玛格丽特.泰勒.辛格被公认为“全世界最重要的邪教问题研究权威”，是美国加州伯克利大学心理学教授，曾担任过美国心理学会主席，荣获过“霍夫海默奖”和“美国大学心理学系主任奖”，“美国精神健康学会成就奖”。

　　　　　　玛格丽特.辛格

　　辛格一生从事邪教问题研究，她的名著《邪教在我们中间》是世界邪教现象研究的经典著作。辛格怀着博大的爱心和强烈的社会责任感，先后同5000多名邪教痴迷者进行过密切交流，帮助大量失足者重返家庭和社会。许多受害人的父母、朋友和律师从辛格那里得到过极有价值的忠告和帮助。面对种种威胁和恐吓，辛格毫无畏惧，始终坚持和邪教势力进行不懈的斗争。

　　法轮功传入美国后，辛格接受过75名法轮功受害者亲属的咨询和求助。从大量第一手材料中，她深刻认识到法轮功的邪教本质和严重危害，并在自己著作的修订版中增添了有关法轮功内容。

　　2003年11月23日，玛格丽特.辛格不幸病逝，享年82岁。国际学术界对她一生的重大贡献和高尚人品给予了充分评价。

　　当我们看到这段玛格丽特.辛格生前谈法轮功的录像带时，不能不由衷敬佩她清醒的认识和深邃的见解。现郑重推荐给各位网友，并欢迎下载和转贴。这是一个国际邪教问题专家积毕生经验的谆谆告诫，也是一个睿智的老人留给我们的最后遗言。

　　问：辛格博士，您多年从事邪教相关问题的研究，特别是心理方面的问题，您和几千名邪教成员交谈过？

　　辛格博士：是。不过当数字超过5千以后我就不再记数了。早在1960年代我就开始和脱离组织的前邪教成员以及他们的家庭交谈。在过去的四十年里，我一直和那些被邪教俘获的家庭打交道。

　　问：给您留下最深刻的印象是什么？

　　辛格博士：首先父母都是感到震惊，居然有人可以把他们的儿女从他们身边抢走，以至于儿女们竟然不再和他们联系，而且满口都是黑话咒语。他们的父母都很悲伤，因为自己的家人被邪教诱惑加入。我从事的工作就是让美国人知道，邪教组织往往不是公开吸收新成员。大部分邪教组织的招募过程是具有欺骗性的。人们并不知道自己加入了邪教组织，还以为是一个新的国际新生活方式学校呢。邪教组织的面目往往要到后来才会显现。过去的四十年里，我一直向人们指出，邪教组织的招募都是骗人的。当你加入邪教之后，他们会使用更加有组织的具有破坏性的思想改造方法。

　　到现在为止，有75个人的家庭成员，其中有法轮功成员的父亲、母亲、兄弟或者姐妹，给我打电话。我阅读了能找到的李洪志所有言论的英文翻译。我还没有和脱离法轮功的前成员谈过。不过那些父母对我说，他们感到十分震惊，一个中国家庭的孩子居然会脱离自己的家庭，和几千年形成的中国人的家庭传统。第二件就是，这75个人中，只有3个是白人，72个都是中国人。他们担心的是他们的孩子会突然间消失，不再接家里人的电话，也不再回家，完全和家庭脱离，这是非常违背中国人的传统的。

　　从我的阅读和交谈中，我知道李洪志只是用了些普通的身体练习方式，比如太极拳和呼吸练习等等，他利用这些做幌子来吸引人加入法轮功。然后他就会继续把人引入歧途，让人们相信他所说的，并相信加入法轮功会使人与众不同。

　　几个月前，许多家庭给我打电话，因为他们看到我在旧金山地区的电视上谈论邪教、精神控制、洗脑和其他各种各样骗术等问题，听到我解释人们是如何受到影响而互相欺骗的。这些中国家庭十分担心，到现在有75个家庭了。我问他们以前打过电话没有，他们说这是他们第一次打电话给我。这些父亲、母亲、兄弟或者姐妹告诉我他们的家人被法轮功招募了。他们有人在旧金山地区，这里有很大的中国人社群。也有从遥远的波士顿地区打来电话的，他们是从旧金山那里的亲戚口中得知，我曾在电视上教导人们如何摆脱邪教。

