Sung Chi-li

Sung Chi-li (born 17 September 1948), born Sung , is a notorious Taiwan cult leader and geomancer who founded the Sung Chi-li Miracle Association and the Great Sun Sect. He was embroiled in a scandal in 1996 and accused of swindling US$7 million from his followers. He was convicted of fraud in 1997 and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. His verdict was later overturned in 2003 by the high court which cited freedom of religion. Sung claims to have supernatural powers, such as the ability to appear anywhere at anytime (fēnshēn body-double manifestations). He also claims to possess divine healing powers and calls himself Yuzhou Guangmingti (宇宙光明體; lit. Cosmic Luminous Body).

Early years Sung was born in Xiaogang village, Kaohsiung County in the Taiwan Province on 17 September 1948. He is the oldest of six children; four sisters and one brother. His father was very adept at making money and worked at a wholesale fish market. His family were the first in their village to own a television and telephone.

His eldest younger sister Sung Pao-lien (宋寶蓮) recalls Sung had developed mysophobia at the age of three and would eat in the corner and wash his own bowl and chopsticks. Their father had high expectations of Sung but Sung didn't like to study so their father would get angry and beat Sung with a wooden stick but Sung was very gentle, a boy of few words and didn't get upset nor talked back. Sung recalls it was at the age of seven that he saw a beam of light follow him. When he told his classmate, they'd laugh at him. When he told his father, his father said he is crazy. Sung became a social outcast due to poor grades and being abnormal.

After highschool, Sung left home and studied at Tung Fang Design Institute, from that moment, he tried to seek answers and started to read Plato but couldn't comprehend it, then he read Socrates and Aristotle but still couldn't find an explanation for the beam of light he saw as a child.

After finishing military conscription service, Sung's father gave him NT$1 million to start a shipping business at Taichung harbor. Sung worked there for nine and a half years. His sister, Pao-lien, said she always worried about Sung because he was too kind and not cut out for business so she was taken by surprise when he became a religious master.

Prison and change of career Sung went into hiding for two years after writing a bad check and was later imprisoned for two years.

During Sung's time in jail he saw that beam of light outside the windows and says when he was being released from jail at the age of 39 he saw the three Chinese characters Sung Chi-li (宋七力) written in the skies and changed his name to it. It was during this time that Sung says he possessed the fenshen ability. In 1987 when martial law was lifted in Taiwan, Sung, who was 39 at the time and out of prison, saw an opportunity and began to hang around tea houses, talking and demonstrating his skills. As word spread about his abilities, he was noticed by someone who then spent large amounts of money to support Sung and helped him take photos. In 1990, Sung founded the Academy of the Union of Humans and Nature and began recruiting members in Taipei. and members believed Sung was greater than Buddha in his past life.

Controversy Scandal The scandal, known locally in Taiwan as the Sung Chi-li Incident , was first uncovered by Melody Chu Mei-fong, then Taipei city councillor who accused Sung of conning disciples by selling them high-priced photos of him demonstrating his supernatural powers and that by worshiping the pictures, his followers could become a buddha. She also accused Frank Hsieh, who was legal consultant of Sung, of taking NT$16 million in political donations from Sung and that Hsieh's wife helped with compiling and publishing books for Sung. Sung and 16 defendants were then sued by former followers and he was indicted on charges of deception for obtaining NT$3 billion in donations

Due to a string of religious cult scandals making news headlines such as Sung Chi-li swindling NT$3 billion and Master Miao Tien swindling NT$2 billion, the Executive Yuan organized for the first time a forum to discuss the role and regulation of religion in Taiwan. The forum was held in Taipei on 8 November 1996 and attended by 110 senior government officials, religious leaders and scholars from 12 religious communities. The forum blamed the public's ignorance that allowed cult swindling to thrive. Hsieh temporarily disappeared from the political scene after it was alleged he had taken inappropriate political donations from Sung and faced fierce criticism from the public over his membership in Sung's cult

Sung admitted to police in charge of the investigation that he lied about having supernatural powers and police demolished the Miracle Association Memorial Hall, his Transmogrification Society's main shrine, on the grounds that it was built illegally. The shine contained faked photos of Sung in various states of fenshen which were used by his associates to fool followers into believing Sung's divinity. Sung also made donations to political parties.

High Court appeal Although the scandal had almost hurt Hsieh's political career, he surprised everyone by winning the 1998 Kaohsiung City mayoral election despite being ridiculed and criticized for his link to Sung. The high court trial was reopened a few days after Hsieh's election victory. Under the protection of freedom of religion, the High Court decided that faith was more important than authenticity and that not only would it be difficult to prove Sung did not have supernatural abilities but that also accusers' testimonies were not sufficient to prove that Sung had defrauded them of money. Frank Hsieh was quoted as saying ""Religion cannot be analysed by reason."

In an interview with Next Media in 2008, Sung says he is a mysophobe and has never had any sexual relations.

In 2015, SET News interviewed Sung regarding his supernatural powers, the reporter asked Sung if he could demonstrate his powers especially his fenshen ability. Sung objected and insisted that only followers who have awakened their third eye could see the supernatural. He also demonstrated his abilities of being able to control his followers' bodies with his mind, to which his followers played along, but it had no effect on the reporter and cameraman. Next Digital also followed up and Sung admitted he is a controversial figure but that he was not afraid of punishment because he has no family and no children to worry about.