Wang Yuanyuan

    cheekywang@hotmail.com

    AFTER disappearing from public sight for nearly 20 years, qigong has returned to the spotlight as a self-proclaimed “master” draws people’s attention online with his wide social connections and “special powers.”

    Wang Lin, 61, claims to be able to conjure snakes from thin air, cure diseases and even pull an incinerated banknote intact from an orange.

    He came to public attention in recent weeks when he was visited by Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and by popular Chinese actress Zhao Wei. Reasons for the visits were not specified.

    Media later found that Wang also has a villa in the Yijing Garden development in Luohu District, Shenzhen, but the luxury house has been closed to visitors, with people living there saying they “don’t have time for any questions.”

    Pictures soon circulated on Chinese social media sites of Wang with former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun, who has received a suspended death sentence for corruption; martial artist and actor Jet Li; various senior officials, including some national leaders; and various pop stars.

    Chinese media said that in Wang’s five-story villa in Pingxiang, Jiangxi Province, the entire second floor displays pictures of Wang purportedly with important people in various locations.

    According to Wang’s own microblog, he once was assessed by a team of 17 Japanese scientists for seven days and nights, and U.S. intelligence agencies have offered him 70 green cards to try to persuade him to emigrate, but he’s rejected the offers because he “does not want to leave his hometown” in Jiangxi Province.

    He also claimed to have cured many patients, including former Indonesian President Suharto, and to have made hundreds of millions of yuan by helping people cure their diseases or solve problems in their lives.

    Wang’s claims have become a hot issue online as amazed and incredulous netizens speculate about whether he’s involved in fraud or corruption.

    Well-known independent scholar Sima Nan, who became famous by revealing qigong fraud in the 1990s, wrote a letter to Wang on Sina Weibo, saying he would like to invite Wang to perform his qigong at a designated place with designated items.

    “If I can’t find any flaws in Wang’s performance or if Wang can prove me wrong, I will give him 10 million yuan (US$1.6 million) and apologize to him in public,” Sima said.

    However, Wang refused to meet Sima and wrote on his microblog that he could “poke Sima to death with his finger even when standing more than 10 meters away from Sima.”

    A man identified as Zou Yong told China Central Television (CCTV) that he used to be an apprentice of Wang.

    “I gave him 7.6 million yuan as a tuition fee to learn his magic qigong, and he gave me what he called a rare book of qigong, a futon and a wooden stall and told me that I could learn magic qigong in only 49 days of practice. However, after two years of practice, I got nothing,” the businessman said. “I went to quarrel with him, but he said I would die in a few days if I wanted to fight him.” The book turned out to be a Taoist booklet available at most online bookstores at 11 yuan.

    However, Zou said Wang did have “special power” — political power.

    “He said he was a great friend of Liu (Zhijun). A long time ago, I had a railway-related business project and it was very difficult to get it approved. Wang said he could help me get the approval and he did, in only a few days,” Zou said.

    Wang has never hidden his close relationship with Liu and other political figures.

    “Liu and I are good friends. Even though he is now in jail, we are still good friends,” Wang previously told a Chinese-language newspaper.

    However, Wang denies involvement in any corruption or fraud.

    “I help some people do some things and they want to thank me by giving me a lot of money. This is not against the law,” he said.

    Wang also said his qigong claims are not fraud — but hedged the statement. “It does not matter whether my qigong is real or fake. It is not against the law, either. I have never told anybody my snake performance or money performance are qigong or tricks, so as long as I don’t break any law, it has nothing to do with other people,” he said.

    CCTV reported Sunday night that Wang’s incident had drawn the attention of government officials in Luxi County. However, Luxi spokesperson Long Jun said Sunday that the departments were still collecting information about Wang and there was no evidence indicating Wang should be arrested.

    Meanwhile, the local health department also said it was studying whether Wang should be suspected of illegal medical practices.

    “He claimed to cure people’s diseases at home, but his home is not a clinic and we don’t have evidence of him conducting medical treatments on other people, so it’s difficult for us to know the truth at the moment,” said Huang Yingsheng, vice director of the health bureau in Luxi.