I was reading an article today about China's persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual sect. The practices of Falun Gong are peaceful and have a lot to do with meditation-their main, founding principles are truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.
Despite this, the Falun Gong have been treated mercilessly over the past 20 years- banned and labelled an "evil cult," it's members have been arrested, tortured, and died in custody, their lawyers have been beaten for helping them, and many have gone into self-exile for their own safety.
This seems strange, but if you think about how powerful an organizing force religion and spirituality can be, the Chinese government's response has some twisted logic. The extremity of it's persecution of the sect started when 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners nonviolently protested in Beijing 10 years ago. The dedication and unity of this many people, even to a cause not directly related to the government, seemed cause for worry.
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Well if you think about it, Christianity started out as an obscure sect of an obscure religion in an obscure region of the Roman Empire and evolved into one of the most powerful organized forces in the world.
ReplyDeleteThe ferocity with which China cracked down on Falun Gong was odd.. and I think you are right to point to a "twisted logic" in China's fear of alternative identities and categories for its citizens. It would also perhaps have the result of pushing people to be more virulent in their nationalism since some identities are closed off..
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