Cult Crackdown

By+Yuan+Yuan

On May 28， citizens all across China were shaken to their cores when Wu Shuoyan， a 35-year-old woman， was beaten to death in public by six people at a McDonalds in Zhaoyuan， east Chinas Shandong Province. Their motive， according to the original online news report， was because one of the six asked Wu for her phone number but she refused.

As one of the group responsible for Wus murder drove a luxury Porsche Cayenne， at first， many thought it would be a clichéd tale of a rich man being refused what he wanted and then overreacting.

However， video footage of the incident showed that something else was afoot. It was a young woman in the group that went to ask for Wus phone number， and when Wu refused， she responded by attacking Wu with a chair. The other five soon joined in， brandishing other blunt objects， while calling Wu a “devil，” and “evil spirit.”

The violence lasted for three minutes before the police made it to the scene. Wu was sent to hospital and passed away 20 minutes after arriving. The six perpetrators were detained and confessed to the police that they belonged to a cult officially known as Quannengshen Jiaohui， which means “the Church of the Almighty God，” though they are also known as Dongfangshandian—Eastern Lightning.

In the case of Wu， the six intended to recruit Wu as a new member of Quannengshen by asking for her phone number. When Wu refused， they were enraged and claimed Wu to be evil and killed her， said the police.

Zhang Lidong， 54， one of the murderers， said after he was detained that his act was “the will of God” and he did not regret what he had done.

The police arrested five adult members of the group responsible for Wus murder on June 2 on charges of intentional homicide. The accused include Zhang Lidong， Zhangs two daughters—Zhang Fan and Zhang Hang， as well as two other women—Zhang Qiaolian and Lyu Yingchun. According to the Zhaoyuan Government， Zhang Lidongs 12-year-old son will also be charged， but at a juvenile court since he is two years under the age of criminal responsibility in China.

Zhang Fan， Zhang Lidongs eldest daughter， was the first in the family to follow Quannengshen and recruited her father， sister and brother to the heretic sect.

At the apartment where the Zhang family stayed， the police found books and disks of Quannengshen material.

Repeat offenders

A witness to Wus death recorded the scene and put the clip online， which sparked public outrage.endprint

“I was so shocked that I couldnt fall asleep after watching，” said Yang Shan， a resident in Jinan， capital of Shandong. He said that he was even more angry after learning the suspects expressed no regret for what they had done.

“A stranger was called evil and beaten to death just because she refused to give her phone number [to them]？ Their crime is unbelievable and incomprehensible，” said Yan Xiang， a resident in Wuhan， central Chinas Hubei Province.

Yan said that the crime showed the cults control over people， and urged authorities to severely punish and crack down on such organizations.

Police records showed that the killing in Zhaoyuan was not the first time Quannengshen has been responsible for violence. In late October and early November 1998， robberies and assaults connected with the cult were reported over 12 days in Tanghe County， central Chinas Henan Province， with some victimslimbs broken and their ears cut off.

On January 10， 2011， Li Guirong， a female resident in Henans Lankao County， killed her own daughter. The reason she gave to the police was that taking care of her daughter took time away from spreading the word about Quannengshen.

On December 16， 2012， Min Yongjun， reportedly influenced by the doomsday philosophies of Quannengshen， attacked elementary school children in Guangshan County， Henan， injuring 23 students and an elderly woman.

Min confessed during police inquiries that he believed “he was doomed and hoped to do things to make the world remember him before he died.”

Quannengshen was formed in 1990 in Henan by Zhao Weishan， and the cult claims to be an offshoot of Christianity and also that Jesus has been resurrected in the body of Yang Xiangbin， a Chinese woman who also goes by the name Deng Shandian， or Lightning Deng.

Before the formation of the cult， Yang， then a resident in Datong City， north Chinas Shanxi Province， failed her college entrance exam. Three years later， she claimed to be the embodiment of God and the second coming of Jesus. She is suspected to be suffering from schizophrenia.

The cult operates as a secret underground organization， and it is much like a pyramid scheme in which one member tries to get more to join the cult after themselves. It requires its members to surrender their property to the group and has introduced tight rules and regulations to control the members.

In the first five years after the sect was founded， they focused on rural areas for recruiting new members. In November 1995， Quannengshen was listed as a cult in China.endprint

According to Chinese law， a cult is an illegal organization that tries to control people by deifying their own leader， deceiving members under the guise of being a religion and engage in activities that harm society.

Despite the illegality of Quannengshen， it has still grown while remaining in hiding. From 1995， they expanded to urban areas， trying to recruit college students， business people and entrepreneurs in order to gather funds and skilled individuals for the organization.

In order to escape the police， Zhao fled to the United States in 2000 and has controlled and ordered the members of Quannengshen from there ever since.

Before December 21， 2012， the end of the Mayan calendar， which Quannengshen believed would be the end of the world， members of the cult were very active in spreading their doomsday message door to door and at public venues and pledged to ensure the safety of its followers from the coming apocalypse in exchange for money and other assets.

Ma Qiang， head of the anti-cult reconnaissance team with the Qinghai Provincial Public Security Department， revealed that till the early 2010s， most of the cults members were unemployed people from urban areas or other low-income groups hit by illness or disaster. People in their 40s make up the majority of Quannengshens membership.

Stopping the damage

Fully aware of the impact of cults on society， the Chinese Government has remained tough on them. It was reported that by the end of 2012， nearly 1，000 members of Quannengshen had been detained or punished by the police for breaking the law.

Wang Zhongwu， a sociologist with Shandong University， said that severe suppression of cults should be maintained to prevent more people from being hurt.

The call was echoed by Wang Shuli， an expert on religious issues. “The incident in Zhaoyuan highlighted just how sinister cults like Quannengshen can be，” he said.

China has listed and banned 14 cults and their activities.

“The various cults have taken a heavy toll on China， destroying property， claiming lives and threatening social stability，” said Wang Shuli.“Unlike legitimate religions， they preach fallacies and break laws. Their leaders and core members， who have little background in orthodox religions， seek to enrich themselves at the cost of others.”

Wang Shuli advised authorities to severely punish the criminals， make sure people are properly educated on the situation， and expose the cult to the public at large.endprint