Falun Gong is familiar to many as a spiritual exercise movement, and a sect that has been persecuted by the People’s Republic of China. In Sydney you'll often see practitioners demonstrating by Town Hall with flyers sharing stories of organ harvesting of wrongfully imprisoned members. But former devotees have come forward with stories of coercion and abuse, alleging that in one thing the CCP is correct: Falun Gong is a socially harmful cult.Full research sources listed <a href="https://www.ltaspod.com/53" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.Links:<ul><li><a href="https://colomboarts.cmb.ac.lk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/ColomboArt2017_Invited.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“I am the only one propagating true Dharma”:&nbsp;Li Hongzhi’s Self-Presentation as Buddha and Greater</a>&nbsp;— by James R. Lewis, ColomboArts Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vol II, Issue 2, 2017</li><li><a href="https://library.fes.de/libalt/journals/swetsfulltext/18017221.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The life and times of Li Hongzhi: ‘Falun Gong’ and Religious Biography</a>&nbsp;— by Benjamin Penny, The China Quarterly 175, 643–661, 2003</li><li><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-21/inside-falun-gong-master-li-hongzhi-the-mountain-dragon-springs/12442518" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The power of Falun Gong</a>&nbsp;— By Eric Campbell and Hagar Cohen, Foreign Correspondent-Background Briefing, ABC, 21 July 2020</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_lV8u-5d7I" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Shen Yun: The Dark Side of a Dance Troupe</a>&nbsp;— The Daily, New York Times Podcasts, 3 April 2025</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20240616182004/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/epoch-times-begins-hiding-its-connection-huge-pro-trump-ad-n1045416" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook bans ads from The Epoch Times after huge pro-Trump buy</a>&nbsp;— by Brandy Zadrozny and Ben Collins, NBC News, 23 August 2019</li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210213071936/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/epoch-times-trump-you-tube" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">This Pro-Trump YouTube Network Sprang Up Just After He Lost</a>&nbsp;— by Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed News, 8 January 2021</li><li><a href="https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/epoch-times/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A key source for Covid-skeptic movements, the Epoch Times yearns for a global audience</a>&nbsp;— by Alessio Perrone & Darren Loucaides, coda, 10 March 2022</li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/03/epoch-times-money-laundering-crypto-justice-department" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DoJ accuses far-right Epoch Times of being money-laundering operation</a>&nbsp;— by Richard Luscombe, The Guardian, 4 June 2024</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/15/nyregion/shen-yun-dance-abuse.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Behind the Pageantry of Shen Yun, Untreated Injuries and Emotional Abuse</a>&nbsp;— by Nicole Hong & Michael Rothfeld, The New York Times, 15 August 2024</li><li><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/stepping-into-the-uncanny-unsettling-world-of-shen-yun" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stepping Into the Uncanny, Unsettling World of Shen Yun</a>&nbsp;— by Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 19 March 2019</li><li><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/their-posters-are-everywhere-but-behind-shen-yun-lies-a-darker-story-20250220-p5ldry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Their posters are everywhere, but behind Shen Yun lies a darker story</a>&nbsp;— by Anthony Segaert, The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 February 2025</li><li>Consider supporting <a href="https://decult.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Decult</a> in NZ</li></ul> Subscribe and support the production of this independent podcast, and you can access early + ad-free episodes at <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="https://plus.acast.com/s/lets-talk-about-sects">https://plus.acast.com/s/lets-talk-about-sects</a>.

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