NEW religious movements (NRMs) are gaining converts worldwide and many have put down roots in Hong Kong. Some movements are more open to scrutiny than others.
Below is a sample of NRMs operating here. They range from small groups with barely 100 members to organisations that claim thousands of devotees.
Figures relating to membership of the NRMs featured come from a variety of sources, including published articles, the groups themselves and Danny Ma Kwok-tung, a missionary at the Hong Kong Christian Short Term Mission Training Centre.
The International Supreme Master Ching Hai Meditation Association Founder: Ching Hai Established: Date not mentioned in group's books; place: Taiwan Members: 2,000 in Hong Kong; group does not have official worldwide figures In the early 1990s Vietnamese-Chinese Ching Hai made a name for herself in Hong Kong by offering to donate US$6 million (HK$46.4 million) to resettle Vietnamese in the territory's camps.
Instant enlightenment is promised to those who chant her name and title, according to official propaganda. 'Whoever sincerely recites 'Namo Ching Hai Wu Shang Shih' (the Supreme Master Ching Hai) will be saved and liberated,' according to Ching Hai's book The Key Of Immediate Enlightenment: but followers must also 'refrain from taking the life of sentient beings' (which means they must also be vegetarians), 'refrain from speaking what is not true', 'refrain from taking what is not offered', 'refrain from sexual misconduct' and 'refrain from the use of intoxicants'.
Sukyo Mahikari Founder: Yoshikazu Okada (aka Kotama Okada), who based his teachings on Mokichi Okada (no relation, see Hong Kong Shumei Church of Divine Guidance) Established: 1978 in Japan; 1994 in Hong Kong Members: 100 in Hong Kong; 800,000 worldwide Sukyo Mahikari was investigated in 1997 by an Australian newspaper, The Canberra Times, which called the group a doomsday religious sect and chronicled the complaints of disgruntled former members, including allegations of financial impropriety, 'brain washing' and deception over the group's history.