nang2
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That is the exact reason why Chinese government banned FaLunGong after FaLunGong demonstrated its power of rallying people, although those people were mostly middle-aged, disfranchised Chinese, many of who went with FaLunGong because they couldn't afford medical services. Certainly not because FaLunGong is some "evil cult".This actually make sense. You cannot afford to have a portion of your population pledging loyalty to some lunatic religious leader who one day may become powerful and order its followers to go against the government.
This is exactly what happened in Malaysia.
Back in the 80s in Malaysia, there was such a religious group call Al-Arqam. Their membership grew to about 200,000. The surprising part was they consisted of many educated Malays including engineers in the company where I worked. In fact they could set successful business and even factories even without government assistance.
The production supervisor reporting to me was also one of them. He wear a turban and long green robes to work. I remember he complained to me that the dance routine by an external dance group during our Annual Dinner and Dance was immoral.
Well in the 80s they became aggressive and went against the government. And Al Arqam is now history.
Al-Arqam - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Quote"
Challenges to the state[edit]
In 1986, the religious authorities was alarmed by Ashaari's book Aurad which claimed that Prophet Muhammad and the four caliphs not only could be met in a dream but also could be confronted physically and consciously in the real world.[17] The government's Islamic Developmental Department (Jakim) argued that some facts and arguments were misleading and could jeopardise the beliefs of the Malaysian Muslims.[17] The National Fatwa Committee proscribed the book in 1998.[18] The ban turned into a political controversy when Ashaari refused to abide by it and challenged the decision.[17]
Throughout the history, powerful religious leaders were always suspected by the state, China or else where.
However, the state doesn't have to go against it directly before these leaders go political. There is a lot of competitions among religious groups. If one is getting too powerful, the jealousy or fear from other groups will check it. In fact, before FaLunGong was banned, many religious groups in China were already against it. FaLunGong "flourished" largely because its disguise as QiGong and Chinese government sanctioned it while oppressing other religious groups. In another word, Chinese government "helped" FaLunGong grow and later tried to "correct" its own doing. In comparison, FaLunGong never gained stronghold among overseas Chinese who had many other options to choose from.
Another fella said that Chinese government is truly secular. Chinese government, though made up by atheists, is not really a secular government. The state religion has always been communism. Like any other religions, they believe their belief is the ultimate truth. Other people's belief is false and must be eradicated for the greater good. Secular government doesn't mean a government made up by atheists. It means that the government stays out of religious business and is certainly not run by religious doctrines.
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