(Clearwisdom.net) While there is no accusation by the Chinese Government more haunting than that Falun Gong leads to health problems, mental illness, suicide and death, there is also no claim more deceptive and imaginative. Falun Gong has shown itself to have great healing efficacy, earning even the praise and endorsement of many of Beijing’s elite scientists and medical professionals. (see A5) Several health surveys have found that Falun Gong practice is effective in healing disease over 90% of the time (with a “cure rate” near 60%), and greatly improves mental health and overall quality of life. (see A3-A5) Falun Gong’s enormous, quickly-developed popularity has in fact been in large part due to its unprecedented health benefits. In fact, this is what led the Chinese Government to patronize the practice for its first four years, before political winds shifted unfavorably. Despite the Chinese Government’s recent, frightening claims, however, there is simply no supporting evidence that Falun Gong can prove injurious. What “evidence” the Government has provided is highly suspect, as the several cases of so-called “Falun Gong-induced deaths” that have been independently investigated have proven fictitious. (see A1-A2)
What’s more, the alleged “causal” explanation for purported Falun Gong side-effects is grounded in either in one of two fictitious claims. First is the suggestion of some hidden causal link between Falun Gong practice and psychosis or suicidal tendencies. This is a claim for which there is no known medical or legal basis, however, and none has been offered by Chinese officials. Were such a causal connection to be established, it would quickly grace the covers of medical journals east and west. A variety of stories have been crafted to “illustrate” the deadly effects of Falun Gong. But when they are examined in the light of Mr. Li’s teachings and careful analysis, they prove highly imaginative and deceptive. A statistical comparison of mortality rates owing to suicide in the general population as compared with among Falun Gong practitioners (as claimed by the Chinese Government) reveals that Falun Gong most likely saves some 10,000 practitioners from suicide each year.
Second is the pivotal Chinese Government claim that Mr. Li Hongzhi prohibits Falun Gong practitioners from taking medicine, putting them at risk. Examining Mr. Li’s teachings reveals that this is an utter fabrication, as he never has prevented--nor could he prevent--practitioners from seeking medical treatment. In banning Falun Gong, the Chinese Government is thus “protecting” the Chinese people from something that does not exist. When the Chinese Government’s much-paraded statistic “1,400 deaths due to Falun Gong” is analyzed here on its own terms, it again unravels, proving the exact opposite of what the Government intended. Using China’s mortality rate for 1998, we could expect Falun Gong’s 70 million practitioners to lose roughly 455,000 people to death. The Chinese government states that no practitioner is allowed to take medicine. Any Falun Gong practitioner who dies is therefore included in the “1,400 deaths due to psychosis, suicide, and refused medical treatment,” as he or she would supposedly refuse medical treatment even while dying; the Government here asserts a causal link. According to the Chinese Government’s official statistics then, Falun Gong most likely saved around 454,000 lives in 1999 alone! Since some surveys have found that up to 68% of practitioners are 50 or more years old, one could expect the mortality rate among practitioners to be even higher than that of the general population, let alone if these poor “cult victims” forgo much-needed medicine.
Were the stakes of the Chinese Government’s accusations not so high, they might even prove amusing for their fanciful, illogical qualities. Since these claims, however wrong, have found their way into the Western media and been the topic of several English-language Chinese Government publications, we offer here clarification.
1. Falun Gong’s Teachings on Medicine and Medical Treatment
Falun Gong is most accurately called a “cultivation practice” (xiu lian) (much akin to “self-cultivation” in the West), though it is more generically a form of qigong practice as it has five sets of gentle qigong exercises. As a cultivation practice, the emphasis in Falun Gong practice is on the improvement of one’s xinxing (moral character, or “heart/mind nature”). Cultivation of xinxing is mainly a matter of assimilating to the essential nature of the universe: truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Such assimilation is the goal of cultivation practice, in turn enabling the practitioner to develop his or her wisdom and reach “enlightenment”--an aspiration basic to Eastern spiritual practices, such as Taoism, Buddhism, etc. The goal of Falun Gong is thus not health and fitness, as in conventional qigong practices. Nevertheless, healing often occurs as a product of cultivating xinxing in Falun Gong practice. Hence, many people have been attracted to Falun Gong by its healing capacities.
Mr. Li Hongzhi, the teacher in Falun Gong, has made clear on countless occasions that the goal of Falun Gong practice is not to heal one’s ailments. He has been explicit on this matter in both his writings and lectures, and refused to admit critically-ill patients to his lectures or classes. In the most widely-read Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun, Mr. Li states, “I do not talk about healing illness here, and neither will we heal illness here”(p.3). He continues later: “Some people come here just to have illnesses healed. As to seriously ill patients, we do not let them attend the classes since they cannot give up the attachment to having illnesses cured or the idea of being ill... This person is unable to practice cultivation”(p.41).
Similarly, Mr. Li has stated that patients with severe mental illness (psychosis) are forbidden from attending his classes or practicing Falun Gong. As their minds are not correct or balanced, they are unable to control themselves. One strict requirement for practicing Falun Gong (and not dissimilar from qigong in general) is that one must have self-control, both mental and physical. There must be mental alertness, and one must be cognizant of where one is and what one is doing at all times. If one cannot meet these requirements, one obviously cannot conduct oneself according to a practitioner’s standard, following the higher principle of truthfulness, compassion, forbearance. Enlightening requires self-improvement and the development of wisdom, two things impossible without self-control. Mr. Li has been firm: people suffering from psychosis and the likes must seek help elsewhere. Nevertheless, people with minor mental illnesses consistently benefit from Falun Gong practice. (see A3-A5)
A second issue needing clarification is the relationship between Falun Gong practice and taking medicine. The Chinese Government has repeatedly claimed that Mr. Li forbids all Falun Gong practitioners from taking medicine, thereby putting them at great risk and even incurring tragic deaths. In the heat of its crackdown on Falun Gong, the Chinese Government-run English newspaper, China Daily, ran four entire articles disparaging Falun Gong and Mr. Li. It went so far as to “report” that: “By spreading these fallacious ideas Li has actually signed a life-and-death contract with his followers, who have to obey all his instructions and depend on him for everything. He forbids them to read other books or learn other theories and deprives them of the ability to choose between right and wrong... Li forces his practitioners to follow his fallacious ideas.”[1] And for the anti-Falun Gong campaign, forcing “followers” to not take medicine is apparently the biggest crime. Such reporting completely confuses the issue, however, suggesting cult-like dependency and suspension of personal choice. Never mind that it wantonly distorts what Mr. Li has taught and how practitioners have regarded his teachings.