　　首先他们担心的是，法轮功所说的东西违背了千百年来中国的传统，怂恿人脱离自己的家庭，放弃家庭生活。一旦加入法轮功，好好的人就会不见了，这些年轻人会放弃自己的家庭，因为法轮功取代了他们真正的家庭。第二就是，这些家庭成员，这些兄弟姐妹不再和我们说话，只是一味地对我们说教，重复背诵李洪志灌输给他们的现成的经文。当我们去见他们或者打电话给他们，他们就是对我们颂经而已。他们已经不能和家庭其他成员正常交流了，只是向周围的人说教。第三，他们担心李洪志要求他的追随者拒绝药物，他们中有许多人有慢性病，例如糖尿病，他们需要不断注射胰岛素，或者其他病人要服用其他药物。他们的家人十分担心他们会因为不服药而得病致死，因为他们在互联网上读到许多在中国的李洪志追随者因此丧命的故事。他们还担心自己的家人会跑到中国去加入他们在中国的伙伴，他们非常担心他们的孩子会去中国，因为触犯法律而入狱，或者遭到别的什么不幸。我和他们中的许多人谈过话，帮助他们脱离法轮功。不过我们人手实在太少。不是很多人读过李洪志言论的英文翻译。

　　问：这些家庭受到了哪些伤害？

　　辛格博士：他们和自己的家庭分离。他们被告知不要吃药。他们过去都是和你我一样的人，能够理性思维的正常的人。一旦加入法轮功，他们就不再能正常地理性思维了。他们只是重复背诵学会的经文，他们已经丧失了独立思考判断的能力。其中许多的人，正如他们的家庭成员所说，还失去了工作的能力，因为他们花大量的时间和其他法轮功成员混在一起。

　　问：您认为法轮功在美国还会继续发展下去吗？

　　辛格博士：我认为法轮功符合邪教的标准，无论是美国的还是世界的标准。它的领袖不是让信徒信仰上帝或者其他抽象的原则，而是信仰他本人。让信徒相信他是全能的主，他们放弃了自己多少年来的文化信仰传统来跟随这么一个人。他只是个自封的教主，就象世界上其他的邪教教主一样，他告诉人们：跟随我吧，我知道那条唯一的拯救之路，放弃所有的东西来跟随我。然后他就可以任意控制他们，而这些人们就从此失去了自我思考判断的能力。

　　在任何一个社会里，不论多么大小都一样，而和美国和欧洲一些国家比，中国是个很大的国家。不过在任何国家，你都希望你的公民能思考、能判断、能学习现代生活的各种技能，这也是法轮功分子的家庭成员担心的。他们的家庭十分害怕，我对他们说，你能不能把你们的名字和电话给我，我可以帮你们联系新闻界，这样就能帮助更多的人，无论是中国人还是白种人，帮助他们了解李洪志的真相。他们的宣传机器称法轮功能帮助你独立思维，但美国几乎所有邪教领袖都这么说，好让信众跟随。但说到底他们都是自封的领袖，他们只不过想控制信徒的行为、做法和思想而已。

　　问：为什么在美国人们更关心法轮功遭到中国政府的取缔，而不是关心法轮功给普通人带来的伤害呢？

　　辛格博士：美国公众并没有读到你我读到的这些从国际媒体互联网上获得的材料，他们不象中国人那样了解法轮功和法轮功练习者的遭遇。在美国，人们对宗教自由问题十分敏感。不过我不觉得法轮功是个宗教信仰自由的问题。我觉得十分明显，就是有那么一个很狡猾、很有煽动性的人，他靠买这些经书和演讲录象带使自己发迹起来，然后又逃到美国，远离了中国政府，也远离被他煽动操纵的中国人。他自己却住在了纽约州。这实在是太可疑了。我想普通的美国报纸读者或者电视观众都认为这是个宗教迫害的问题。不过我在一年前和两个住在美国的中国学者参加过一个相关的项目，他们阅读了那些中英文的法轮功所发表的东西。他们也看了相关的报道和翻译。我看这根本不是个宗教自由的问题。只要美国公众不能了解关于法轮功的细节，他们就会认为，这就象美国取缔了一个奥克兰的佛教寺院或者一个旧金山的普通的天主教教堂一样。但从我的阅读来看，不是这样的。我试图向人们解释，不过有些人以为我脑子有毛病。我对他们说，不是，不是，我研究过那些自封的骗子的把戏，知道他们怎么引诱人加入，并靠此发了财，财富和权力。如果你想搞一个邪教，目的无非就是这些。我研究了5000个不同的邪教，莫不如此。

