"The recent self-burning event in the Tian'anmen Square was rather shocking, and it shows that Falun Gong is far more than a mere health-promotion practice," said Ma Man Kei, Vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

The activities which disturb normal social order and the country's stability are definitely not allowable, he said at a seminar attended by some CPPCC National Committee members in Macao.

Many countries, including the United States and Japan, have exerted tough crackdown upon evil organizations, for cult members always end up harming the life of themselves or others, Ma Man Kei said.

Ng Fok, another CPPCC member, said at the seminar that the Falun Gong practitioners have gone too far to bring harm to their family members as well as social stability.

"The behavior of Falun Gong practitioners reveals that Falun Gong is actually an organized cult," he said, urging the practitioners to "wake up" immediately and come back to normal life.

CPPCC member Lee Hong said that Falun Gong resembles all other cults in the world in the way of damaging the life of human race. "Cult is one source of terrorism of human being," he said.

"It is a necessary measure for the central government to clamp down Falun Gong for the benefit of the masses of the people," Lee Hong said.

Other participants in the seminar said that Falun Gong had grown to be a political organization which gangs up with other anti-China forces overseas to harm social stability of the country and attack the central government.

Falun Gong practitioners are not allowed to turn Macao into a base to carry out their illegal activities, the CPPCC members said.

(Xinhuanet 02/06/2001)