On October 1, 1999, President Jiang Zemin and other leaders of the
Communist Party of China celebrated the 50th anniversary of communist
rule in China with a massive military parade through downtown Beijing.
What was this 50th anniversary celebration representing? What this grand
parade symbolized was the political achievement and the recent economic
prosperity of the People's Republic. What a display of invincible power
it was! Who would dare to challenge the supremacy of this communist
regime? The nation now appears to be enjoying economic prosperity while
under the political rule of a communist system. But when it marked the
fifty years of communist rule, the regime faced a serious challenge by a
new spiritual movement of the people--a movement known as Falun Gong.
On January 14, 2001, at big conference in Hong Kong, Falun Gong
leaders bitterly criticized China's top leader for the campaign of
suppression against the group and called on President Jiang Zemin to
halt the crackdown. On January 23, five members of the banned Falun
Gong meditation group set themselves on fire in China's infamous
Tiananmen Square. CNN news reported on February 5, 2001, "Jiang Zemin
may succeed in suppressing the Falun Gong sect for now, but the
president's prestige could suffer considerable damage. So could China's
program of reforms."
The roots of this story go back to July 22, 1999, when China's
government banned the group, fearing its popularity could threaten the
Communist Party's claim to be the legitimate leadership of the Chinese
populace. The government justified the ban with accusations of the group
spreading unrest and undermining social stability. One and a half years
later, the January 23rd fiery demonstration is being called the most
serious incident since the Tiananmen Square protest of 1989. The
People’s Republic is now in fear of the people's movement! If, as Falun
Gong leaders claim, the group has no stated political agenda, why are
China's leaders so worried about a movement best known for its members
gathering in city parks for meditative exercise?
First, it is the enormous size of the group that matters. This group
that started in northeast China in 1992 now claims to have 100 million
followers worldwide. What is so appealing about this group that so many
people have been seduced into joining it? A mixture of Buddhist and
Taoist beliefs, Falun Gong (translated "Wheel of Law") was founded by Li
Hongzhi and employs meditation, physical exercise, and traditional
Chinese health practices known as qigong. This syncretistic movement is
often referred to as a "moral cultivation" movement because of its
conservative moral guidelines that warn followers against such
"degenerate" influences as rock and roll, television, computers,
homosexuality, and modern medical care. Stressing simplicity, the group
appeals to nostalgic yearnings for a simpler time, a purer day.
Although Falun Gong is very traditional, and very Eastern in its
origin, it also has adopted Western elements drawn from Scientology and
Christian Science. The movement promotes what it calls "fashen," when
the "mind and thoughts [are] controlled by the practitioner" through
exercise and spiritual practice. Li Hongzhi, the founder of this group,
claims that his fashen can cure his followers' illnesses. In a society
where so many struggle with health problem, Falun Gong leaders claim
that they have answers for maintaining healthy soul and healthy body. In
a society where communist materialism denies the existence of a
spiritual realm, Falun Gong propaganda promotes that healing comes from
the spirit. It is ironic that the very successors of Karl Marx (who
claimed that the materialistic world is everything) are now
contradicting themselves by recognizing a spiritual reality with their
claims of Falun Gong having exorcised evil spirits! China is now in an
ideological civil war. But, as we know, neither an a theistic doctrine
or a cult can be a right path for the nation.
Secondly, Falun Gong worries China's leaders because the group's
social influence matters. We must ask, "What sociological needs have
remained unsatisfied among this populace and how is Falun Gong
fulfilling those needs?" The majority of the group's Chinese adherents
are from the generation of the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s. With
Marxism-Maoism debunked in 1990s and the market economy
rollercoastering, economic uncertainty and fear for the future grip the
vast middle class. During the Cultural Revolution they experienced
official attacks on traditional culture. At the same time, they did not
fit into the new modern culture brought by the age of information . This
confusion and imploding faith in the state has provided fertile ground
for a variety of belief systems. Into this vacuum of desperately felt
needs for moral guidance, Falun Gong offers a triple concept of moral
guidance in the form of, namely, zhen-- shan-ren (roughly translating to
"truthfulness-compassion/ benevolence-forbearance/acceptance--
endurance").
While showing no political agenda, the Falun Gong movement still
threatens the very foundational assumptions on which the Communist
regime's legitimacy stands. By appealing to the power of internal
meditation, it challenges the communist concept of external materialism.
No one can deny that the group can--at any time it chooses--exercise a
powerful political influence because its seventy million members already
outnumbers the sixty million of the Communist Party. The People's
Republic was established on October 1, 1949 by the people but, on its
50th anniversary, the People's Republic found itself seriously
challenged by the people again.
Falun Gong has found fertile land in China where people
nostalgically yearns for a more traditional and nature-friendly culture.
It also is thriving by appealing to their desires for health, meaning
and belonging; by teaching an alternative, simpler way of life; and by
building a community of practitioners. It also reflects a postmodern
ethos growing in modern China (although this is a quite different one
from the Western experience): a large group of people-- disadvantaged by
the industrial progress and disillusioned by secularism--is seeking for
something their government cannot provide. But those who pray for the
spiritual revolution in the Communist China know that Falun Gong is not
the true answer. Though the false teachings appear to appease spiritual
hunger in people’s heart, Falun Gong is a syncretistic cult. China
needs Christian missionaries who will bring the Bread of Life to
millions of souls who will otherwise perish without true spiritual
nourishment.
From 1965 when it began implementing missiological education,
Fuller has aspired to reclaim mainland China for Christ. Dr. Arthur F.
Glasser was a missionary there prior to the Cold War. Dr. Chan young
Choi led a project for the publication of the Bible in China. Students
like Jeremiah Im and Andrew Mui went to China with burning heart to
witness for Christ. Others, including Lisa Lee and Jennifer Bloch have
expanded their cross-cultural vision by going to China. Being a part of
this cross-cultural heritage at Fuller, we must know that it is a
critical time for mission work in China. Now the ideological
battlefield for Communism and Falun Gong, China is also a spiritual
battlefield for Christianity and Falun Gong. This is a battlefield that
we have to engage in under the banner of Christ to bring millions of
lost souls to the Savior.