Qigong master‘cursed’reporter for exposing his tricks

A reporter from The Beijing News has been "cursed" by a self-proclaimed qigong master to the stars, after she published an exposéalleging that he is a charlatan.

"I am telling you, you will die miserably, and your family will follow," the "master," Wang Lin, threatened the reporter on the phone, condemning her for writing a story that he thought had ruined his name.

Wang also claims that he has supernatural powers, that he is alleged to have learnt when he was young.

Zhang Han, a journalist from The Beijing News, published an article on Wang on Sunday, revealing Wang's secret of success, and detailing how he introduced rich business people who crave "a little help" to powerful government officials, for a price.

Zhang told the Global Times that she is not afraid of such "threats" and that she will keep covering the story via other ways.

Photos circulating on the Internet show Wang's immense resources and networking capabilities. He was seen in photos with China's top government officials and celebrities, such as movie star Jet Li and Jack Ma, billionaire founder of online shopping portal Taobao and website Alibaba.

Wang's most famous "supernatural" trick is to conjure snakes from an empty basin. He explained that the snakes were freshly caught in the field by his spirit, which could leave his body and travel thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.

But his "work of spirit" was described by Zhang as "a deceitful trick" learned on the street and she wrote that Wang was spotted buying snakes from the market.

The article further revealed Wang's friendship with Liu Zhijun, the former minister of railways. Wang offered to give Liu a feng shui stone that could secure his success in officialdom for a lifetime. The stone most obviously failed, as Liu was given a death penalty suspended for two years.

Other media reports claim that Wang owns a number of luxury cars, including a Porsche and a Rolls Royce, and property in several Chinese cities.

Wang was also accused by some business people of loan sharking. He admitted it, but said he spent the earned money on philanthropy, The Beijing News reported.

Wang could not be reached for comment as of press time on Tuesday.