.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but what I take from the posts so far are
1 - 1st and formost, I can’t spell to save my life, but I knew this going into it.
2 - As a minor secondary issue, well basically a non-issue, yes we all know that the Chinese government tortures their citizens, and yes real hard core torture, like the word was suppose to mean, causing intense pain and life long disability, but what the hey, China makes really cheap stuff.
Well…It’s probably the part about the thought control by aliens or something similar (I vaguely remember it involved the moon) that made me think they had rather weird beliefs.
Make no mistake. As a matter of deliberated policy, The US under the current administration employs hard core, two-fisted torture. The taxes you pay, train and employ professional torturers of the US government.
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