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[maplehurry]

Do PRC ban most religions (i know buddhism is allowed) ?

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by maplehurry

Do PRC ban most religions (i know buddhism is allowed) ?

All major religions are allowed, but need affiliations with the Communist Party. If you don't get Party approval, you don't exist. And of course being affiliated means taking orders.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

JPMorgan to quit physical commodity trade amid scrutiny
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...96P10M20130726

This might be the most remarkable story of the day. The New York Times story about bankers manipulating the aluminum (or "aluminium" if you prefer) markets pointed the finger at Goldman Sachs. Yet here is Morgan saying they are getting out of the business. What do you suppose might be hiding there in Morgan's email archives?

[ArchmageXin]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

All major religions are allowed, but need affiliations with the Communist Party. If you don't get Party approval, you don't exist. And of course being affiliated means taking orders.

I wouldn't exactly say so. All religion are allowed as long as they recognize that the Chinese Government Law > Biblical/Koran/space play boy bunny law.

The only one really get into trouble are pretty much ones where the religion have a mortal ruler on earth (See Catholicism and Fa lun Gong). Or advocate use of violence as way to achieve an aim (Muslims), etc. Or plain crazy (Like that strange christian group that went around attacking other Christians for not believing 2012 = end of world)

The general rule of thumb is as long as you don't raise an ruckus, CCP wouldn't bother the time to crush you (the days of raids into underground churches are mostly over).

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

All major religions are allowed, but need affiliations with the Communist Party. If you don't get Party approval, you don't exist. And of course being affiliated means taking orders.

This lead to a strange situation where China has 2 catholic bishops, 1 appointed by the Vatican, 1 appointed by the government.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by ArchmageXin

I wouldn't exactly say so. All religion are allowed as long as they recognize that the Chinese Government Law > Biblical/Koran/space play boy bunny law.

The only one really get into trouble are pretty much ones where the religion have a mortal ruler on earth (See Catholicism and Fa lun Gong). Or advocate use of violence as way to achieve an aim (Muslims), etc. Or plain crazy (Like that strange christian group that went around attacking other Christians for not believing 2012 = end of world)

The general rule of thumb is as long as you don't raise an ruckus, CCP wouldn't bother the time to crush you (the days of raids into underground churches are mostly over).

You bypassed my point. Which is that all religious organisations have the Communit Party at its Head. This is non-negotiable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_A...igious_Affairs
The 5 major religions have government officials running them. No ifs or buts. This includes the "Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association" for Catholics.

The Pope? As if the Communist Party gave a damn about him.

Funny that. The US tradition of "separation of Church and State" was not written to prevent religion corrupting politics, but of politics corrupting religion. Yet we have Religion corrupting American politics, while Chinese Politics making their Religion toothless.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

Let me say a few words more in case people accuse me of circumventing the question at hand.

So back in the good old days when I was still in high school, one day we wake up and find a big billboard about how good this certain Qigong (pratice of Qi, or whatever you want to translate it) is for you. I don't remember what it said, but I only remember it is completely lunacy, and that's why I remember the existence of such a thing to this day. We were shocked at that time, because it shouldn't be in a place for education. That's my first contact with this cult.

Later I learned this thing is quite in fashion. If you went to some public places like train station in the cities, you would see people with banners claiming that their practice can cure incurable diseases, etc.

Then some mob stormed the local news station because it criticized them for misleading their followers, etc.

Some time later the government cracked down on it. We heard that one of our teachers' wife broke her leg. Apparently she was one practitioner (she might have something to do with the billboard, I don't know). her family tried to stop her from joining other protesters, so she (an old lady in her 60s or more) climbed over a wall to escape. It didn't go so smoothly.

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

^ I don't have the facts on hand to share at the moment, but I'd vouch for most of what Tom Bombadil says above about the Falungong movement. It is pretty much a cult comparable to Korea's Moonies and America's Scientism. This is not often known in the West, because it is as Tom says: Western media typically portray the story as yet another example of Big Bad China crushing people's desire to "worship" freely.

I'm all for freedom of worship but, at the same time, I'd also advocate action against cultists that take their religious claims too far. How to strike the balance, that is the sticking point that is up to each society to decide. It shouldn't be a matter for foreigners to butt in and impose their values on others.

As for the claims of forced labour and organ harvests... Well, when you're already a villain in the eyes of the public, it's not a hard stretch to make them believe that things like that are happening, is it?

I haven't seen any specifics posted by you guys that justifies this action, only "crazy beliefs that does not comfort to Communist standards".

I mean... did they sarin-gas bomb a subway station like the Aum cult? Or hoard massive amounts of firearms and shoot at government officials from behind their barricades like the Branch Davidians? Or perform a mass-suicide like the Peoples Temple?

I mean, without any examples, it seems to be a simple case of "eew crazy creepy people, shut them down".

Mind you, I completely dislike cults, but at the same time, people still have rights to have crazy beliefs.

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by aohige

I haven't seen any specifics posted by you guys that justifies this action, only "crazy beliefs that does not comfort to Communist standards".

I mean... did they sarin-gas bomb a subway station like the Aum cult? Or hoard massive amounts of firearms and shoot at government officials from behind their barricades like the Branch Davidians? Or perform a mass-suicide like the Peoples Temple?

I mean, without any examples, it seems to be a simple case of "eew crazy creepy people, shut them down".

Mind you, I completely dislike cults, but at the same time, people still have rights to have crazy beliefs, so long they don't violently impose it upon others or physically destroy non-believers and the rest of society with it.

Added and fixed.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

This might be the most remarkable story of the day. The New York Times story about bankers manipulating the aluminum (or "aluminium" if you prefer) markets pointed the finger at Goldman Sachs. Yet here is Morgan saying they are getting out of the business. What do you suppose might be hiding there in Morgan's email archives?