　　问：您对邪教在21世纪能否得到控制和监督感到乐观吗？

　　辛格博士：我的确不知道。我觉得中国政府应该开展更好的公共关系工作，把真正真实的东西提供给报纸和电视台，使人们看到法轮功的真相。这只不过是又一个邪教，而世界上已经有成百上千个邪教了。

　　J: Doctor Singer, I know you've been engaged in the study of cult issues, especially psychological issues, and you've talked with relatives of, and over thousands of cult members?

　　S: Thousands of, I'v talked with.... I stopped counting when I got to 5000 former cult members and their families, so did.

　　J: And you talked with…

　　S: I began talking with cult members who had left cults and their families back in the very early 1960's. So then for forty years, I've been working with people and their families captured by cults.

　　J: So according to your experience, what strikes you most when you are talking with them?

　　S: With the parents…

　　J: With the relatives and the ex-members?

　　S: With the relatives of and ex-members of U.S. people who got anti-cults. The parents are so shocked that some one has been able to take her son or daughter away from them, get them, so they don't connect with them any more, and they talked in jargon. That's the usual sort of thing. And the parents are grief, they are sad. Their young man, and sometimes, it's not young people, but sometimes peoples' husbands and wives, get seduced and tricked into joining cults. [And see] Part of the work I've done along is to try to show people here in the United States that cults don't go out and recruit openly, most cult recruiting is very deceptive, in which you don't know when you join brand a cult that it's a cult you think it is new international living group.

　　J: It seems it's not like that.

　　S: It doesn't seem like what it ends up beings. So that for forty years, I've been pointing out that I've learned that the recruiting in the cults tends to be deceptive. Once he got into the cult, they have developed more organized, I think, the destructive sort reform programs. So just a few years back, I started getting calls. To today, I’d been called by 75 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters of people who have got into Falun Gong. I have read all the literatures, I being able to find, of translations of Li Zongzhi’s stuff. I haven't talked with anyone that’s left the cult. But the parents, what they described to me, is, first of all, they are shocked, that someone from a Chinese family would break away from hundreds and hundreds years of family affiliation to go so against the grain of their cultural background. Then the second thing that these mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters have told me. [Only three of the 75 family said,] when I asked them, is your brother or your father whoever [, oh,] Chinese or honkies. Only three of them are honkies. 72 to all the 75 were Chinese. The brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers told me the first concern was that the son or daughter had just disappeared, didn't talk to them when they called on the phone, and didn't come home to visit, and was really strange and pushing them off, which was so against Chinese traditions.

　　J: Yes.

　　S: From my readings and from what these people have told me, Li Hongzhi just took all the little excises, TaiJi exercises and the breathing, and new sources sort of a front piece to lure people in.

　　J: Right.

　　S: Then, he takes them down to the garden paths reputed, to believing every thing he tells them and they can not differ from it. I don't know how many months ago it was, that family started calling me, because they've seen me on television in the San Francisco area a lot, talking about cults, about mind controlling, brain washing, various kinds of scams and trickeries, because at that area I've been studying on how people influence and trick one another. So, Chinese families got very concerned. Up to now, (there were) 75 different families, because I haven’t seen them having called me before. They say no, this is our first call. It will be mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, who are telling me that one member of their family has been recruited into Falun Gong. They are either on the western coast, very near San Francisco because we have a very large Chinese popular community there. Some of them have been calling from up in the Boston area, because they got my phone number from relatives in San Francisco. They have seen me on the TV, talking about how to help people get out the cults. What the parents and brothers and sisters of the Falung Gong members are concerned about is: first, their saying is so against thousands of years of Chinese tradition. To drop your family, to just don't be your family. Once he get with Falun Gong, they are gone, the young adult or the person just abandons their family because the Falun Gong people replace their real family. Then secondly, these family members say, our brother, our sister doesn’t talk with us any more. He lectures at us. He has memorized speeches of Li Hongzhi, that he just recites. If we visit him or if we call him on the phone, he just recites. They say, we can't communicate with our family members, he just lectures at us. Then, the third thing that they are very worrying about is that Li Hongzhi tells his followers to stop taking medicine. Some of these family members have said that their brother or sister have some very chronic diseases like diabetes, where he should be taken his insulin or other diseases were they should be taken their medicine. They are very afraid that their relatives just get die, because they've read and gained at the internet and see how many people have died in China that being followers of Li Hongzhi. They are very concern, because these relatives say, I want to go to China, and be with the Falun Gong people in China. Their parents and brothers and sisters say to me "we are very afraid that they will go and they will do some illegal in China and they will get put in jail and shot, who knows what". They want to know how to get their relatives out, with them along, about how to lure them back out again, and so on. But we just don't have enough people. There are not too many of us that read all the stuff that’s been translated into English what Li Hongzhi has said.