Consider Mr. Li’s own words on the issue of taking medicine, as stated in China Falun Gong (the introductory, first book). In response to the question, “Do we still need to take medicine while cultivating?” Mr. Li replied, “On this issue, you should think and decide for yourself”(p.138). Also, in a 1997 New York City lecture that has since been read by most every practitioner, Mr. Li stated: “An everyday person needs to take medicine when he gets ill. Now you are a cultivator, but I am not forcing you not to take medicine.” He continued in his lecture, adding: “Some people want to damage [Falun Gong], and on the issue of taking medicine they say ‘we’re not allowed to take medicine once we start practicing this system.’ I do not, as a matter of fact, forbid you to take medicine.”[2] Unfortunately, the Chinese Government and media have somehow felt empowered to translate such teachings to mean the exact opposite.
Confusion over this matter stems from the fact that so many Falun Gong practitioners choose not to take medicine anymore after beginning cultivation practice. The key term here is “choose.” As in every other facet of Falun Gong practice, how one handles one’s health is a free choice. Since most every Falun Gong practitioner becomes or is healthy, they just choose not to take medicine. It is that simple: why would one want to take medicine if one feels healthy or doesn’t consider one’s body to have any illness? Several major health surveys done in China support such behavior, as the findings suggest that regular practice of Falun Gong is itself “good medicine.”(see A3-A5)
Suffice to say, on the issue of taking medicine a practitioner of Falun Gong is totally free to decide for himself or herself--making right decisions is at the heart of cultivation practice. Should a non-practitioner family member or young child become sick, a practitioner would not hesitate for a second to take him or her for proper medical treatment. To think that Mr. Li could possibly “control” the daily decisions of practitioner in China when, in fact, Mr. Li has not given a public lecture in China since 1994, is simply absurd. Additionally, doing so would undermine the practice he has taught students. The Chinese Government says that Mr. Li fancies himself almighty, yet, ironically, it is the Government which bestows upon him the most mighty super-human powers.
With a little background on Falun Gong and the issue of medicine, one is ready to critically engage the Chinese Government’s claim that Falun Gong causes mental illness, suicide, and death to its practitioners.
2. Examining the Alleged “1,400 Deaths” and Harm Caused by Falun Gong
According to Chinese Government sources and official, state-run media, the official number of deaths attributed to Falun Gong has been recently set at an even 1,400. Despite repeated requests for further information about this statistic, Chinese sources have not been able to offer sources or methods used in producing this number. The number has a somewhat elastic and mysterious feel to it for those who have been following the crackdown, as the first statistic given by the Chinese Government was almost half this number, 743.[3] At the beginning of the crackdown, a Ministry of Public Security spokesperson stated that “superstition” and “witchery” spread by Li and Falun Gong were to blame for the deaths of these 743 “followers” who had refused medical treatment, committed murder, or committed suicide.[4] Yet more strange is that in Falun Gong’s seven years prior to the persecution, never were any of these alleged 743 or 1,400 cases reported. The number just appeared, mysteriously, along with many other indictments. One should recall that Falun Gong was promoted by the government for several years on account of its profound health benefits. Could it really be that Falun Gong practice suddenly went devious across the country in its latter three or four years? Going on the Chinese Government’s numbers and explanations, a number of issues beg consideration and analysis.
a. The claim that Falun Gong induces psychosis and suicide
First, we can consider the claim that Falun Gong “caused” severe mental illness, resulting even in irrational behavior, suicide and death. According to the Chinese Government, “Since beginning the practice of Falun Gong, many people have lost their appetites, some appeared to be disorganized in words and behavior, and some became paranoid. Still others found themselves suffering from hallucinations. A number of people jumped into rivers or off buildings, or killed themselves in other ways. Some even cruelly injured or killed relatives and friends.”[5]
This dramatic claim is more frightening propaganda than reality. The first key term is “caused.” The reasons for mental illness are very complex. Modern medical science refuses, in fact, to speak in simplistic, reductionist language in handling the etiology of mental illness; the Chinese Government apparently assumes the general public is too ignorant to notice its pseudo-medical speak. To employ the wild language of mental illness to attack Falun Gong does not conform with basic medical knowledge and finds no legal basis whatsoever. The Government is offering rhetoric, not scientific knowledge. If there is any connection between qigong practice and mental illness, it exists in the pages of Chinese folklore and not medical literature. To posit, then, that Falun Gong practice works mechanistically to somehow induce psychosis is irresponsible and deceptive. Were the Chinese Government’s remarks about Falun Gong’s alleged, unpleasant mental side-effects true, one might wonder if millions of people would continue with or begin this practice--particularly when there are many alternative qigong and taiji to choose from.
There is no question that mental illness is a serious problem facing China today: over 16 million mentally-ill patients are distributed in all occupations and social groups of Chinese society.[6] The bigger question, however, lies in attributing mental illness to Falun Gong. Can it be expected that none of these 16 million people have decided to practice Falun Gong, regardless of Mr. Li’s admonition for mentally-ill persons not to? Given that all Falun Gong materials were for years available for inexpensive purchase, that all materials are available for free viewing or download on the internet, and that nobody will stop you from practicing (as there is no organization, leadership, or membership), it is very likely that some of these persons would take up the practice of Falun Gong. These people, as Mr. Li has stated, are not suited for practicing. Unable to grasp the principles of Falun Gong and live according to them, the mentally-ill person will not receive health benefits characteristic to Falun Gong. Neither will their mental problems find relief. Sadly, they are bound to suffer the same symptoms and challenges of before, as they are certainly not genuine, self-aware, Falun Gong practitioners. When they commit bad deeds or harm themselves, can this be blamed on Falun Gong? Should they attend church, should their behaviors be blamed on Christianity? Simply, one cannot assert causality when at best there might exist affiliation.
The Chinese Government has also erred with its wild rhetoric in asserting that some of those alleged “1,400 deaths” are Falun Gong-induced suicides. First, it can be said that where there is suicide there is mental disturbance; most likely there is some form of mental illness, be it common (as in depression) or severe (as in psychosis). Now if there is no known medical basis for asserting that Falun Gong could induce mental illness, how can one go so far as to suggest that it incurs suicide? Even the Chinese Government has not tried to assert that Falun Gong is a self-destructive practice, as every page of Mr. Li Hongzhi’s teachings tell otherwise.[7] At a very minimum one can say that suicide has a very complex variety of triggers, not easily isolated. One is thus again left to assume that there is some causal mechanism being posited by Chinese officials. Such a claim is even more imaginative and not worth pursuing any further.
