Paper
Ms. Shanthi Kalathil, Mr. Taylor Boas
{
"authors": [
"Taylor Boas"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"China"
],
"topics": []
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
In The Media
China's Web of Faith
Published on May 1, 2001
Source: Carnegie
Reprinted with permission from Foreign Policy, May-June 2001.
Whether seen as a peaceful spiritual group or a dangerous cult, China's Falun Gong is an extensively wired faith. Government crackdowns have made it harder to use the Internet for organization within China, but elsewhere, Web sites help Falun Gong enlist support for its human rights campaign while recruiting and informing members worldwide.
Sect founder Li Hongzhi uses the Internet as his principal means of communicating with followers. Even if they can't access sites through government-controlled servers in China, people may receive Li's missives as e-mail attachments or smuggled documents. FalunDafa.org hosts the full text of all Li's writings and includes links to local chapters worldwide. Download videos to learn the group?s exercises and audio clips to play during practice. Easy access to such information has helped boost membership in Europe and North America.
FalunInfo.net represents the public relations face of Falun Gong. The site frames the movement in terms of human rights and freedom of religion?concepts with greater resonance in the West than Falun Gong's philosophical tenets, drawn largely from Buddhism and Taoism. The site features press releases and an extensive Western news archive.
While critics charge that FalunInfo.net is one-sided, China's efforts are as well: One of several anti-Falun Gong sites (www.mingjing.org.cn/ppflg/) features testimonials from "re-educated" practitioners and gruesome photos of the recent self-immolations in Tiananmen Square. Falun Gong responded by creating pages "Exposing the Crimes of Jiang Zemin" and charging that Chinese authorities orchestrated the burnings to defame the group.
About the Author
Mr. Taylor Boas
Former Project Associate
- Internet and State Control in Authoritarian Regimes: China, Cuba, and the Counterrevolution
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
- As It Turns 25, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Reflects the New World OrderCommentary
With the growth in points of friction between the great powers, organizations like the SCO will continue to play a role in the strategic adaptation of the smaller powers caught between them.
Temur Umarov
- Did Putin Return From China Empty-Handed?Commentary
With no key agreement signed on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, there is a risk that the window of opportunity for Russia will close if Chinese power generation becomes so green that new gas sources are no longer of any interest to Beijing.
Alexander Gabuev
- The Much-Touted Middle Corridor Transport Route Could Prove a Dead EndCommentary
For the Middle Corridor to fulfill its promises, one of these routes must become scalable. At present, neither is.
Friedrich Conradi
- Why Are China and Russia Not Rushing to Help Iran?Commentary
Most of Moscow’s military resources are tied up in Ukraine, while Beijing’s foreign policy prioritizes economic ties and avoids direct conflict.
Alexander Gabuev, Temur Umarov
- How Trump’s Wars Are Boosting Russian Oil ExportsCommentary
The interventions in Iran and Venezuela are in keeping with Trump’s strategy of containing China, but also strengthen Russia’s position.
Mikhail Korostikov
