The Falungong spiritual movement launched a promotional campaign in Singapore Monday, claiming members were being harassed by authorities although the group is legally registered.
Falungong, banned in China as a subversive organization, booked half-page newspaper advertisements which gave an introduction to the movement and its principles of "truthfulness, compassion and forbearance."
"We want to advertise because we want to let the public know about our group and what is happening in China," said spokesman Hao Gao.
The advertisement stressed that Falungong has been legally registered in Singapore as the Falun Buddha Society since last year. It also contained a hotline and details of their websites.
"Even if we are registered in Singapore, some policemen still approach our members who gather and tell them they are banned," he told AFP.
Falungong was being portrayed in Singapore and in China as a cult, Hao said, expressing hope the advertising campaign would correct that image as well as allow the public to know about the abuse of members in China.
"The media in Singapore is still calling us a cult ... We are not a cult, we are a spiritual movement," he said.
Hao claimed 30 people had been beaten to death in China since Beijing banned Falungong and launched a crackdown on the group last year.
"We cannot accept things that are happening in China. A lot of our followers are being sent to jail without trial," Hao said, adding that his 54-year-old mother is currently serving a one-year term at Shanghai prison.
"We want the public to understand what is Falungong," he said. "Banning Falungong is the most terrible thing in the world now because people are being stopped or frightened to give up their beliefs."
Falungong is a legal organization throughout Asia, except for China and Japan, he said. Hao estimated there were about 1,000 practitioners in Singapore.
Although Falungong members from around the world have protested in China over the past year, Gao said Singapore practitioners have no plans to return because "what we do here has more effect."
The movement is seen by the Chinese communist party as the biggest threat to its grip on power since the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, which were violently crushed by the army on June 4, 1989.
The sect combines Chinese breathing exercises with Buddhist and Taoist philosophies.