But for the sake of argument we can pretend--only to illustrate the absurdity of the “1,400” number--that a good number of 100 of those alleged deaths were indeed by suicide. Leaving aside the question of causality, we can consider the matter of suicide in China from a broader perspective: that of population statistics. For the year 1999 in China, some 200,000 people committed suicide.[8] As the population of China in 1998 was 1.25 billion,[9] this means that the death-by-suicide mortality rate in China is 0.16 (that is, 16 people out of 100 thousand would die of suicide). This means that if one were to take a random sampling of the population, 16 of 100 thousand people could be expected to die in a given year from suicide. We can assert that Falun Gong had 70 million practitioners as of early 1999.[10] (Note: 70 million is likely a conservative estimate, as the Chinese Government itself figured by way of an early 1999 census that the number of practitioners was between 70-100 million.) If this group of practitioners did not practice Falun Gong and were members of the general population, we could project that 11,200 would have died by suicide in 1999. According to what is supposed to be the Chinese Government’s incriminating “facts,” however, perhaps a mere 100 or so practitioners died by way of suicide in seven years (note: the 1,400 number is for alleged deaths in Falun Gong’s 7 year history from 1992-1999). Were all of these alleged deaths to have come in the year 1999 alone, we could still say that Falun Gong had saved around 11,100 lives. So to have some number of deaths out of 1,400 in 7 years be allegedly by suicide in a population of 70 million persons (practitioners) is remarkable, as one would expect over 11,000 deaths in just one year alone. Falun Gong could be said to be astoundingly effective in preventing suicide when examined in this light. Several health surveys done on Falun Gong practitioners in China confirm that Falun Gong is exceptionally beneficial to mental health. (see A3-A5)
All numbers aside, murder and suicide--or even simply harming others intentionally--are acts absolutely incongruous with the principles of Falun Gong. With truthfulness, compassion and forbearance guiding cultivation, acts that harm others are totally unacceptable. This is why there has yet to be a case of a Falun Gong practitioner fighting back when abused during the persecution; it is why the Zhongnanhai incident was perhaps the most peaceful appeal gathering of 10,000 in history; this is why practitioners do not commit acts of violence--towards oneself or others. Mr. Li has been explicit on this topic, indicating that one is better off not even swatting a mosquito; even this is an act of violence to a Falun Gong practitioner. Should a “practitioner” commit suicide or murder, there is something seriously wrong with this person and he or she is anything but a Falun Gong practitioner. Most likely, this person was one of those psychotic persons who wrongfully tried to practice Falun Gong. But this does not mean there is any connection between the two, let alone a causal connection.
If one violates the rules of an organization, religion, or club one might no longer be considered a member of that group. If one violates a serious rule of society, one is imprisoned for it and no longer considered to be a member of that society. Falun Gong, as a serious practice, has some serious principles that one pays attention to. Even these, however, are up to the individual person to decide to follow. But if a person should decide not to, how can he or she be considered a practitioner of Falun Dafa? Understanding the principles is an essential aspect of Falun Gong. People who violate its principles are not considered practitioners, and those unfortunate people with psychosis were never considered practitioners.
When people are free to make individual choices, some irresponsible people might make irresponsible choices. But when the choices are completely opposite to what cultivation practice teaches, the cultivation cannot be blamed. If a teacher teaches something and the student chooses to do the opposite, does one then point one’s finger at the teacher or the student? This should be easy to see.
This has not stopped the Chinese Government from employing twisted logic. If the Chinese government can medically demonstrate the mechanisms by which Falun Gong supposedly induces psychotic behavior in previously healthy people, they will be ushering in a new frontier in psychiatry. Such findings would undoubtedly be quickly found in prestigious medical journals. But until now, they have only been found buried amidst venomous propaganda churned out by China’s state-run media. Such claims cannot be taken seriously. Sure enough, alleged “cases” that have been subjected to independent investigation have been revealed as falsification. (see A1-A2) Until that unlikely day, people are better off going on the statistics of the several major medical studies which found Falun Gong practice very beneficial to mental well-being. (see A4-A5)
b. The claim that Falun Gong causes death through abstention from medicine
As already shown in part 1 (“Falun Gong’s teachings on medicine and medical treatment”), Mr. Li and his Falun Gong have always, unequivocally stated that people must make their own decisions on pursuing medical treatment; one can also peruse Mr. Li’s writings, lectures, and interview Falun Gong practitioners to easily confirm this for oneself. What’s more, as indicated, the validity of alleged “cases” in this regard are also questionable. In this part what we would like to do is take the argument a step further, and consider the issues of medical treatment, medical complications, and death in statistical relief by way of population data. In this light, the picture is the same: the Chinese Government is manipulating numbers to serve its political agenda.
So here we will consider the Chinese Government’s case on its own terms, examining the feasibility of its numbers. First, for the sake of argument we will imagine that 1,400 practitioners of Falun Gong died as a result of forgoing medical treatment, and that these deaths all somehow occurred in 1999 (though this is actually a seven-year total); we will generously allow that the initial 743 number was some sort of miscalculation. Along with this we will suppose that all Falun Gong practitioners cannot take medicine, as claimed by the Chinese Government; the vast majority opt not to take it anyway, so it is very fair to say that any practitioner’s death in 1999 should have been included in this “1,400” figure. The next supposition is that 70 million people practiced Falun Gong in China at the time of the ban. Notably, the vast majority of Falun Gong practitioners came to the practice with some degree of illness, often seeking relief from their symptoms through cultivation; many were affected with chronic illness that had resisted efforts by conventional medical treatment. Also significant is that the bulk of practitioners were retired, elderly persons; death and illness, of course, are much nearer for this segment of the population. Some surprising things can be determined from these suppositions.
Consider the following analysis on the issue of abstinence from medicine for the year of 1999 alone. What we ask here is: What would have happened had these practitioners sought medical treatment while practicing Falun Gong, rather than abstaining from it? Of the 70 million Falun Gong practitioners who each, allegedly, abstained from medical treatment, 1,400 passed away. This means that a miniscule 0.02 Falun Gong practitioners died for every 1000 that practice (0.02 mortality rate). Now consider that in the United States some 140,000 people die in a given year as a result of Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR), while another 98,000 die from medical error;[11] this puts total deaths due to medical treatment at 238,000 per year. In a population of 268 million,[12] this equates to 0.89 persons dying for every 1000 (0.89 mortality rate). To be generous, we will assume that medicine in China is as advanced as in the United States, enjoying numerous quality controls and checks, regulatory agencies, etc. Thus, we will figure that the same risks are involved in China in going to the hospital for medical treatment. So if this population of 70 million were to experience the same mortality rate by way of medical error and ADR as does the United States population (0.89), we could expect a whopping 62,300 deaths! That means that simply by virtue of abstaining from medicine and practicing their exercises, Falun Gong practitioners changed their projected annual death toll (due to medical complications) by 60,900. In other words, it would appear that Falun Gong is not so much murderous as miraculous.
Now let’s compare Falun Gong practitioners’ mortality rate for 1999 (0.02) to that of the general, overall Chinese population. Here we ask: What would have happened to these persons were they not practitioners; i.e., were they subject to the same statistical averages as the general population. The age-adjusted mortality rate for China in 1998 was 6.50 (650 deaths per 100,000 people).[13] So if this mortality rate were to be assumed for those 70 million persons who practiced Falun Gong in 1999, one would anticipate an astounding 455,000 deaths! That is, this many people would have died according to the laws of averages if they were not practicing Falun Gong and were members of the general population. Apparently Falun Gong practice has a bigger positive impact than previously imagined. And this statistic is taking the aggregate number of 1,400 deaths and putting them into one year alone, no less. This means that Falun Gong practice--which “forced” practitioners to abstain from medicine, recall, according to the Chinese Government--saved the lives of 453,600 persons in 1999. Not bad for an practice that supposedly causes “dire consequences” to people’s health, according to Chinese Government literature. Even compared with the age-adjusted mortality rate for the US in 1999, 4.87, the number 1,400 is nothing.[14] Had those practitioners lived in the US, one would still anticipate 340,900 deaths, and this with medicine, no less!
