A movement with over 10,000 members may have violated consumer protection laws. But the repression is also part of a campaign to eliminate independent spiritual organizations.
by Zhao Zhangyong
The case of Gaia Earth Core (盖亚地心), formerly known as Starry Homeland (星际家园), has become one of the most prominent prosecutions of a spiritual movement in China in recent years.
The group was founded in February 2019 by Sun Linlin (孙淋琳), born in 1983 in Dalian, who styled herself as “Tara Shangshi” and claimed to be the reincarnation of the Buddhist goddess Green Tara. In October 2021, the organization rebranded itself as Gaia Earth Core.
Its teachings combined elements of “mind‑body‑spirit” practice with esoteric claims: courses such as Alliance with God, Light of Creation, and Fairy Healing promised to open supernatural powers, cleanse karmic burdens, and connect members to “high-dimensional cosmic energy.” Central to the practice was the use of crystals, presented as sacred instruments capable of channeling universal forces, healing illness, and unlocking wealth.
The group operated primarily online, using WeChat groups, Tencent Meeting, Litchi Micro‑Class, and other platforms to deliver lectures and organize “crystal auctions.” Members were encouraged to join daily collective meditations, listen repeatedly to Tara’s audio teachings, and share “miracle experiences.”
Crystals were sold or auctioned at high prices—sometimes tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan. Members were told that acquiring these crystals was essential to spiritual advancement, and many spent significant money to participate.
By 2022, authorities estimated that the group had attracted over 10,000 members nationwide and collected more than 1.93 billion yuan in revenue.
On August 24, 2022, Sun Linlin and 13 associates were detained following an investigation by the Wucheng Branch of the Jinhua Public Security Bureau in Zhejiang Province. Assets worth over one billion yuan were frozen, including bank deposits, real estate, and vehicles.
On November 11, 2022, the Wucheng District People’s Procuratorate formally indicted Sun and her co-defendants. In 2024, the Wucheng District People’s Court of Jinhua City convicted Sun of “organizing and leading pyramid sales activities” under Article 224‑1 of the Criminal Code. She was sentenced to five years and ten months in prison and fined 600,000 yuan. Thirteen others received lesser sentences depending on their roles.
Although the leader is now imprisoned, reports suggest that members continue to be pursued and pressured, with ongoing arrests and interrogations. Authorities frame this as “clean-up” work against fraud, but it also reflects the broader policy of dismantling any independent spiritual networks.
Probably, Gaia Earth Core’s practices—high-priced courses, extravagant crystal auctions, and promises of supernatural wealth—did cause real financial harm to some participants. Yet in China, any spiritual group outside the state-approved religious associations is automatically branded a “xie jiao” and accused of brainwashing or fraud, making it difficult to distinguish genuine misconduct from political suppression.
The Gaia case thus sits at the intersection of consumer protection and authoritarian control. While vigilance against exploitation is reasonable, the continuing persecution of ordinary members after the leader’s conviction suggests that the state’s deeper goal is the eradication of unsupervised religious life. In this sense, Gaia Earth Core is also a window into the narrowing space for belief in contemporary China.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
