By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - Chinese authorities are taking moves to launch a full-scale crackdown on religious cults after suffering from popular movements such as the 1999 ban on the Falun Gong spiritual group. It has been reported that some local governments have already launched a full-scale crackdown. Since the government could lose its authority if China gets entangled in another religious movement and suffers from difficulties in their administration, it seems China is nipping it in the bud before it gets out of hand.

Such atmosphere can be clearly detected in the Sept. 7 reports of China's state-run media outlets including the Southern Metropolis Daily, a leading Guangdong-based newspaper. An exceptional attack on "Bloody Holy Spirit", a Taiwan-based cult, reflects the potential of the government's continuous crackdown on cult members in China. Besides, the Chinese government's recent apprehension of several cult members of religious groups that have been specified as "evil cults" by the government, strengthens the case for this assertion.

Bloody Holy Spirit, which is one of the most active religious cults in China that is described as an 'evil cult' by the Chinese authorities, is at present under the leadership of a 86-year-old man named Zuo Kun (above)./ Source from Southern Metropolis Daily

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In fact, there seems plenty of reasons why the authorities have declared war against religious cults looking at the reality of Bloody Holy Spirit revealed by local media outlets. The cult's leader Zuo Kun, a 86-year-old man with a nickname Laoba (father), calls him "prophet" representing the supreme God to exercise royal rule. He claims that he is the ruler of God on the earth. Over 300,000 followers of Bloody Holy Spirit across Shandong and Jiangxi are considered one of the factors unnerving Chinese authorities. Zuo exercises extreme spiritual control over followers. Swindling money from followers has become a common thing for Zuo. With the money collected, Zuo has reportedly purchased a private plane.

A recent gathering to celebrate Zuo Kun's 86th birthday was held near Shandong Province. It was held secretly to avoid the government's crackdown./ Source from Southern Metropolis Daily

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Moreover, China's recent internal probe on active religious cults, including Almighty God, Beili Wang, and Dami Mission, reflects that the government would launch a full-scale crackdown on religious cults. Religious expert Han Lan Qing rated the Chinese government's move positively, stating, "Religious cults decay the state, the society, and the individual. Pulling a knife on them is in the right direction."

The problem lies in the fact the this move would influence orthodox religion negatively. In fact, some outlandish damages continue to occur due to the crackdown. Churches that obtained the government's permission, and their crosses in surrounding Zhenjiang province have been demolished. Chinese authorities should distinguish between good and bad in order to make a victory against religious cults.