Even if we were to take the Chinese Government’s recent, politically-tailored figure of 2 million to represent the number of Falun Gong practitioners in 1999, then we could still expect that 13000 practitioners would die in a given year (with China’s 6.5 mortality rate) if they were members of the general population. But with only 1,400 supposed cases being scrounged up, this means that Falun Gong practice has still saved about 11600 practitioners’ lives. And again, this is supposing that all alleged deaths occurred in just one year, no less. The scaffolding behind the “1,400 cases” is all-too-easily revealed.
Finally, take into account all of the other factors involved: that the majority of practitioners are elderly; that they often come to the practice ailing; that the alleged 1,400 deaths occurred in fact over 7 years; and that China’s medical situation is not on par with that of the US. Obviously, even the most basic, conservative of statistical analysis demonstrates the absurdity of the Chinese Government’s accusation that Falun Gong practice is dangerous. With these other factors taken into consideration, the claim that Falun Gong adherents’ abstaining from medical treatment is dangerous is not only groundless, but completely out of touch with reality. The facts say just the opposite, and do so resoundingly. And all of this comes simply from engaging the Chinese Government’s claims on their own terms. One should not forget, either, the previously stated matters: that Falun Gong does not require avoidance of medicine; that the Chinese Government blatantly lied about Mr. Li’s teachings and Falun Gong’s principles; that there is no legal or medical evidence that Falun Gong could possibly induce psychosis or suicidal behavior; and that the alleged “1,400 deaths” have neither held up under investigation nor been properly documented. Ultimately, the “1,400 deaths” are in fact evidence that Falun Gong embodies remarkable healing capacities: the mortality rate is incredibly lower than that due to medical error or that of the general population--a population privileged to medical treatment, unlike the poor, “victimized” Falun Gong “followers.”
The irony in all of this, of course, is that Falun Gong’s popularity owes greatly to its profound healing effects-- effects that deeply improve both the mind and body of the practitioner. These have been repeatedly documented and investigated. An enormous number of individual cases of radical healing exist, including many persons rescued from terminal and chronic illnesses. Were Falun Gong dangerous in a manner remotely similar to that portrayed by Chinese officials, would the practice have spread to over 70 million people by word of mouth in a mere 7 years? Would these health seeking, aging persons not have opted for less high-risk systems, such as the government sanctioned taiji and qigong forms? Clearly, people found not risk but benefit in the practice of Falun Gong. And people continue to today, as Falun Gong is now practiced in over 60 countries; its health benefits appear hardly bound by culture.
We find the Chinese Government’s venomous “medical facts” to instead be fabrications and distortions both morally repugnant and indefensible. Worse yet, they have been the foundation for a brutal campaign of persecution and violence directed at Falun Gong practitioners. We would invite the World Health Organization to conduct an independent, fair investigation of this matter. We feel it would serve the world well to have the truth of this matter confirmed by an authoritative third party.
A1. Chinese Authorities Admit That Slanderous Report Was a Total Fabrication
Editor’s Note: [The slandering has gone to such an extent that recently communist authorities had to admit that a special report claiming “Zhang Zhi-wen committed suicide by burning herself and her daughter in protest of the government’s crack-down on Falun Gong”--a report reprinted by many Chinese newspapers--was a 100% fabrication. The following is a report by a journalist from Voice of America.]
Hai Tao, of Voice of America, reported from Los Angeles: Since the Chinese government started to crack down on Falun Gong in July 1999, all state-run media agencies have started to attack Falun Gong, its founder, and its key members. On November 28, a special report authored by Li Xin-gang was published in the newspaper Xi-an Worker. The article “reported” that Zhi-wen Zhang, who was a lady living in the Wei-nan region of Shan-xi Province, burned her six month-old daughter and then committed suicide by setting herself on fire, protesting the government’s crackdown on Falun Gong. This report made a stir in throughout country and it has been reprinted by many newspapers in Shen-zhen, Harbin, Shanghai and other places. Recently, the Hong Kong Information Center for Human Rights and Democratic Movements conducted an investigation and found out that the report was a total fabrication. The center said, by quoting Chinese officials, that the people, location, time and the story in that report were all fabricated. An official in the Wei-nan Communist Political and Law Committee of Shan-xi Province named Wu testified that there was absolutely no fire-suicide event and, moreover, there did not exist a lady named Zhi-wen Zhang at all. In addition, many news agencies in China called them for verification and got the same answer.
John Li, a Falun Gong practitioner at Caltech University, has explained that in China, a lot of alleged “news” about Falun Gong is in fact fabricated. When some Chinese Falun Gong practitioners asked the author of the Xi-an Worker article why he fabricated the “news,” the author’s reply was: “I was writing fiction.”
Senior journalist Mr. Wei-guo Zhang commented, “Since the Chinese news agencies are ‘pens’ for the Communist Party, they must speak for the party and the government. So it loses its journalistic function as a public monitor. Therefore, they are full of corruption, paid news, and fabricated news. It is very serious.”
A commentator of current events in the US, Mr. Chang-qin Cao, who was a former journalist in China, thought that it was not strange to have this type of news appear in China. The Chinese news media follows “one country, two polices.” Different news is published in party newspapers and small newspapers. Small newspapers accept free submissions. Because of the shortage of manpower, they have no way--nor do they want--to verify the authenticity of news. Meanwhile, in order to gain market and expand their circulation, small newspapers resort to all possible means to please the public with claptrap. Their first priority is to attract more readers, with no respect for facts and authenticity of news.
The problem here, however, is that newspapers such as Xi-an Worker and Harbin Metro Newspaper that published the article about “murdering a daughter and committing suicide,” are not typical small newspapers. Mr. Chang-qin Cao said: “This phenomenon indicates another problem. There are two kinds of news that the media dare not fabricate: first, they dare not fabricate articles with opinions differing from those of the government, nor dare they fabricate big economical or financial news. Otherwise, they would be punished by the government. Second, for those famous figures such as writers and high ranking officials, they dare not fabricate news about them because they would be sued.”
“Under these circumstances,” said Mr. Cao, “there is only one type of news that they dare to fabricate, namely, news about those figures disliked by the government, such as exiled dissidents or political criminals in jail. Obviously, the government will not find trouble with them if they do that.”
