Falun Gong : Tung had duty to speak out on sect, says justice chief

The justice chief yesterday defended Tung Chee-hwa's attacks on Falun Gong, saying he had a duty to speak out and describing as absurd suggestions that his remarks may have been defamatory.

Elsie Leung Oi-sie said Mr Tung had as much a responsibility to speak out on Falun Gong as on other social dangers - including rave parties, drugs and pollution.

Last month, Mr Tung said the group was "no doubt an evil cult", but added there was no need to introduce anti-cult legislation. Falun Gong representatives considered suing him for defamation, but later dropped the idea. "For the Government to remain mute on this issue would be irresponsible," Ms Leung told a lunch of the Japan Society.
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Falun Gong spokeswoman Hui Cheung Yee-han said Ms Leung's comparison of Falun Gong to a range of social ills was "irresponsible and ridiculous".

"The analogy is totally irrelevant. Unlike other problems cited by her, the Falun Gong is beneficial to health and moral standards," she said. She also disagreed with Ms Leung's statement that Mr Tung's "evil cult" remarks represented fair comment. "Mr Tung was irresponsible in making remarks based on fabricated material," Mrs Hui said, claiming that the Tiananmen Square self-immolation reports had been fabricated.
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