More than 800 were picked up in hotel sweeps. On Oct 30, the police got some more tools when the standing committee of the National People's Congress passed new laws against cults. Leaders are now liable to be prosecuted for endangering national security and other crimes. Those who set up or use superstitious sects and secret societies to deceive people or cause deaths are also subject to severe penalties. And for the first time, the crackdown has been extended to other mystical qigong sects.
China is said to have thousands of qigong groups.
By most accounts, the fury comes straight from the top. President Jiang Zemin ordered the July ban on Falungong, and he was visibly annoyed that the Tiananmen protests had come during his trip to Europe. A Falungong member, who declined to be identified, offered another reason for the crackdown. Our organizational discipline surpasses that of the party. Whatever the true numbers, what really alarmed authorities was the extent to which the sect has infiltrated the party.