In addition, recently, somebody has posted on the Internet an article in the name of the founder of Falun Gong, saying that he would return to China to argue with the government, even at the risk of being jailed. John Li, a Ph.D. candidate at Caltech, testified that this is another piece of false news.
A2. The Truth Behind One of the 1,400 Cases
Editor’s note: [The death of Ma Jinxiu, according to the Chinese Government, is one of the “1,400 cases of death due to Falun Gong.” Her death “due to Falun Gong” has been publicized widely on China’s state-run television. Her daughter, Jin Youming, wrote an article to explain the truth behind her mother’s death.]
Before she began practicing Falun Gong, my mom was critically ill. As far back as when I was in high school, she had begged relatives to take care of my two sisters and me in case she died. She had suffered from advanced diabetes for over 10 years and had suffered a major stroke in 1994 and another one in 1995. Due to the seriousness of her condition she had to take more than 30 pills over the course of the day. Her face was ashen and it had become deformed from the strokes -- one of her eyebrows was much higher than the other one and a corner of her mouth sloped downward. She would get tired from just walking a few blocks and her doctors told her she would probably die if she had another stroke. Then in 1996 she began to practice Falun Gong on her own, and her health greatly improved. She no longer needed to take any medication. As she continued to practice the Falun Gong exercises, read the Falun Gong books, and tried to improve her moral character, she began to feel better than she had for years. Her deformed face actually returned to its normal state! The doctors had said that such a thing was impossible! Her eyes began to sparkle. She was able to walk much faster than before, she was now able to perform the housework, and her complexion went from a grayish color to that of a fair color. Her body felt light, and all the symptoms associated with her diabetes disappeared. Many of our relatives, friends, and neighbors witnessed the changes in her.
In the middle of 1997, my mom began to experience discomfort in her body and so we took her to the hospital on the same day. They told us she was critically ill and might die soon. She remained hospitalized and died several months later. Her doctors said she died from a brain aneurysm.
Later on I heard that Jiang and the "610 Office" had come up with 1400 cases where people had supposedly died from practicing Falun Gong, in which my mom's case was included. My mom had clearly died from a brain aneurysm. While she was hospitalized, she received a great deal of medical attention and she took all the medications that her doctors prescribed and she also received many injections, but unfortunately she still passed away. So why didn't they say that she died as a result of the treatment that she underwent at the hospital? How could the authorities say that my mom died from practicing Falun Gong just because she had practiced Falun Gong at one time?
A3. Falun Gong is Beyond the Scope of Modern Science
An Endorsement by Medical Doctors and Scientists
In October 1998, physicians of China Union Medical University did a large-scale survey among more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing regarding their health status.(see A5, below) The results showed that 99.1% of Falun Gong practitioners improved their health after practicing Falun Gong. The rate of recovery from diseases for practitioners was 58.5%. The rate of mental health improvement for practitioners was 96.5%. The effects of Falun Gong practice cannot be explained by modern medicine. As medical scientists and practitioners of Falun Gong, we have experienced the profoundness, depth, and extraordinary abilities inherent to Falun Gong practice. As medical scientists, we would like to share our experiences and understanding of the principles of Falun Gong.
a. The Structure of the Human Body
Modern medicine’s understanding of the human body’s structure is based on anatomy. Classic gross anatomy dissects the human body with scalpels at the level of the naked eye, and recognizes that the human body consists of organ systems. Microscopic anatomy developed with the invention of the microscope and tissue sectioner. A tissue sectioner recognizes that organs consist of tissues, cells, and sub-cellular structures. With the advent of modern molecular biology, enzymes facilitate the extraction and annealing of genes from the DNA strand allowing man to directly investigate life activities at the molecular level. Modern molecular biology attempts to explain the fundamentals of life phenomenon through research of gene expression and regulation of DNA. Modern molecular biology is limited in its growth. Physics and cosmology has proved that the universe is composed of many dimensions. Furthermore, physics and cosmology has also proven that structures of the human body are connected to some extent to every dimension of the universe.
Modern physics has discovered the existence of microscopic elements smaller than the molecule. It believes that molecules form matter in the physical world, atoms form molecules, atom nuclei and electrons form atoms, protons and neutrons form atom nuclei, and protons contain neutrinos. Modern science illustrates the multi-dimensional feature of the universe in its theory. Then, why does it fail to reveal other dimensions? Mr. Li addresses this point in Zhuan Falun: “It is known that microscopic particles of matter include molecules, atoms, and protons. When investigating further to the end, if you can see the plane of each level instead of a point and see the plane of molecules, the plane of atoms, the plane of protons, as well as the plane of nuclei, then you will see the form of different dimensions exist. Any matter, including the human bodies, exists simultaneously and is connected with levels of dimensions in the universe. When our modern physics studies particles of matter, it only studies a microscopic particle through analysis and fission. After the nuclear fission, it will study its configuration. If there were such an instrument through which we could see such a level at which all atomic elements or molecule elements can be entirely displayed or if such a scene could be seen, you will reach beyond this dimension and witness the real scenes existing in other dimensions. The human body corresponds to the external dimensions, and they all have such existing forms.” After practicing Falun Gong, many practitioners have actually seen these scenes in other dimensions - the beautiful mountains and rivers, the rotating Falun (law wheel) and the real existing forms of the human body in different dimensions.
Indeed, the human body exists in different forms in different dimensions. Modern medicine only studies the molecules of the flesh body in this dimension. Yet below the level of molecules, there are forms of the body consisting of atoms, electrons, protons, neutrinos, quarks, and more microscopic elements. Different forms of the body consist of different elements existing simultaneously. Our current technology can only study the body at the level of molecules. Therefore, modern medicine only has a partial understanding of the human body structure. Falun Gong reveals the existing forms of the body at all microscopic dimensions.
b. The Etiology of Disease
Modern medicine believes that diseases are caused by biological factors (virus, bacteria, parasites, etc), physical and chemical factors (mechanics, radiation, toxins, etc.), genetic and psychological factors. These factors disturb the balance between injury and self-healing resulting in pathological changes of the body, such as endocrine and immunity disorders. They also cause mutations and cell death in tissues of this physical dimension that manifests as inflammations, abscesses, spurs, and tumors. In recent years with the development of molecular biology, people think that the etiology of any disease can be found at the molecular level. Scientists search for genes and chromosomes responsible for the expression of diseases. For example, genes have been identified for hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancers. Gene regulation and expression at the molecular level has become the frontier of modern biomedical research. Disorder of life activity at the molecular level is thought to be directly related to the disorder of balanced interactions among various factors at the molecular level. Do the more microscopic elements below the level of molecules cause diseases as well? This question has not been addressed by modern life science.