　　J: According to your experience, what kinds of harms have been done to these members?

　　S: They’ve been separated from their family. They have been told not to take their medicine. They used to be like you and I, regular people, who rationally thought about stuff. Once they get with Falun Gong, their family says, they don't rationally reason any more. They just recite, learn phrases. They have lost their ability to be independent reasoners. Some of these people, the relatives say, have lost their job skills, because they put so much time in with their for long Falun Gong friends.

　　J: Do you think Falun Gong, as a cult or religion in America, would develop in the way that they proceeding now?

　　S: I think that Falun Gong surely meet the criteria of being a cult by American or world standards. The leader has people instead of, you know, worshiping God or abstract principles, they worship him. They believe he is the all powerful person. And they've drop centuries of religion in China to follow this man. So that he is a self-appointed person who says, as cult leaders do all around the world, “Follow me, I know the one way. Follow me, give up everything. Come with me.” Then he gave such control over them. They stop thinking for themselves. No matter China is a huge country compared to say here in the US, or compared to little European countries. In any country, you want citizens who think, citizens who reason, citizens who learn what the technical skills are for survival in the modern world. So that these people who have join Falun Gong, their families are so concern. The families are so afraid. I say to them, would you give me your name and number so I can put you in touch with journalism because it would be so helpful for Chinese, honkies, any kind of people here in the US, to get a true picture of who Li Hongzhi is, how is who raise, the propaganda that they put out, They say, oh, we can think for us. You know. It's just as stopped at every cult leader here in the US tells his followers to believe. It started by the self-appointed leader. He has told jarl’s diction in control over their behavior, their conduct, their thinking.

　　J: Right, why generally the American people are more concerned about the treatment of Falun Gong by the Chinese government rather than the harm and the influence of these thinking of the normal people?

　　S: I think the American public has not read the material that the few of us have. They see in the international press, that you get off of the web and find what do the Chinese people know about Falun Gong. What happens to Falun Gong followers? Here in the US, people get, as we say, real turned on about religious freedom.

　　I just have not seen that Falun Gong is a religious freedom issue. I think it was the guy who was very clever, very bright, very manipulative. He set himself up to sell enough tapes, books and writings, and he got himself overheard in the US, where he is away from the Chinese government and from people that is manipulating over there. He is living up here in New York somewhere. That looks very suspicious. But you see, I think the average reader here in the United States of the news papers or the watchers of TV think that it is religious persecution. I've read and I'm being on the programs in Europe with two Chinese scholars who live here in the US, who read in Chinese and English both, what the Falun Gong people putting on. They read the Chinese press and the translations. I don't see it as a religious freedom issue at all. But you see, as long as the American public doesn't understand the real details of Falun Gong, they will think that it is if here in the United States someone was picking on, a regular baddish church in downtown Auckland, a regular catholic church in San Francisco. From what I read that is not the situation. I try to explain to people. They think I must be out of my mind. I say, no, no, I've been studying how people self-appoint, cheat people into joining them, and then given him money and promoting wealth and power. If he’s going to study cult, that what's you want to gain wealth and power.

　　J: Right

　　S: I studied at this point 5000 different cults.

　　J: Are you optimistic that the cults will be controlled and will be supervised do little in the coming 21 century?

　　S: I just don't know, I think the Chinese government has to get a lot better of public relations over here, real good stuff into our press and TV, so that it makes Falun Gong visible as these years, one more of them, thousands of cults.