Editing Anti-cult movement (section)

=== China ===
{{Main|Persecution of Falun Gong|Antireligious campaigns in China|Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)}}

China's modern anti-cult movement began in the late 1990s with the development of [[qigong]] groups, primarily [[Falun Gong]]. Anti-cult campaigns in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first centuries were founded on "scientific rationality and civilization," according to [[Medical anthropology|medical anthropologist]] Nancy N. Chen.<ref>{{Cite journal | first = Nancy N. | last = Chen | title = ''Healing Sects and Anti-Cult Campaigns'' | journal = [[The China Quarterly]] | issue = 174 | year = 2003 | page = 508 | jstor = 20059006}}</ref> Chinese authorities claimed that by July 2001 that Falun Gong specifically was responsible for over 1,600 deaths through induced [[suicide]] by [[hanging]], [[self-immolation]], [[drowning]]s, among others and the [[murder]]s of practitioners' relatives.<ref>Calum Macleod, "City Life: Beijing – China bars the masses from its biggest ever anti-cult exhibition," ''[[The Independent]]'' (London), 18 July 2001.</ref> Chinese authorities adopted the negative term [[Heterodox teachings (Chinese law)|"xié jiào"]] ([[:zh:邪教|邪教]]) to refer to new religious movements. It is roughly translated by "evil cult," but the term dates as far back as the seventh century CE with various meanings.<ref>For more on use of the term "evil cult", see Maria Hsia Chang, ''Falun Gong: The End of Days'' (New Haven and London: [[Yale University Press]], 2004), 97–100.</ref>

About 10,000 Falun Gong protestors on 25 April 1999 demonstrated around [[Zhongnanhai]], the seat of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]], to recognize Falun Gong as a legitimate form of spirituality.<ref>Bryan Edelman and [[James T. Richardson]], "Imposed Limitations on Freedom of Religion in China and the Margin of Appreciation Doctrine: A Legal Analysis of the Crackdown on the Falun Gong and Other 'Evil Cults,'" ''[[Journal of Church and State]]'' 47, no. 2 (2005): 243–267. p. 243.</ref> In response, Beijing specifically labeled Falun Gong an illegal religious organization which violated the [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China|People's Republic of China's Constitution]] in May 1999.<ref>Edelman and Richardson, 251.</ref> On 22 July 1999, the [[Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]] specifically banned Falun Gong.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Ban of Falun Gong Is at People's Will |url=https://www.mfa.gov.cn/ce/ceus//eng/zt/ppflg/t36589.htm#:~:text=To%20maintain%20social%20stability%20and,to%20law,%20the%20spokesman%20said. |access-date=2022-07-10 |website=www.mfa.gov.cn}}</ref> On 30 October 1999, the Standing Committee enacted a law that required courts, police, and prosecutors to prosecute "cult" activity generally.<ref>"China issues anti-cult law to combat Falun Gong and other movements regime deems undesirable," ''International Law Update'' 5, no. 12 (1999).</ref>