In fact, what modern medicine has discovered is only the pathological change of human organs or cells in this physical dimension. Chinese traditional medicine perceives disease as a blockage of qi (energy and mai (energy channels) or congestion of qi and blood. Are there any disease sources at more microscopic levels? The answer is yes! Mr. Li addresses this question in Zhuan Falun, “Why do people get sick? The fundamental cause for one to be sick and to have all of his misfortunes is karma and the karmic field of the black substance. It is something negative and bad.” The roots of the disease are not in the body of this physical dimension, but in the body consisting of more microscopic elements below the molecular level. Insight into these greater microscopic levels is beyond the capability current scientific research technology. (Please refer to Zhuan Falun, the comprehensive cultivation guide written by Mr. Li, regarding the generation of karma and how one can eliminate it when one upgrades his xinxing [mind-nature, morality].)
Clinically, medicines for hypertension can maintain normal blood pressure. Nitroglycerin can relieve chest pain in heart attacks. Surgeries and radiation therapies can remove tumor tissue temporarily. Yet, they cannot eradicate the disease. This is because that all medicines are composed of molecules. They can only act on diseases in the body at molecular level, but not the karma in the body at more microscopic levels. Surgeries can only remove tissues in this dimension. Radiation cannot touch karma because of radiation’s large size and low energy. Modern science already knows that atoms possess more energy than molecules, protons possess more energy than atoms, and the smaller elements possess even more energy. Karma exists in a more microscopic dimension below the level of molecules; therefore, medicines formed by low-energy-molecules cannot affect karma. Before practicing Falun Gong, we worked in hospitals, pharmacies, and have had access to all kinds of advanced medical technology. We could not cure our own diseases. After practicing Falun Gong, our seemingly incurable diseases have been healed. Today, we are able to experience the happiness of being truly disease-free.
Here are some examples. Shuqing Feng is a physician at China People’s Liberation Army Hospital No. 304. Before practicing Falun Gong, she had hypertension, coronary artery disease (CAD), stroke, diabetes, peripheral neuritis, irritable bowel syndrome, duodenal ulcer, neurasthenia and allergic dermatitis. She had been taking medicine for many years. After only half year of practice in 1994, all of her symptoms disappeared and have never recurred. She is now full of energy.
Jingzhu Zhang is a 60-year-old retired nurse from Tian Tan Hospital. In March 1994, she had Myasthenia gravis with dropping eyelids. She could not see and take care of herself. She saw all the specialists in different hospitals and received therapy for several years. The effect was minimal. Her eyelids could only open a slit. Her suffering was indescribable. In May of 1997, she started to practice Falun Gong. Within a year, her body changed miraculously. Her eyes opened gradually. Not only was the incurable Myasthenia Gravis miraculously cured, but also her chronic hypertension and CAD disappeared.
Xiuge Li is a 56-year-old physician at university hospital in Beijing University. She had CAD for two years and was hospitalized four times. Every hospitalization took more than one month. She often experienced angina. She could not exert herself and was virtually semi-retired during the two years. Her CAD was cured soon after she practiced Falun Gong. She went back to work and was full of energy. She also had cervical radiculitis and often had dizziness, numbness of her hands, and difficulty elevating her shoulders. Tylenol did not help. All these symptoms disappeared after Falun Gong practice.
Deping Li is 43-year-old nurse in The Metallurgy Hospital. She had multiple sclerosis in 1989. She developed right hemiparalysis after the treatment. A year later, she had severe complications resulting in bilateral femoral head aseptic necrosis and the deformity of her left hip. For three years, long and painful treatments and countless expenses had no effect. “Accidentally, I met Falun Gong. Every word of Mr. Li touched my heart. I want to cultivate.” “The night I read “China Falun Gong”, my body had a strong reaction. By the seventh day, I was healed! By the eighth day, I went to the practice site riding a bicycle. I could not speak fluently before. Now I can read Zhuan Falun aloud. The doctor ordered bed-rest for me, but now I am strong enough to ride my bicycle. My hip pain caused by bilateral femoral head aseptic necrosis has disappeared. The femoral heads become normal after X-ray examination. This condition is incurable no matter how much money one spends.
Yuqin Wang is a 60-year-old female. She was a Radiologist in Beijing Anhua Hospital. She developed incurable radiation-related diseases because of occupational radiation over-dose. Her body was severely damaged and her health was extremely debilitated. “As a physician, I had all kinds of therapy: hospitalization, physical therapy, various medications and herbs, as well as several Qi-gong methods. None of them helped. I was thin like a skeleton and could not straighten my back. My symptoms included whole body weakness, hair loss, dyspnea on exertion, vertigo, dizziness, stabbing headache, fever, diarrhea, mucosal bleed, blurred vision with intermittent blindness, frequent fractures, and mouth ulcers. I was like being soaked in bottles of medicines. My suffering was so painful that it cannot be described by words. My health was deteriorating day by day. I was struggling on the death line. In this despaired situation, I fortunately obtained Falun Gong. Falun Gong made me understand what a human being lives for. I required myself to meet the standard of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance). I studied the law and practiced the exercise everyday. This changed my body upside down. My face turned pink. My skin became smooth. My hair is getting thicker and turning black. My vision became so sharp that I can read a book clearly. My body is so light it is as if I were being pushed by someone when I walk, ride a bicycle, or climb stairs. I now truly experience the taste of disease-free feeling. Since I practiced Falun Gong, I have not received a single injection or pill. I have been receiving bonus from work for not receiving medical compensation every year. From a nearly disabled person, I turned into a healthy and happy person who is striving to be good and better human being. This is a miracle from modern medicine’s point of view!”
Ruifen Tang is a 56-year-old female Internist at Medical Office of Xidan Shopping Center. She had right breast cancer in 1989 and received surgery and chemotherapy. In 1992, bone metastasis was diagnosed at Beijing University Hospital. She was started on a higher dose of chemotherapy. During these four years, she was hospitalized in five different hospitals and spent several thousand Chinese Yuan on medicine that had no effect. In July 1993, she was introduced to Falun Gong and started practice. She was fortunate enough to have her body tuned up by Mr. Li himself. In the next five years, she did not spend a penny on medicine, but has been healthier than ordinary people. She cooks three meals for six people in her family and takes care of her one-year-old grandson.
Examples like these are countless. Many practitioners have reached the disease-free status through cultivating Falun Gong. We have also seen cures of hypertension, CAD, diabetes, and even cancers. When these live facts are presented in front of us, we are forced to face these unprecedented and extraordinary abilities of Falun Gong with a scientific attitude.
c. Why Does Falun Gong Have Such Unique Effects?
The holistic alleviation of disease can only be obtained by practitioners through their cultivation under the guidance of the superior principles of Falun Gong. Falun Gong revealed the true etiology of disease. The practice of Falun Gong leads a practitioner to a way of life and being beyond the level of ordinary people.
When one is determined to cultivate, one’s Buddha’s nature comes out. “When one’s Buddha’s nature emerges, it will shake the world of ten directions.” Whoever sees it will come to help unconditionally. A practitioner wants to cultivate, return to his original true self, upgrade his moral standard to higher levels of Shan (Benevolence). Practitioners of Falun Gong cultivate their xinxing (moral character, mind-nature) according to the characteristics of the universe Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance). They discard a variety of bad attachments such as jealousy, the competitive mentality, the show-off mentality, and complacency. They become a good person, and drive themselves to become more noble and better people.
