Hong Kong Falun Gong chapter here to stay, says chief, refuting bogus post on exit from city
- The post, which first appeared on a page called ‘The Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa’, was widely reported by local media and shared by pro-establishment figures
- But group’s Hong Kong leader denies ‘trumped-up rumours’, saying post and page are both fake
The Hong Kong chapter of the Falun Gong spiritual movement is here to stay, according to its local leader, who refuted a fake social media post claiming it was pulling out of the city.
The bogus post surfaced late on Wednesday on a Facebook page called “The Hong Kong Association of Falun Dafa” – another name for the group, which is banned in mainland China – and said the organisation had “decided to leave Hong Kong and initiated the relevant procedures”.
The post, which was widely reported by local media on Thursday, said the group would stop updating its website and social media, and was grateful for people’s support.
Several pro-establishment lawmakers subsequently shared the false reports on their own social media pages.
But Hong Kong chapter head Sarah Liang Zhen denied the reports on Thursday, telling the Post the group did not operate any social media pages.
“These are all trumped-up rumours. How do they represent the Falun Gong?” she said.
Liang added that she believed the phoney Facebook page might have been created by pro-Beijing figures to spread fear.
“But the Falun Gong has no plans to leave Hong Kong,” she stressed.