I wouldn't rule out any conspiracy theories, but I wouldn't assume that the bankers are trying to manipulate a metal like the Hunt Brothers. Then again, with a big bank exiting commodities trading, I am thinking that the market will cool down......alot in the coming years.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by aohige

I haven't seen any specifics posted by you guys that justifies this action, only "crazy beliefs that does not comfort to Communist standards".

I mean... did they sarin-gas bomb a subway station like the Aum cult? Or hoard massive amounts of firearms and shoot at government officials from behind their barricades like the Branch Davidians? Or perform a mass-suicide like the Peoples Temple?

I mean, without any examples, it seems to be a simple case of "eew crazy creepy people, shut them down".

Mind you, I completely dislike cults, but at the same time, people still have rights to have crazy beliefs.

This.

Until further notice, people still have the right to have crazy beliefs and to escape reality as long they don't drag innocent ones and non-believers into something seriously harmful. So unless the members of the Falungong performed violent acts as murder, mass suicide or rape on their members in the name of the cult, any government holding jurisdiction (including the PRC's) can just fuck off.

[Tom Bombadil]

I haven't seen any specifics posted by you guys that justifies this action, only "crazy beliefs that does not comfort to Communist standards".

Their beliefs does not conform to rational human standard.


At least I have proved my point. People come with prejudice that can't be be persuaded otherwise.
I have wasted enough time on you.

[aohige]

Just as you have the right to be irrational, so do they.

It's funny labeling of prejudice coming from you, considering all the posts you have made on how you "feel" about others.
While I admit I have no love for the PRC, you've gotta be the last person to have the right to claim victim of prejudice.
For every one post I would make about discontent of PRC once in a blue moon, you make perhaps ten posts attacking other political entities around the globe, with quite a vicious verbal lash-out on posters who support it. I mean, Pot calling Kettle doesn't even come close to describing your situation there, bud.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

Their beliefs does not conform to rational human standard.


At least I have proved my point. People come with prejudice that can't be be persuaded otherwise.

Bollocks with rationality if they want to relinquish it and live in another dimension for x amount of time per day/week! If the members are stupid enough to swallow everything the cult leader says while it doesn't really affect innocent people and other non-members around, let them go with their lives. According to your logic, we should ban everything related to Superman because a few idiots in the 1980s thought they would fly by wearing the famous costume and died because their line of thought was nowhere near rational as fans of the Superman cult.

Come back if you have accounts of murder, mass suicides, rape or child molestation in the name of the cult by Falungong members; then we may talk. Until then, any government of any country meddling into the affairs of any cult group can just bugger off.

[ganbaru]

Opinion : Egypt’s military should hear from Obama administration
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...8b4_story.html

Scores of Demonstrators Killed in Egypt
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/wo...ast/egypt.html

[ArchmageXin]

Originally Posted by KiraYamatoFan

This.

Until further notice, people still have the right to have crazy beliefs and to escape reality as long they don't drag innocent ones and non-believers into something seriously harmful. So unless the members of the Falungong performed violent acts as murder, mass suicide or rape on their members in the name of the cult, any government holding jurisdiction (including the PRC's) can just fuck off.

That is in your opinion, but in China has a long history of crazy cult taking down the government (including Qing Empire by the Boxers in the late 19 century)

Also, one of the shinning mission of the cult is to destroy to CCP (as declared by their founder, so it is fair game).

Regardless, he is also a "Cult of Personality" and China already had enough of those.

[MrTerrorist]

An elite hacker who was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked has died unexpectedly in San Francisco.

Conspiracy?

Chinese toddler dies after parking space row

What kind of assholes would brutally hurt a mother and her child all because he and his buddy wanted parking space?

South African chef 'too fat' to live in New Zealand

The Irony of this story was the fact the Chef has lose weight since arriving in New Zealand.

[SummeryDreams]

I can't find the source, but anyways, does anyone of you hear about the football referee who had been killed by football fans because of stabbing a player to death? My reaction is, why do people nowadays can do such act. It is a football field, not a gladiator coliseum. (>.<)

[Lord of Fire]

Originally Posted by SummeryDreams

I can't find the source, but anyways, does anyone of you hear about the football referee who had been killed by football fans because of stabbing a player to death? My reaction is, why do people nowadays can do such act. It is a football field, not a gladiator coliseum. (>.<)

You mean the Brazilian referee who got tied up, stoned, quartered and then decapitated? Wouldn't be the first time hooligans (can't really call them 'fans' if they're this aggressive) did something incredibly stupid, though this is by far the worst incident I've heard of.

[SummeryDreams]

Originally Posted by Lord of Fire

You mean the Brazilian referee who got tied up, stoned, quartered and then decapitated? Wouldn't be the first time hooligans (can't really call them 'fans' if they're this aggressive) did something incredibly stupid, though this is by far the worst incident I've heard of.

Yeah! That one! The one in bbcnews.. That's really stupid. They've wasted life for such a non-sense reason. Imagine the cause of death.. Oh man.. What is wrong with this world..

[Xion Valkyrie]

Originally Posted by MrTerrorist

An elite hacker who was due to demonstrate how heart implants could be hacked has died unexpectedly in San Francisco.

Conspiracy?

I wonder if he has any time release mechanism to release the info upon his untimely death. I think EVERY journalist/investigator/whistle blower should set something up like that. Once it's out on the internet it can never be hidden again.

[SaintessHeart]

Actually a microwave gun would do the same trick. All we need is a portable transformer or a capacitor enough to juice the thing for a single burst at the person's heart.

This hack only affects smart pacemakers, those which are wifi enabled to send medical data to a computer. Normal ones shouldn't be affected at all.