Falun Gong can also purify a person’s soul. This has also been manifested amongst practitioners in the medical field. After learning Falun Gong, many medical personals understand that the meaning of life is not to get, but to give. Those who used to dislike their jobs, now enjoy their work. Those who had bad attitudes towards work and patients became responsible, patient, and warm-hearted. Facing some of the immoral trends in medical field, Falun Gong practitioners showed high morality.
For example, during the five years of practicing Falun Gong, ShiYue Chen, the Director of Orthopedics of The Metallurgy Hospital, rejected several thousand dollars of cash from patients, countless invitations for dinners, cigarettes, wine, clothes that were all worth several thousand dollars.
Suxiang Wang, a Neurologist at Tian-Tan Hospital, has been taking fame and benefit lightly since practicing Falun Gong. She rejected cash bonuses of hundreds of dollars several times amongst other things. When facing genuine gifts from patients’ family members, she tells them: “I am a Falun Gong practitioner.” I only give without asking anything in return. As a doctor, she never uses the names of her relatives to prescribe medicine in order to cheat the insurance companies. When her parents became sick, she paid for the medicine herself. Her parents require nasal-gastric tube and bladder catheters that need to be exchanged every month. Her colleagues told her to take some from the hospital, since this kind of medical equipment is so convenient to get. “I always keep in mind that I am a Falun Gong practitioner. I must judge myself against the standards of a Falun Gong cultivator.” Therefore, she insists buying them herself.
Yongwang Yong is a physician at the Surgery clinic in Beijing Worker’s Rehabilitation Center. Before practicing Falun Gong, he always thought that a good surgeon only needs to do more operations and knows how to operate well, and does not need to pay too much attention to the medical ethics of the patient-doctor relation-ship. Patients come to seek treatment, and as a result a surgeon can do whatever he wants. After studying Zhuan Falun, he learned that he put himself and his patients in a wrong position. If he is not considerate of his patients, he realized that a doctor could not be a good doctor no matter how good his technique. His Xinxing (mind-nature) upgraded. His view of life changed. No matter what kind of emergency he encounters at work even when he is sworn at by patients, he still serves patients calmly. When there is a shortage of doctors in the office and patients need to have medicine changed during weekends, he works voluntarily without compensation. Every time when patients want to present him with gifts, he refuses. Many people have witnessed his mental and physical change. He was honored as the “Best Member in the Hospital in 1998” and “ Super Worker in the Union.”
Chengtao Lin is an Assistant Researcher at Biochemistry Department in Union Medical University. After graduate studies, he worked there for five years since January 1995. He requires himself to follow “Zhen-Shan-Ren” of Falun Gong. He puts his heart into his research project and maintains his contract. Although he is not rich, he does not use this Department as a transit to go abroad. (This is common in China. People use all means to try to go abroad to study and do not care about the benefit of their work place and China.) When people around him could not understand and called him a fool, he said I do not refuse the opportunity to study abroad in the future. But I am a Falun Gong practitioner and I must require myself to meet the standard of “Zhen-Shan-Ren”. I cannot cause any damage to the laboratory and the country by violating the contract.
Huilin Yue, an editor in the People’s Health Publishing Co., rejects any extra “cash bonus” when reviewing articles. She is widely praised by the authors. Under her influence, many people started practicing Falun Gong.
Among Falun gong practitioners, good people and examples like these are countless.
Through studying the principles and cultivating xinxing, the moral standards of Falun Gong practitioners are always being raised. “Cultivation depends upon the individual himself while the transformation of Gong is up to the master.” When one wants to cultivate, Master Li will purify a student’s body using Gong consisting of high-energy, and clean up karma that causes disease as well as the elements that make bodies unhealthy. The Buddha’s School does not attach any condition to providing salvation to man. Practitioners understand the principles, suffer pain to eliminate karma, upgrade their xinxing, take fame and benefit lightly, maintain compassion and kindness, always consider other people first, and strive to reach the realm of unselfishness. As one upgrades his xinxing and practices, the karma in his body becomes less, his body forms in every dimension become purer and purer, the Gong developed in his body become more and more substantial, and disease leaves the body. All of the investigations in Guangzhou, Dalian, and Changchun concluded the same results as the one in Beijing. These all confirmed Falun Gong’s unique effect on physical and mental health.
d. Falun Gong is a Practice of Both Mind and Body
As a practitioner’s level of cultivating Falun Gong’s principles becomes increasingly greater, the cells in his body will be filled with high-energy matter gradually. As a result, his body will become younger. In the end, the body will be replaced by high-energy matter, and he will stay young forever. More than a 100 million people are practicing Falun Gong worldwide including many elders. Many elderly people have experienced a loss of wrinkles and increased energy. Their white hairs turned black and their skin becomes smooth. Many post-menopausal women have their periods again. All these are indications of a reversal in the aging process.
Modern medicine believes that the production, proliferation, growth, and death of cells are natural processes. The aging process is irreversible. These are unchangeable laws. Aging theory believes that when the human body is aging, there are disorders in multiple organ systems. Various factors induce genetic mutations that cause genes to express the wrong information and products. This disturbs the normal metabolic process, resulting in a vicious cycle that leads to aging. The phenomenon of the reversed aging process in Falun Gong has gone beyond any modern medical theory. However, it will not be hard to understand when we apply the principles of Falun Gong. Since the universe has different levels of time and dimensions, the universal characteristic Zhen-Shan-Ren has different manifestations at different levels and has developed different laws for each level. Aging is irreversible for ordinary people. When practitioners go beyond the level of ordinary people, they are controlled by the law of there level. Practitioners collect large amounts of high-energy matter from other dimensions through cultivation of the principles of Falun Gong. These high-energy matters become deposited in cells, suppress the aging factors at the molecular level, and delay the aging process. During cultivation, the mutated cells are eliminated, and normal cells are gradually replaced by Gong (high-energy matter), the aging processes are reversed, and practitioners will stay young forever. In Chinese history, many practitioners have left their flesh bodies that do not turn rotten for thousands of years. Some lamas in Tibet were able to demonstrate a phenomenon known as vaporization when they completed their Buddhist cultivation practice. During vaporization, their bodies would suddenly turn into a rainbow. This phenomenon has been well documented and widely reported in a variety of media; many medical scientists have investigated it and confirmed its actuality. For those Tibetan lamas who did not cultivate the principles of the universe well enough, they might leave some nails or hair, or their body might shrink into a flesh body of smaller size. This has been observed by many people in Tibet as well. People are always puzzled by it. The reason is actually that the bodies of these lamas were filled completely or mostly by the high-energy matter collected from other dimensions. Master Li Honzhi has discussed this matter at length.
