Here are a few excerpts from a review written by Joseph Khan on Falun Gong and the Future of China by David Ownby (291 pp. Oxford University Press)
“…Like the Communist Party, Falun Gong shrouds its inner workings in secrecy and communicates through propaganda….”
“…Since the emergence of the White Lotus Society in the 13th century, ordinary Chinese, particularly women and the poor, have found solace in sectarian movements whose features have remained consistent, Ownby argues. He calls the sects ‘redemptive societies’. They are organized around charismatic leaders who preach that salvation can be attained through cultivation of body and mind.
“The republican (now in Taiwan) and Communist governments of the 20th century inherited this antireligious bias. Both permitted five religions — Buddhism, Islam, Taoism, Catholicism and Protestantism — provided that they submitted to strict state supervision….”
“…Li (Hongzhi) founded Falun Gong… He claimed that people who followed his cultivation formula acquired a ‘third eye’ that allowed them to peer into other dimensions and escape the molecular world….”
See “Wearing China’s Shoes” http://wp.me/pN4pY-1p
iLook China 