THE government cranked up the publicity offensive against the Falun Gong yesterday, labelling the group a ``cult'' and comparing it with the sect behind Japan's deadly sarin gas attack.
The broadside by executive councillors came a day after an interview with the Chief Executive was released in which Tung Chee-hwa likened the self-immolation of Falun Gong members in Tiananmen Square in January to the 1978 Jonestown mass suicide involving 914 people.
A local Falun Gong leader said the attacks showed the government was getting closer to banning the group.
Executive Councillor Raymond Ch'ien Kuo-fung yesterday compared the Falun Gong to Japan's Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) sect, which in 1995 released sarin nerve gas in a Tokyo subway, killing 12 people and injuring more than 5,500. He said the government should act to prevent a cult-related tragedy from happening in Hong Kong.
And Executive Council convenor Leung Chun-ying echoed Mr Tung's view that the Falun Gong was not a religious body, and thus the principle of religious freedom did not apply to it.
On Monday, United Press International news service released an interview with Mr Tung, who denounced the sect as a ``cult''.
``First of all, it is not about religion, whose freedom is also guaranteed by our constitution, or Basic Law,'' Mr Tung said in the interview, which was conducted a week ago.
``It's a bit of a cult. Many have been willing to die for it and I was shocked to see cultists willing to burn themselves on Tiananmen Square. It is eerily reminiscent of the Jonestown mass suicide in Guyana. That, too, was a mix of cult and politics.''
Asked whether the SAR government was moving to ban the sect, Mr Tung said: ``That all depends on what they do, hence our careful surveillance.''
He added the group was being watched ``very carefully'' to prevent it from doing irreparable harm to Hong Kong.
Yesterday, Mr Leung and Mr Ch'ien were quick to join the chorus. ``Firstly, the Falun Gong has officially and repeatedly said it is not a religious body. It is not part of any religion and, therefore, there is no association between what may or may not happen with the Falun Gong in Hong Kong or any other part of the world and with religious freedom,'' Mr Leung said.
When asked for his views on Mr Tung's remarks, Mr Ch'ien said: ``A responsible government should try its best to prevent disasters similar to the one caused by Japan's Aum Supreme Truth from happening.'' He said the government's ultimate aim was to prevent these ``incidents'' from happening in Hong Kong. It was not essential to go through a legislative procedure, the government could resort to other administrative means to achieve that aim.
Hong Kong Falun Dafa Association spokesman Kan Hung-cheung said it was obvious from the remarks segregating the Falun Gong from other religious bodies, that the government was preparing to persecute the group.
Mr Kan insisted the Falun Gong was a religious group from a ``metaphysical perspective''. ``Falun Gong is a `worshipping organisation'. Though it is different from `formal' religious bodies, it shares some of their major characteristics: guiding people to be good and honest, and upgrading the ethical standards of society.''