Falun Gong can purify practitioners’ bodies to disease-free status and drive practitioners to higher levels of morality. Falun Gong tells us that one’s life is meant to go back to his original self, to assimilate with the characteristic of the universe, Zhen-Shan-Ren, and to return to his kind and benevolent nature. Through cultivation of the principles of Falun Gong, practitioners eventually achieve the realm of unselfishness. Only at this time, can they discover the truth of the universe and see the real existence of matters and lives in different dimensions. When one reaches this status through practicing cultivation, he actually becomes an enlightened person. An “enlightened person” is a “Buddha,” when translated into ancient Indian language.
Falun Gong practice sites and practitioners provide free teaching. Falun Gong only cultivates people’s hearts and has no organization. Falun Gong leads people to cultivate towards benevolence.
As one can see, Falun Gong is an upright cultivation way, a high-morality law, a supernormal science, and a blessing to our country and people. This is absolutely different from those fake qigong methods and evil ways that cheat people or are responsible for superstitions.
As medical scientists and direct people who have directly benefited from Falun Gong, we would like to sincerely tell all the people in the world: There is an upright Fa (Law, Principle, or Way) being propagated in this world! May you treasure this rare opportunity!
Authors:
A4. Falun Gong Has Great Effects Improving Health Status
A Survey of Over 6,000 Practitioners in Dalian
Arecent survey of over 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Dalian, China reveals significant health improvements. Over 90% of the practitioners with one or more medical conditions reported “total disappearance” or “improvement” of symptoms and conditions, improved mental and physical functions, better quality of life, and a slowing down of the aging process.
In February, 1998, a health status survey was carried out, involving 6478 Falun Gong cultivators from the Dalian area of China. Among the surveyed population, 6192 (95.59%) of them suffered various diseases and medical conditions of the cardiovascular system, nervous system, digestive system, respiratory system, urogenital system, haemic and immune system, musculoskeletal system, etc.
The cultivators have practiced Falun Gong for an average of 1.8 years, about 2 hours a day.
Of the surveyed population, 92% reported total disappearance of symptoms, 9.74% observed moderate improvement, and only 0.14% saw no obvious improvement. The disease recovery rate shows no major difference among cultivators with multiple illness or single illness, which are 89.73% and 88.83% respectively. The study also noticed the recovery rate increases with the duration of practicing. The recovery rate for practitioners of 2, 3, 4 years are 91.24%, 92.45%, 95.96% respectively, which may suggest that the longer one practices, the better the result. It is very interesting to note that those who achieved the best results did not use any medical treatment--even alternative medicine, and neither did they take vitamin/mineral supplements or other natural health products. The practitioners regarded those as superfluous and a potential cause for disturbance to their systematic health improvement process.
Falun Gong practice can claim huge savings for practitioners and the government by dramatically reducing health-care utilization. According to the survey, the annual medical expense per person has dropped 2,408.83 yuan after practicing. When taking into account the factor that 62.1% of the population is at the age (from 50 to 71) when multiple diseases are prevalent, the potential saving figure could be much higher.
The majority of the practitioners reported obvious improvements in their overall physical and mental well being: increased physical vitality and mobility, less fatigue after physical activities, better memory, improved vision and hearing function, better appetite and sleep quality, higher self-perceived health, and virtually no signs of stress, anxiety or depression.
A5. Falun Gong Health Effects Survey of Ten Thousand in Beijing
Summary:
To determine the health effects of Falun Gong, a group of professionals and researchers conducted a survey among some Falun Gong practitioner in five districts in Beijing, with 12,731 valid questionnaires.
According to the survey, out of 12,731 participants, 93.4% had ill conditions, and 49.8% had suffered from at least three diseases before they began practicing Falun Gong. Through learning and practicing Falun Gong, practitioners’ health conditions have improved in various degrees. The total effective cases reached 99.1%, among which the complete recovery rate was 58.5%. Comparing the changes of bodily conditions before and after Falun Gong practice, 80.3% of the participants improved their health. Among these people, the fraction of “very energetic” people increased to 55.3% after practicing from 3.5% before practicing. The facts demonstrate that Falun Gong is remarkably effective in curing diseases and improving health conditions. According to modern medical science, being healthy includes two aspects: a healthy body and a healthy mind. The survey shows that 12,287 people became psychologically healthier after practicing Falun Gong, and this accounts for 96.5% of the total participants in the survey.
The survey was conducted in October, 1998 by the following researchers:
References and Footnotes
[1]"Hard truth reveals Li's fallacies", China Daily, vol. 19, 7/24/99, p. 4.
[2]from Mr. Li Hongzhi's March 23, 1997 lecture in York City.
[3]See, for example, "China's crackdown on Falun Gong dismays many", The New York Times, 8/1/99.
[4]"Arrest order on cult leader", South China Morning Post, 7/30/99, front page. This initial number still remains in the article "Li Hongzhi is Wanted" on the Chinese Embassy's "Faluncult" webpage. (www.chinaembassy.org/Press/Faluncult.htm)
[5]"Falun Gong Practice Causes Health Problems and Death", from the Chinese Embassy's "Faluncult" web-page, www.china-embassy.org/Press/Faluncult.htm.
[6]as stated by the Minister of Public Health and the Public Health Department in China News Digest, cm 1999, 11c, hz8.
[7]This has not stopped the Chinese Government from trying to frame Falun Gong on this matter. On several occasions letters supposedly by Mr. Li Hongzhi have been forged by various Government offices. The letters have made all sorts of ridiculous statements, such as “make sure and come to such and such a place on this date for the group suicide” or “it is time for us to leave this world.” These fake letters have tried to mislead practitioners into suicide--a crime punishable in most nations. Yet on no occasion have any practitioners been reported to have shown up. Such things are easily recognized as grossly fabricated.
[8]as stated by the Minister of Public Health and the Public Health Department in China News Digest, cm 1999, 11c, hz8.
[9]China National Statistics Bureau, 1999. Available at: www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/china/19990914A105.html
[10]The New York Times, along with others, reported this statistic in its accounts of Falun Gong last April. See “In Beijing: A roar of silent protestors” and “Notoriety now for exiled leader of Chinese movement” in The New York Times, 4/27/99, International Section. Realizing later the proportions of what it had tackled in banning Falun Gong, the Chinese Government later adjusted this figure to 2 million. Unfortunately, some Western media seems to have taken this doctored, euphemistic figure at face value, forgetting that the estimate of 70 million was provided by the Chinese Government.
[11]for findings on ADR, see Journal of the American Medical Association vol. 277(4), Jan 1997, 301-306. For findings on medical error, see The National Academies: Testimony to Congress, 12/13/99.
[12]Statistical Abstract of the United States, US Census Bureau, 1998 ed.
[13]China National Statistics Bureau, 1999. Available at: www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/china/19990914A105.html
[14]Statistical Abstract of the United States, US Census Bureau, 1999 ed.