The Chinese police have uncovered a scheme by followers of the banned Falun Gong sect to broadcast the word of their spiritual master through hidden loudspeakers, the official media reported yesterday. Speakers attached to tape players operated by time switch or remote control have been planted near government departments and in parks, schools and other public places to broadcast instructions from Master Li Hongzhi, it said.
The report is a tacit admission that Falun Gong is still regarded as a serious threat, even through Beijing claims that most of its followers have severed their connections with it.
Xinhua said the police in Beijing and 10 provinces had raided "underground nests" where the speakers were secretly assembled. Gu Xiufang, a former "cult diehard" arrested in Beijing, allegedly confessed to obtaining detailed instructions from the Falun Gong website.
A Falun Gong spokesman in Hong Kong said the report was highly exaggerated.
"Beijing wants to create the image of us being a powerful organisation. Some of our supporters are doing this but on a very small scale: they are risking their lives."
Beijing says Mr Li's teachings have prompted more than 1,000 followers to commit suicide or self-immolation. Two weeks ago it tried to suggest that the Falun Gong might be responsible for an anthrax hoax.
The movement claims that more than 300 of its followers in China have been killed while in detention.