Can someone please explain what the beliefs of Falun Gong followers and why they are so reviled in China? From what Ive read they are not better or worse than any other religion

The reason they are disliked by the Chinese government is they are too popular and the Chinese government fears there will be a popular uprising their totalitarian rule, especially now that the middle class is getting rich.

Cheers

A quick google found this SF:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong

"Falun Gong or Falun Dafa (literally means "Law Wheel Practice") is a spiritual discipline first introduced in China in 1992 through public lectures by its founder, Li Hongzhi.[1] It combines the practice of meditation and slow-moving qigong exercises with a moral philosophy. Falun Gong emphasises morality and the cultivation of virtue in its central tenets of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance (Chinese: , and identifies as a qigong practice of the Buddhist school, though its teachings also incorporate elements drawn from Taoist traditions.[2][3] Through moral rectitude and the practice of meditation, practitioners of Falun Gong aspire to better health and, ultimately, spiritual enlightenment.Western academics have described Falun Gong as a qigong discipline, a "spiritual movement" based on the teachings of its founder,[7] a "cultivation system" in the tradition of Chinese antiquity,[8] and sometimes a new religious movement (NRM).

Although the practice initially enjoyed considerable support from Chinese officialdom, by the mid- to late-1990s, the Communist Party and public security organs increasingly viewed Falun Gong as a potential threat due to its size, independence from the state, and spiritual teachings. By 1999, some estimates placed the number of Falun Gong adherents in the tens of millions."


Doesn't sound so bad - unless you're the Chinese govt!

Yes...from what I had read I didnt think they sounded too frightening.

wait till she gets a hold in NZ then all the population will be more slow movin than ever

Here in New Plymouth, there is a Falun Gong practitioner? adherent? who is often seen practicing her qigong exercises (similar to Tai Chi to my uneducated eye) in public places - with various placards placed before her protesting the treatment of Falun Gong in China.

It strikes me that peaceful, silent, solitary protest of this sort must be very threatening to governments that struggle with the concept of political dissent.

G'day,

I really could not give a rat's backside what/who they are....but I'll tell ya this for free, they certainly do not look like immigrants to me.

The craft looked absolutely spot-on, freshly painted, and clean as a whistle and worth a good quid. Is there a fare involved here!!!

There was only a couple of handfulls of people on board and they were all dressed up like pox doctors clerks and well fed....no shortage of money there, and they are having a stop-over in Darwin for supplies!!!! Even more money....these people are not immigrants and are taking us, or Aussie for suckers. They can get to the back of the immigration que where they belong like everyone else and take their chances. There's more deserving people out there and more so within our own country,
Christchurch in particular.

Immigrants!!!!....stiff cheese.

SQUIRTER Bloody oath mate !!

OKKA,

I spent too many years in Aussie and learnt to dislike bludgers, wankers, and self-serving dicks with a passion mate....and whoever said the Aussie was a dumb hua did not know what they were talking about.

But bejesus, I simply hate ya's in the footy season though.

Cheers mate.

Squirter, you have mentioned the very thoughts that came into my mind last night!

I never picked up on the boat so much as it apparently broke down but my first question was Who is paying for the "Restocking" of supplies? Same question to work on boat etc. One only has to look at how much we paid out for that fellow that was held in jail then a monastery (can't think of his name) in Ak while they argued his case in the courts his case on it's own must have cost millions.

They say they don't know anything about sailing? "Bunkum" they gotta know something or they would be at the bottom of the sea by now.

Refugees are not always penniless. I believe it is accepted that Falun Gong have been subjected to imprisonment, ill-treatment and torture for their religio/political beliefs.

These people may have financial support from fellow believers outside or even inside China perhaps?

China has a growing middle-class - perhaps these people belong to that group but are endangered for their beliefs - which would qualify them as refugees wouldn't it?

As I understand it, it is no longer our problem - they've applied for asylum in Australia.

thats the problem Look at the UK flooded the place with unemployable penniless people to satisfy the "Do Gooders " now there's riots Ghettos gangs roaming the streets who'll stab ya fer a quid

crikey if the borders hadn't been open even here in NZ every man would have a job , there'd actually be a big demand for labour so wages would rise
women wouldn't have to work if they didnt want to , families woulds stay together , kids would be looked after and maybe respect would creep back into their miserable existences