Latest News:  
Beijing   Sunny/Cloudy    13 / 1 ℃  City Forecast

English>>China Society

Doomsday cult targeted in crackdown (2)

(Shanghai Daily)

16:50, December 15, 2012

To prevent raids, "leaders" are banned from having mobile phones and are driven to places where they "preach their religion." Gatherings only allow a maximum of seven people to avoid attracting attention from the authorities, the report said.

The cult persuades followers to quit their jobs, give up everything they own, and break off all contact with relatives.

An online "anti-Almighty God" alliance said millions of people, especially rural residents, had become its victims.

Wang Xiaomin, a 48-year-old villager in Henan with little education, said she started believing in the cult in 2005 because one of her former classmates had told her the world was about to suffer a major disaster.

Wang said she left home in 2008 to spread the word in Xinmi City in Henan, raising nearly 600,000 yuan (US$96,000) for the cult.

Police have called for public tip-offs to crack down on the cult as it was believed more people would be taken in as December 21 approached. That's the day some people believe the world will end according to a Mayan prophesy.

On December 9, three women and a man were detained for promoting "Almighty God" on the streets of Fuzhou, capital of southeast Fujian Province.

They distributed leaflets saying doomsday was near and only those who joined their cult would survive. They handed out red dates and walnuts as their Chinese pronunciations sound like "escape in time."

They also invited people to write down their names, phone numbers and home addresses on a "Life Book" to join the cult.

【1】 【2】



We Recommend:

China in 1942, a real history

'Devil' foreign instructors in China

Beautiful model at Guangzhou Auto Show

Nutritious lunch provided in Taipei

Photos of China 30 years ago

AK-47-equipped teacher creates buzz

Lunch in Beijing's primary schools

Say no to vicious cycle of ugliness appreciation

Challenges remain for smoking ban

Email|Print|Comments(Editor:陈丽丹、姚春)

Related Reading

Leave your comment0 comments

  1. Name

  

Selections for you


  1. Weekly review of military photos

  2. Marine surveillance plane patrolling

  3. The world in photos (12.03-12.14)

  4. Photos: Most touching loves in 2012

  5. Snow creates a white winter wonderland

  6. Growth forecast to exceed 7% in 2013

  7. Swimming Santa Claus in Malaysia

  8. Top Google searches in 2012 revealed

Most Popular

Opinions

  1. Don't let Chinese characters be a world heritage
  2. Behind annual Chinese Writers Rich List
  3. China firms 'don't communicate enough'
  4. Who can free Chinese couples from baby tangle?
  5. No easy path in sight for China's economic future
  6. Worries about combating corruption online
  7. 'Urban diseases' challenge 'beautiful China'
  8. Cultivating a natural lifestyle at Green City
  9. ASEAN economies poised to keep robust growth
  10. Translation industry needs legislation and regulation

What’s happening in China

Five trapped workers rescued in Gansu tunnel collapse

  1. Snow affects Beijing travel
  2. Children's charity counters allegations with audit
  3. 22 students stabbed in central China attack
  4. Beijing to renovate drains following fatal rain
  5. S China official's falling death confirmed