BEIJING, Jun 1, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Chinese police have uncovered a new "evil cult" and rescued 32 children who were found chanting bizarre mantras, police told AFP Friday.
Four adults at the boarding school run by the Falanhui (Blue Law Society) sect were arrested at the end of May in the municipality of Chongqing in southwest China, a local police official said.
He confirmed a Yangcheng Evening News report that 32 children aged between 10 and 17 were "saved" by police and sent back to their families. Several of the children were orphans from nearby provinces.
Family members told police they sent their children to the school because Falanhui members convinced them the children would get a good education for free.
The paper said police received a tip-off on May 16 that a boarding school had recently been set up in a mountainous region near the town of Yunyang.
"The children were chanting strange and incomprehensible mantras aloud in class. Police immediately launched an undercover operation which found out the group was an evil cult," said the paper.
The phrase "evil cult" has been used by the authorities to describe the outlawed Falun Gong spiritual movement, which has been subjected to a brutal crackdown over the past two years.
Since the movement was banned in July 1999, hundreds of followers have been given stiff jail terms while tens of thousands have been packed off to "re-education through labor" camps.
The police official said he believed the Falanhui could have members around China, although he was unsure of the group's size.
"Some followers managed to run away and we are now looking for them," he said.
The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy estimates there are 17 sects the Chinese authorities consider "evil cults".
While the Falun Gong has been very publicly vilified, other qigong groups such as Zhong Gong, Xianggong and the Guanyin Famen have been more quietly repressed along with Christian groups, said the center. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse)