A former Falun Dafa practitioner tells Michael Morrah why he thinks the group's a dangerous cult. Video / Carson Bluck / George Heard
Former Falun Dafa practitioner says the inclusion of the group in Santa parades gives legitimacy to a cult with dangerous beliefs.
A Falun Dafa spokeswoman rejects claims the group is a cult, saying its focus is on peaceful spiritual practice.
Santa parade organisers say Falun Dafa was allowed to participate in parades because their marching band is entertaining.
A former Falun Dafa practitioner who left the group claiming it’s a cult that promotes “dangerous” teachings has questioned whether the organisation’s marching bands should have been allowed to participate in Santa parade events around the North Island.
Followers of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, areoften seen meditating in suburban parks or streets, and members of the group’s Tian Guo marching band – with its distinctive blue or yellow banners – appeared in at least 10 Santa parades from Auckland to Palmerston North.
Auckland Farmers Santa parade general manager Pam Glaser told the Herald having Falun Dafa’s band in parades was all about entertainment.
But former Falun Dafa practitioner and Christchurch resident Jaya Gibson is concerned the group’s inclusion gives legitimacy to a set of beliefs that can be harmful.
“If Jehovah’s Witnesses had a brass band or Destiny Church had a Highland dancing troupe, would you give them the same legitimacy? Probably not,” he told the Herald.
Jaya Gibson spent more than a decade immersed in the Chinese spiritual group Falun Dafa which is also known as Falun Gong. Photo / George Heard
Falun Dafa’s headquarters is in Deerpark, New York, where leader and founder Li Hongzhi lives in a palatial bush-clad compound surrounded by armed guards.
According to a speech he made in 1998, Hongzhi believes aliens are preparing to replace humans. He also spoke of the dangers of mixed-race people and homosexuality which he said, “damage human society’s moral code”.
New York labour department officials subsequently launched an investigation.
Falun Dafa won the prize for best walking float in the Whanganui Santa parade in 2020. Photo / Lewis Gardner.
Gibson said in his opinion Falun Dafa is “without question a cult”, where psychologically damaging doctrines prevail, which include downplaying the usefulness of modern medicine.
“Their practice is dangerous to society, I think. It has lots of anti-scientific views.”
However, such claims are rejected by Auckland-based Falun Dafa spokeswoman Wendy Cao who told the Herald the movement is focused on “peaceful spiritual practice” where there’s no formal membership and followers are not required to contribute financially to the group.
Spiritual group Falun Dafa participating at the Christmas Parade in the Whangārei suburb of Kamo. Photo / NZME
She said claims it’s a dangerous cult are similar to narratives pushed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which banned the group and arrested thousands of its followers during a brutal crackdown in 1999.
Cao said Falun Dafa does not advocate rejecting medical care, but followers are “encouraged to make their own choices” regarding their health.
‘Entertainment value’
Farmers Santa Parade general manager Pam Glaser. Photo / Doug Sherring
The organiser of this year’s parade in Auckland, Pam Glaser, told the Herald there are rules for those who participate.
“We do not allow any group to use their participation as a political platform.”
She said each applicant is “carefully reviewed” on its “entertainment value” and overall suitability for the event.
A spokesman for the parade in Auckland’s Kumeū, which also hosted Falun Dafa’s marching band, told the Herald “anyone” can participate providing they live in the community.
However, Gibson believed allowing the group to participate in a parade for children is highly problematic.
“I am concerned that with every parade they’re at we are just accepting the legitimacy of their existence. Whilst there isn’t any sort of an immediate threat, you’re giving validity to a group that holds beliefs that have been detrimental to people.”
Cao said practitioners join events like Santa parades to “share traditional Chinese culture and the values of kindness, harmony and joy with the broader public”.
Journalist and author Anke Richter said Santa parade organisers should "do better homework" on participants.
Cult researcher and author Anke Richter felt Falun Dafa’s presence in parades was a public relations move and noted many coercive groups have bands or performers.
“It’s their public front, it’s their PR. They’re not doing this because they genuinely want to entertain the children at the Santa parade.”
She said Gloriavale used to hold picnics on Waitangi Day, which she believed - like Falun Dafa - served as a platform for the group’s leaders to build legitimacy.
She urged Santa parade organisers to “do better homework” to find out what participants really stand for.
‘Psychological pressures’
Jaya Gibson left Falun Dafa in 2012 and doesn't think they should be part of any Santa parade. Photo / George Heard
Jaya Gibson told the Herald the catalyst for leaving Falun Dafa was the death of his father in 1998.
His father was a “veteran” practitioner who he says died of pancreatic cancer in London while shunning any form of medical intervention.
“I became concerned about the [Falun Dafa] practice of avoiding medical attention. There was an onus on you as a good practitioner not to give in to taking medicine or going to the doctor. That led to the painful death of my father.”
He was shocked by the reaction of other practitioners who suggested his father’s death was due to bad karma and Jaya should sever any emotional attachment he had to his dad.
Gibson spent more than a decade immersed in the group and also worked in New York as the global marketing director for the Falun Dafa-affiliated newspaper the Epoch Times.
He said while Falun Dafa is persecuted in China, and not all practitioners were bad people, he felt the overriding belief system preached by the group’s leader was manipulative and promoted apocalyptic themes.
Falun Dafa at the Hastings Blossom Parade in 2019. Photo / Paul Taylor
He claimed one of the classic cult-like traits with Falun Dafa is that followers were led to believe that if you leave the movement there could be dire consequences.
“The implication is that spiritually, all your karma will be returned to you. That basically means whatever bad stuff happens to you, you deserve it, you brought it on yourself because you left the practice.”
Cao denied those who join are put under pressure.
“Practitioners are free to join or leave the practice at any time. It encourages individuals to participate freely and make their own personal decisions about their level of involvement.”
Falun Dafa’s New Zealand website describes it as an “advanced cultivation practice” associated with Buddhism which follows the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.
Gibson said while he joined to group with the intention of improving his health, the ultimate purpose of the practice is to transform into a God-like figure in another dimension.
The Epoch Times
In June, the chief financial officer of the Epoch Times was arrested over his alleged links to a massive money-laundering scheme.
Prosecutors say Bill Guan participated in a global plot to launder at least $115 million to benefit himself and the Epoch Times.
In recent years, the Falun Dafa-backed news service transformed from a small newspaper handed out free on street corners to one of America’s most powerful digital news outlets.
The Epoch Times is an ardent supporter of Donald Trump and has pushed multiple conspiracy theories, including suggesting coronavirus was created as a bioweapon in a Chinese military lab, and that the CCP plans to weaponise the Ebola virus.
